Dubai: Pakistan opening batter Sidra Ameen on Monday was named as ICC Women’s Player of the Month for posting mammoth scores in the recent successful ODI series against Ireland on home soil in November.
Sidra claims her inaugural ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after beating two other prolific batters in the global vote – Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham and Ireland’s Gaby Lewis, who both piled on the runs in their respective matches during the month.
“I would like to dedicate this award to my parents and to everyone who has always supported me and prayed for my success. My performance with the bat against Ireland which helped the side claim the sweep over Ireland in the ODI series at home will always remain close to my heart,” she said on winning the honour.
Amassing 277 runs through the series and only being dismissed once, Sidra started the month with her highest score in ODIs, a remarkable 176 not out, as the hosts claimed a convincing 128-run victory in the first match.
Ireland’s bowlers were left equally powerless to stop Sidra in the second ODI, as she posted another unbeaten score of 91 from 93 balls, this time to chase down the target in a nine-wicket victory.
“Individually, this year has been great for me, I have scored three ODIs centuries and all coming this year. And to top it off, ending the year by winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for November is just amazing,” she added.
Despite finally losing her wicket in the third ODI, Sidra walked away with the Player of the Series award to cap off a memorable series, and a successful run of performances in 2022. She is also the second successive winner of the prize from Pakistan after off-spin all-rounder Nida Dar won back in October.
“I feel great to have won this award. It is also special following my teammate Nida Dar who won the award for October. This shows our team has displayed some great performances in the past few months in international cricket,” stated Sidra.
Pakistan’s next international assignment will be tour of Australia in January, before turning their focus towards Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa from February 10-26. “When you get an opportunity to score a hundred it is a special moment, but for Sidra to go on and make it a big one, 176 and then to back it up with 91 in the very next match, this shows not only that she has the skills, but she has the temperament,” said Lisa Sthalekar, ICC Hall of Famer and member of the voting panel.
