Dubai
India’s Smriti Mandhana, Australia’s Annabel Sutherland and South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba have been nominated for the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award for December. Smriti Mandhana performed exceptionally well across all formats, making significant contributions during India’s tours and home series. Despite a poor start in the ODI series against Australia, Mandhana bounced back with a brilliant century (105 off 109 balls) in the third ODI. This innings set the stage for his impressive performance in the subsequent home series against the West Indies.
Mandhana’s performance in the T20 series against West Indies was remarkable, where she scored three consecutive half-centuries to help India win the series 2-1. Her ability to handle the innings while maintaining a high strike rate has established her as one of the best batsmen in women’s cricket. In the ODIs, he scored 270 runs in six matches at an average of 45.00 and a strike rate of 91.52, while in the T20s, he scored 193 runs in three matches at an average of 64.33 and a strike rate of 59.50.
Australia’s Annabel Sutherland played a key role in her team’s unbeaten ODI streak in December. The all-rounder showcased his batting prowess with two centuries – a brilliant 110 against India in Perth and an unbeaten 105 against New Zealand in Wellington. His ability to balance aggression and composure with the bat added depth to the Australian lineup.
Sutherland’s contribution with the ball was equally impressive. His match-winning 4/39 in the second ODI against India highlighted his ability to perform well under pressure. In five ODIs in December, he took nine wickets and maintained an excellent economy rate of 3.85. His performance included scoring 269 runs at an average of 67.25 and a strike rate of 113.98 and also taking nine wickets at an average of 16.22 and an economy rate of 3.85.
His all-round performances earned him the Player of the Series award twice in December. South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba etched her name in the history books with her record-breaking performance in the historic one-off Test against England in Bloemfontein. She became the first South African woman to take 10 wickets in Tests, taking 10 wickets at an average of 15.70.
While South Africa lost the Test match, Mlaba had a brilliant performance, showcasing his mastery of spin bowling in the longest format. He also contributed in the ODI series against England, where he took two wickets and scored 20 runs.
