Smriti Mandhana, Nonkululeko Mlaba, and Annabel Sutherland Nominated for ICC Women’s Player of the Month (December)

The ICC has revealed the shortlist for the Women’s Player of the Month for December, which includes Smriti Mandhana from India, Annabel Sutherland from Australia, and Nonkululeko Mlaba from South Africa. All these three players performed exceptionally well in the last month to earn their nominations.

Smriti Mandhana: India's Star Batter

Mandhana in December was phenomenal; she smashed everything that came her way. In three T20 International matches against West Indies, she scored 193 runs at an average of 64.33 with her best score being 77 runs. In ODIs, she carried on with her good performance and was batting well getting 270 runs in six matches with an average of 45 including a century against Australia at the WACA ground in Perth. This century was her fourth ODI hundred in 2023 and it also helped her to break the record for the most number of centuries in Women’s ODIs in a calendar year.

She has performed well throughout the tour especially making crucial innings against tough opponents like Australia and the West Indies which proves why she is among the top batters in women’s cricket.

Annabel Sutherland: Australia’s All-Round Sensation

Annabel Sutherland showed that she is an important player for the Australian team. In five ODIs, she made 269 runs and had an average of 67.25, two centuries, 110 against India in Perth and 105 against New Zealand without being out.

However, Sutherland didn’t only perform with the bat. She also impressed in the bowling department by taking nine wickets in December alone with her best haul of 4/39 against India. It is due to her all-round performances that Australia did not lose an ODI match in December and also clinched the number one position in the ICC Women’s Championship points table.

Nonkululeko Mlaba: South Africa’s Bowling Hero

Nonkululeko Mlaba made history in December when she became the first South African woman to take a ten-wicket haul in a Women’s Test. This was during the one-off test against England in Bloemfontein and even though South Africa lost the match

Though her Test match was quite remarkable, her performances in the ODIs were rather average; she only managed to get 20 runs and take 2 wickets in three matches. Though her historic bowling performance earned her a deserving nomination she had to withdraw from the race due to injury.

Who Deserves the Award?

This month's award is going to be a close call. Smriti Mandhana's steady run-scoring, Annabel Sutherland's all-round heroics, and Nonkululeko Mlaba's historic Test performance have been outstanding in their own respective ways. Each of the cricketers has been doing their best for their country and cricket fans across the world are all set to see who will bring home the coveted honor.

No matter who wins, one thing is sure: women's cricket is at an all-time high, and these three stars are leading the charge.