Scott Styris may have been coming back from injury this summer, but he had reward for all his hard work when awarded the Northern Districts Cricketer of the Year Award last week.

His performances for ND in both first-class and one-day cricket made him the obvious candidate for the award which was sponsored by Air New Zealand Travelcentre.

During the summer in the State Championship, he scored 644 runs at 44.00 and included among those runs was an innings of 212 not out against Otago. At the time it was an ND record but James Marshall bettered it a week later.

However, he also took 28 wickets for ND to complete a fine all-round summer.

Appearances in the State Shield were limited due to the fact he was selected for New Zealand to play in the Australia tri-series in which he played in four games.

But among his Shield performances was an outstanding 82 not out against Auckland at Eden Park's outer oval to win the game in the final over.

Styris is now a member of the New Zealand team in Sharjah and Pakistan.

Nicola Browne was awarded the women's cricketer of the year. She has had a meteoric rise in women's cricket, despite being 18. She was the leading ND wicket-taker in the State League and also had the best economy rate.

She was one of the success stories of the New Zealand A team's tour to Australia, and she was asked to stay on as a member of the New Zealand women's team for the annual series against Australia. She played in all three matches and then played another match in New Zealand in the return series. She is a member of the New Zealand Academy at Lincoln University this year.

Ian Butler was named the Young Cricketer of the Year. He made his ND debut in the State Championship in late-November and by February was a member of the New Zealand team.

He made five first-class appearances for ND taking 17 wickets at 24.

Other awards made were:

Basil McBurney Trophy - Bay of Plenty; Fergus Hickey Rosebowl - Bay of Plenty; Glenview International Hotel Cup - Northland; Outstanding services to coaching - Wynne Bradburn; Allan McBride Trophy for service to Junior Cricket - Per Rorholt; Umpire of the Year - Tony Hill; Fielder of the Year - Robbie Hart; Batsman of the Year - James Marshall; Bowler of the Year - Joseph Yovich.

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