B/R's South African Cricket Awards for 2014

Despite only playing a handful of Tests against mostly weak opposition, South Africa had quite a year.

Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have carried on being awesome. A few new faces have popped up, and there were even two historic wins: one in Sri Lanka and another in a tri-series final against Australia.

We’ve picked out some of the best bits from South Africa’s 2014. Feel free to add your favourite memories in the comments section. 

Picking South Africa's best batsman in 2014 was an almost impossible task. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have been neck-in-neck for most of the year when it comes to the number of runs they scored.

In Tests, Amla scored 690 runs, while De Villiers notched 630 (keeping in mind they are both still batting in the Test against West Indies). In ODIs, Amla scored 892 runs, and De Villiers got 879. In T20s, Amla scored 191 runs, and De Villiers knocked 140.

It's been quite a year for the pair. Amla has put in the hard graft since taking over as South Africa's Test captain, and he even scored more hundreds (five compared to two) in the one-day format than De Villiers. Seemingly, the best way to separate the two would be to flip a coin, but that would be far too easy.

Choosing South Africa’s best batsman of the year came down to the impact each player had across all the formats. In limited-overs cricket, De Villiers tends to score faster and be more innovative than Amla. As a “360 batsman” (i.e., a player who can score all around the ground), De Villiers has no equal, and in the South African setup, his ability to adapt to situations is unparalleled.

Paired with Amla in any format, the two make for one behemoth of a partnership where bowlers probably draw straws to bowl at.

Deciding the best bowler was a little bit easier.

With 39 wickets in 14 innings (and two more innings to come, weather permitting), Dale Steyn out-bowled all of his fellow South Africans with ease. Although he was less impressive in ODIs (22 wickets in 14 matches) and reasonable in T20s (nine wickets in five matches), it's the skill required in Tests that really matters for bowlers.

Knowing how to move the ball, how to use the seam and how to constantly probe batsmen, Steyn's Test bowling seems to only get better with age. What a good thing it is, then, that he loves Test cricket to the moon and back.

It was a catch South Africa’s Test captain, Hashim Amla, described as being "like Spiderman."

It was a catch that most wicketkeepers would have left to the slips. Yet, AB de Villiers took an excellent grab in the first Test against the West Indies at Centurion, while standing in for the injured Quinton de Kock.

As he swung through the air, he said about three different things went through his mind. One of them being, “should I leave this one to Hash?."  If you haven't seen it—or you want to relive it—the video can be found here.

South Africa have had a few new faces enter the fray across all formats this year.

Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Reeza Hendricks, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dane Piedt and Stiaan van Zyl all made their bows in international cricket this year. Two of those, Van Zyl and Piedt, were the Test rookies. Both announced their arrival on the global stage with impressive showings; Piedt took an eight-wicket haul on his debut, and Van Zyl scored a ton. 

While both made their debuts against “weaker” opposition, against Zimbabwe and West Indies, respectively, it still takes some doing to hold your nerve on the big stage.

Piedt wins the debutant race, mainly because he offered something South Africa have not had for a very long time. Piedt is a spinner who actually turns the ball, and not only does he turn it, he turns it square.

Although he missed out on a place in the current Test against the West Indies, given he was recovering from injury, Piedt has a bright future ahead of him. He might even be back as soon as the new year’s Test in Cape Town.

Whatever happens, 2014 will forever be remembered as the year South Africa found a spinner.

Despite the fact South Africa’s series win in Sri Lanka courted some controversy (the whole Vernon Philander ball-tampering saga), it was a memorable result.

With a new captain and a new opener in the team, South Africa mustered a win on the island for the first time in over a decade. A mix of solid batting, excellent bowling and even a little bit of Oscar-worthy acting from Imran Tahir handed the South Africans a fantastic series and secured their No.1 Test ranking once more, after it was ripped out from underneath them by Australia without either team lifting a bat.

All quotes and information in this piece were obtained firsthand.