From an action-packed December 2024, featuring India’s bilateral series against Australia and West Indies, the concluding leg of England’s tour of South Africa, and Australia’s clashes with India and New Zealand, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has shortlisted the nominees for the Player of the Month award for December 2024.
Smriti Mandhana
India’s opening batter, Mandhana, had a quiet start to India’s tour of Australia, departing cheaply for 8 and 9. However, she followed up with a sublime 109-ball 105, marking her record-breaking fourth ODI ton in a calendar year. Though this century came in a losing cause, she surpassed 8,000 international runs, becoming the youngest player to achieve this milestone. Mandhana capitalized on her return to form, notching up three consecutive fifties against the West Indies in the home T20I series, progressing from good, better to best.
Mandhana posted 54 off 33 balls in the series opener, followed by a 42-ball 61, scoring at a rate of 151.21, and a 47-ball 77 at 163.82 in subsequent T20Is. Her 77 was crucial in India’s T20I series win against the West Indies, coming in the decider. In the opening ODI, she once again led from the front, scoring 91 off 102 balls. An unfortunate run-out ended her stay for 53 in the second ODI, marking five consecutive fifties and solidifying her reputation as a reliable and consistent batter at the top of the order.
Annabel Sutherland
Australian all-rounder Sutherland has been steadily rising, delivering key performances for Australia, particularly when the stakes are high. In the series against India, while Sutherland was dismissed cheaply for 6 in the first couple of ODIs, she made up for it with the ball, returning figures of 1/13 (5) and 4/39 (8.5). In the third ODI, when Australia found themselves in trouble at 4/78, she stepped up with a mature century, scoring 110 off 95 balls, and also claimed the prized wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur, finishing with figures of 1/34 (9).
In the subsequent ODI series against New Zealand, Sutherland again rescued Australia from a tough situation, notching up another century, her second consecutive, both times batting at number 5, a record in itself. While she finished wicketless in that game, she picked up 3 wickets in the following match, alongside scoring a valuable 42 runs off 43 balls.
Nonkululeko Mlaba
South Africa’s left-arm spinner, Mlaba, did not find much success in the three ODIs against England, returning figures of 2/47 (8), 0/30 (5), and 0/14 (2). However, in the one-off Test, Mlaba was at her very best, producing remarkable rippers. She broke a mammoth 174-run partnership to claim her first wicket of the Test, and after taking her second in quick succession, South Africa worked hard for another breakthrough, which was once again provided by Mlaba. She finished with figures of 4/90 (20) in the first innings.
In the second innings, Mlaba’s first wicket was that of Nat Sciver-Brunt, who had scored the fastest Test century in the first innings of the same match. She then dismissed the set Heather Knight to claim her maiden fifer, and by getting one through the gates of Ryana MacDonald-Gay, she completed a 10-wicket match haul, the first of its kind for South Africa in women’s Test history, finishing with match figures of 10/157.
Loves all things female cricket
