Wednesday Cricket South Africa Awards evening was one Sunfoil Dolphins captain Morné van Wyk will remember fondly for many years to come after he scooped the coveted Ticketpro T20 International Cricketer of the Year Award.

Van Wyk’s selection for last season’s three match T20 series against the West Indies in South Africa saw him return to the national setup for the first time in nearly four years after young Quinton de Kock sustained an ankle injury and the vastly experienced Dolphins skipper duly justified the selectors faith in him by becoming just the third South African to score an international T20 ton.

The 36 year-old smashed an emotional 114 not out off just 70 deliveries on the Dolphins home ground, Sahara Stadium KIngsmead, in front of friends and family to see South Africa through to a 69-run victory in the third and final bout of the series, an innings which contributed significantly to his winning Wednesday evening’s award.

“Thank you to my family, friends and fans!” van Wyk tweeted shortly after receiving his accolade. “Your amazing support made winning a very special award possible.”

“”(It is an) exciting evening. (It is) great to see friends from the all over the (country again),” he added.

Meanwhile, South African ODI captain and batting sensation AB de Villiers received the bulk of the night’s spoils as he clinch now fewer than five awards, including the night’s highest honour – South Africa’s Cricketer of the Year – for the second consecutive year, becoming only the fourth player in history to be receive the award twice behind Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla.