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Sayers wins Shield Player of the Year

Metronomic quick earns top first-class gong after stunning season for the Redbacks

South Australia paceman Chadd Sayers has been named the Sheffield Shield Player of the Year at the South Australia Cricket Association awards night.

Sayers, who took a remarkable 62 wickets in the season – the third-most in history and the most since Shaun Tait's 65 in 2004-05 – also won the Lord Hampden Trophy for the Redbacks Shield Player of the Year as well as the prestigious Neil Dansie Medal.

Watch all of Chadd Sayers' 62 Shield wickets

Among Shield voting on a 3-2-1 system throughout 2016-17, Sayers led the way with 16 votes to finish ahead of Western Australia allrounder Hilton Cartwright, Blues batsman Ed Cowan and Bushrangers quick Chris Tremain, who received 14 votes each.

Tasmania captain George Bailey rounded out the top five, scoring 13 votes.

Sayers took five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul through the Shield season, including 7-84 in the first innings of the final, which the Redbacks drew with champions Victoria.

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The right-armer has hovered on the precipice of a long-awaited Test call-up for more than 12 months now; he was part of Australia's squad in New Zealand last year and then again for the Tests in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne this summer, only to be touched out for the third seamer's spot by Jackson Bird on all three occasions.

In the Shield final on a fairly lifeless deck at Traeger Park in Alice Springs, Sayers posed the biggest threat to a red-hot Victoria outfit; six of his seven first-innings victims have played international cricket and the other – opener Marcus Harris – is Victoria’s leading Shield run-scorer this season.

Shield final: Super Sayers snares seven

The 29-year-old is one of only two specialist quicks (Tasmania's Simon Milenko being the other) to have played in every Shield game for his side this season, and his 446.2 overs are 95 more than the next most by a fast bowler.

Also at the Redbacks awards night, Cameron Valente was named Matador Cup MVP, young opener John Dalton won the Barry Jarman Most Improved Trophy and Alex Carey took out the Barry 'Nugget' Rees award.

England import Charlotte Edwards took home the Andrea McCauley Trophy for the best performer in the Women's National Cricket League,  

Adelaide Strikers pair Ben Dunk and Megan Schutt won the MVP awards for their performances in the men's and women's Big Bash tournaments respectively.