Hard working Yusuf scoops top prize at Lions' end of season awards
Seam bowler Codi Yusuf earned recognition for multiple seasons of good returns by being named the Gauteng Lions' Player of the Season on Thursday night.
The 27 year old, now contracted to English County Durham, has often operated out of the spotlight in a star-studded Lions side but got his moment to shine at the Lions' awards dinner where he walked away with four gongs including bowler of the year in both the four-day and one-day competitions.
The Knysna-born right arm seamer has become one of the most reliable players on the domestic circuit and has never shirked responsibility when a captain has called on him to deliver a spell.
A relentless worker, his constant improvement in the past few seasons earned him an SA A call-up at the start of last season when Sri Lanka toured, and while he didn't perform in the manner he'd have hoped — with the national coach Shukri Conrad watching — the lessons from that series were applied when he turned out for the Lions.

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