Nominees revealed for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month of April 2024.
England batter Maia Bouicher was named the Player of the Month for March 2024, piping the likes of Ashleigh Gardner, and Amelia Kerr.
April was an action-packed month as far as women’s cricket is concerned. Sri Lanka visited South Africa for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The West Indies visited Pakistan for a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series. Last but not least, is the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
Captains assemble at the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees for April 2024.
Player of the Month Nominees April 2024
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa):
The 25-year-old South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt had a sensational outing with the bat in the recently concluded white ball series against Sri Lanka. She scored 391 runs at a mind-boggling average of 195.5 in four innings. Her tally of runs included one half-century in the 3rd T20I (56 off 47 balls) and a couple of unbeaten centuries in the 2nd (110* off 141 balls) and 3rd ODI (184* off 147 balls) of the series.
Her career-best score in the ODI format came in the 3rd ODI of the series. It was also the highest individual score of South Africa in the ODI format. She was also awarded the Player of the Series in the ODI series for scoring 335 runs, leading the run-scoring charts in the series. She is one of the prime contenders for the Player of the Month award for April 2024.
Hayley Matthews (West Indies):
The 26-year-old West Indian skipper Hayley Matthews had an exceptional outing with the bat in the recently concluded white ball series against Pakistan. She scored 451 runs at a humongous average of 90.2 in six innings. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries in the T20I format and a couple of centuries in the ODI format.
Her best performance with the bat came on the 23rd of April 2024 when she scored 141 runs at a strike rate of 94.63 against Pakistan. She was named the Player of the Series in the ODI format for scoring 325 runs with the bat and picking up six wickets with the ball. She was also named the Player of the Series in the T20I format, for scoring 205 runs with the bat and picking up seven wickets with the ball in the series.
She is one of the front runners to bag the Player of the Month award for April 2024.
Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka):
The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu is currently involved in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2024. She has led her side to the final and as a result, Sri Lanka has successfully managed to qualify for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, later this year.
She has scored 406 runs at a mind-boggling average of 135.33 in six innings. Her best performance with the bat came on 17th April 2024 when she scored an unbeaten 195 in the 3rd ODI, playing a pivotal role in helping her side clinch a record-breaking run chase (305/4, target 302) in the Women’s ODIs. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up a couple of wickets in six innings with the ball. She can also be a strong contender for the award.