ICC ODI Team of the Year 2024 Announced, Laura Wolvaardt Named Captain

The year 2024 was a blockbuster one for women’s cricket, especially for the batters as we have witnessed multiple records being created and broken, signalling the changing landscape of the women’s game, setting a modern template of the way the game has been played in the women’s circuit.

In this article, we will have a look at the players who have excelled in terms of their performances in the year 2024 in the One Day International (ODI) format, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has named the Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

ICC ODI Team of the Year 2024 Announced, Laura Wolvaardt Named Captain
ICC ODI Team of the Year 2024 Announced, Laura Wolvaardt Named Captain

ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024:

Smriti Mandhana (India):

The Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana had a breakthrough year in the ODI format in the year 2024. She led the run-scoring charts by amassing over 700 runs (747 runs) at a strike rate of 95.15 and an impressive average of 57.46 in 13 innings with the bat for India in 2024. Her tally of runs included 3 half-centuries and 4 centuries. She also broke the record for scoring the most number of centuries in a calendar year in Women’s ODIs. Her best performance with the bat for her side in the format last year came on 19th June 2024 in the 2nd ODI of the series against South Africa when she scored a sensational century (136 off 120 balls) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru. It is also her career-best score in the format to date. She also picked up her maiden international wicket dismissing the former South African skipper Sune Luus in the same game. She’ll open the innings in ICC’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Laura Wolvaardt (C) (South Africa):

The South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt had an impressive year in the year on a personal note as a batter as well as a skipper in the ODI format. She led the Proteas side to memorable victories against Australia and England. She was the leading run-scorer for South Africa in the format and was overall the 2nd highest run-scorer in the format in 2024 with close to 700 runs (697 runs) at a strike rate of 87.34 and a mind-boggling average of 87.12 in 12 innings with the bat for her side in 2024.

Her tally of runs in the format included 3 half-centuries and 3 centuries in the format. Her best performance with the bat for her side in the format in the year came on 17th April 2024 in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka when she scored a mind-blowing unbeaten century (184* off 147 balls) at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom. However, unfortunately, it came on the losing side for her. She’ll be leading the side and opening the innings alongside India’s Smriti Mandhana for the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka):

The Sri Lankan skipper led from the front with the bat as well as with the ball for her side. She led her side to a memorable victory against South Africa when she smashed the opposition bowlers all over the park en route to her sensational unbeaten century (195* off 139 balls) to guide her side over the line in a famous run chase. She was also awarded the Player of the Match for her match-defining innings with the bat for her side. She ended the year as the leading run-scorer for her side and overall, the 5th highest run-scorer in the format with 458 runs at a strike rate of 101.10 and an impressive average of 65.42 in 9 innings with the bat for her side in the format in 2024. Her tally of runs in the format included a couple of half-centuries and a century in 2024.

Apart from her contributions with the bat, she was also very handy with the ball as she picked up 9 wickets at an impressive economy of 4.61 in 9 innings with the ball for her side in the format in 2024. She will come in at number 3 for ICC’s Team of the Year 2024.

Hayley Matthews (West Indies):

Though West Indies didn’t have a great year as a side in the format, with just 3 victories from 7 games in the format in 2024. However, the West Indian skipper Hayley Matthews almost single-handedly carried her side in the format and was lately aided by the return of the veteran all-rounder Deandra Dottin. She ended the year as the leading run-scorer for her side and the 4th-highest run-scorer with 469 runs at a strike rate of 88.32 and an outstanding average of 78.16 in 7 innings with the bat for her side in the format. Her tally of runs in the format included 3 centuries for her side. Her best performance with the bat for the West Indies came on 23rd April 2024 when she scored a brilliant century (141 off 149 balls) against Pakistan in the 3rd ODI at the National Stadium, Karachi. She was also awarded the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series for a sensational all-round show (325 runs with the bat and 6 wickets with the ball) for her side in the series.

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Apart from her exploits with the bat, she was also one of the stand-out performers with the ball as she picked up 9 wickets at an average of 29.88 and an economy of 4.63 in seven innings with the ball for her side. She’ll come in at number 4 in the ICC’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Marizanne Kapp (South Africa):

The veteran South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp played a crucial role with the bat as well as with the ball for South Africa in their success in the format in the year 2024. She ended the year as the 2nd highest run-scorer for the Proteas and the 6th highest run-scorer in the format with 449 runs at a strike rate of 88.56 and an impressive average of 44.90 in 12 innings with the bat for her side in the format. Her tally of runs in the format included 3 half-centuries and a century.

Her best performance with the bat for South Africa in the format in 2024 came on 19th June 2024 against India when she scored a brisk century (114 off 94 balls) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. However, unfortunately, her knock ended up on the losing side. Besides her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up 11 wickets at an impressive average of 15.63 and an economy of 3.59 in 8 innings with the ball for her side in the format in 2024. She’ll come in at number 5 in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Ashleigh Gardner (Australia):

The veteran Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner had a mixed-bag year, especially with the bat as she scored 269 runs at a strike rate of 88.77 and an impressive average of 29.88 in 10 innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs in the format included a couple of half-centuries, with her best performance with the bat for Australia in the format came on 23rd December 2024 in the 3rd ODI against New Zealand when she scored a brilliant half-century (74 off 62 balls) at the Basin Reserve, Wellington.

Besides her contributions with the bat, she was the leading wicket-taker for Australia and the 4th-highest wicket-taker with the ball in the format with 20 wickets at an impressive average of 15.55 and an economy of 4.07 in 12 innings with the ball for her side in the format. Her tally of wickets includes one five-wicket haul, which was also her maiden five-wicket haul in the format, that came against India (10-1-30-5) in her spell in the 3rd ODI at the W.A.C.A, Perth. She’ll come in at number 6 in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Annabel Sutherland (Australia):

The young 23-year-old rising all-rounder Annabel Sutherland had an impressive all-round outing in the year 2024. She stood up and had a great all-round impact for Australia in the format in 2024. She was the 5th highest wicket-taker for Australia with 13 wickets at an impressive average of 17.69 and an economy of 4.19 in 10 innings with the ball for her side in the format. Her best performance with the ball for her side in the format in the year 2024 came on 8th December 2024 against India when she returned with match figures of 8.5-0-39-4 in her spell in the 2nd ODI at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane.

Besides her impressive contributions with the ball, she was the leading run-scorer with the bat for Australia with 369 runs at a strike rate of 100.27 and an impressive average of 52.71 in 9 innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs included a half-century and a couple of half-centuries with the bat for her side. Her best performance with the bat for her side in the format came on 11th December 2024 in the 3rd ODI when she scored a brilliant century (110 off 95 balls) against India at the W.A.C.A. Perth. She was awarded the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series for her brilliant all-round performance (122 runs with the bat and picked up 6 wickets with the ball). She will come in at number 7 in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Amy Jones (WK) (England):

The experienced wicket-keeper batter from England had an impressive year with the bat as well as with the gloves in hand behind the stumps in the format. She was the 2nd highest run-scorer for England and the 8th highest run-scorer in the format with 382 runs at a strike rate of 107.60 and an impressive average of 63.66 in 9 innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs included 3 half-centuries with her best performance in the format in the year for England came on 1st April 2024 in the 1st ODI against New Zealand when she scored a brilliant unbeaten half-century (92* off 83 balls) to guide her side over the line in the run chase at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. She was also awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning innings with the bat for her side. She’ll come in at number 8 in ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

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Deepti Sharma (India):

The experienced Indian all-rounder Deepti Bhagwan Sharma was the stand-out performer especially with the ball for India in the format in 2024. She was leading the wicket-taking charts with 24 wickets at an impressive average of 19.83 and an economy of 4.49 in 12 innings with the ball in the ODI format in 2024. Her tally of wickets included one five-wicket haul against the West Indies on the 27th of December 2024, when she returned with sensational match figures of 10-3-31-6 in her spell in the 3rd ODI at the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, which also happened to be her best performance with the ball in the format for India in the year 2024. Besides her exploits with the ball, she scored 186 runs at a strike rate of 75.30 and an impressive average of 31 in 10 innings with the bat for her side in the format in 2024. She will come in at number 9 in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Sophie Ecclestone (England):

The experienced spin-bowling all-rounder from England, Sophie Ecclestone. She had a sensational year with the ball as she was the leading wicket-taker for England and the 2nd highest wicket-taker in the format with 21 wickets at an impressive average of 12.71 and an impressive economy of 3.08 in 10 innings with the ball for her side in the format in 2024. Her tally of wickets included one five wicket-haul on 30th January 2024 against New Zealand in the 2nd ODI when she returned with impressive match figures of 9-3-25-5 in her spell at County Ground, New Road, Worcester. It was also her best performance with the ball for England in the ODI format in the year 2024. Besides her exploits with the ball, she could be a very handy contributor with the bat lower down the order for any side she is a part of. She will come in at number 10 in ICC’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

Kate Cross (England):

The veteran pacer from England displayed her range of variations and experience and led the attack brilliantly in the ODI format for England in 2024 and also provided her with a kind of a 2nd wind to her career in white-ball cricket. She was the 3rd highest wicket-taker with the ball for England and the 5th highest wicket-taker in the format with 19 wickets at an impressive average of 18 and an economy of 3.90 in 13 innings with the ball for her side. Her tally of wickets included one five-wicket haul against Ireland in the 1st ODI of the series on 7th September 2024 when she returned with mind-blowing match figures of 9.5-0-30-6 in her spell at the Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, Belfast. It is also her career-best spell in the format to date. She’ll come in at number 11 in the ICC’s ODI Team of the Year 2024.

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