HIGHLIGHTS:
- India’s Smriti Manadhana has been named the ICC Women Cricketer of the Year for 2021.
- She received the Rachael Heyhoe award for best female cricketer in 2018.
What is in the News?
India’s Smriti Manadhana has been named the ICC Women Cricketer of the Year for 2021. She is the world’s second female player to win the trophy. Australia’s Ellyse Perry was the first woman to win the award.
In relation to the prize
As part of the ICC Awards ceremony, the ICC Women Cricketer of the Year is presented. In 2017, the award was renamed the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award. Rachael Heyhoe Flint is a cricketer who is a woman. Between 1966 and 1978, she was the captain of the British cricket team.
The award was first given out in 2006. It determines the best international cricketer based on their performances over a 12-month period. The award was given in a single category called “Women’s Player of the Year” from 2006 to 2011. Separate categories for One Day and T20 cricket were created in 2017.
Smriti Mandhana
Smriti plays cricket for the Indian team. She received the Rachael Heyhoe award for best female cricketer in 2018. She was born in a Marwari family in 1996. Her father and brother were both cricket players. They were the ones who sparked her interest in cricket. In 2017, Mandhana joined the national team. In 2017, she was a member of the World Cup team. Smriti was named the team’s captain in 2019. She was named the CEAT International Woman Cricketer of the Year in 2019. She was the third-fastest cricketer in WODI history to score 2000 runs.
ICC Women’s One-Day International Cricketer of the Year
South Africa’s Lizelle Lee has been named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2021. Lee has a 90.28 average. In eleven matches, she had scored 632 runs. Lee was instrumental in South Africa’s victory over India in March 2021. Lee hit 288 runs in the test series against India, leading the side to victory. Lee was named the series’ Player of the Year.
