Tahlia McGrath hailed her accolade as the ICC Women’s Twenty20 International Cricketer of the Year as a “special” accolade following her impressive run in 2022.
Key points:
- Tahlia McGrath captained Australia for the first time last year
- McGrath first played for Australia in 2016 but did not make his T20 debut until late 2021.
- The overall male and female cricketers of the year are yet to be announced
McGrath scored 435 runs in 16 matches at an average of 62.14 and took 13 wickets for the year, ahead of India star Smriti Mandhana, Pakistan all-rounder Nida Dar and New Zealand captain Sophie Devi to win the prestigious award.
The award is a remarkable rise for the 27-year-old from Adelaide, who first played for Australia in ODIs in 2016 but only made his T20I debut in October 2021.
She started 2022 with an unbeaten 91 off just 49 balls and took three wickets against England and ended the year with more exceptional performances on the tour of India, where she captained Australia for the first time in the absence of Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy.
“It’s an absolute honor to win it,” McGrath said, reflecting that it was his highlight He won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birminghamduring which he scored 128 runs at an average of 42.66.
“I’m very lucky to play in the team I do and I’m lucky to play with some of the best players in the world. It’s pretty special.”
McGrath’s teammate Darcie Brown missed out on the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award after being shortlisted, with the award going to another pace prospect, India’s Renuka Singh.
The men’s equivalent award went to South Africa’s 22-year-old bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen, ahead of India’s Arshdeep Singh, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and New Zealand’s Finn Allen.
Jansen, a 2.08m paceman, has made his biggest impact so far in Test cricket but will next aim to upset England in the ODI series starting in Johannesburg on Friday.
India’s white-ball sensation Suryakumar Yadav, with two centuries and nine half-centuries, was named the T20I men’s player of the year as the only player to score more than 1,000 runs in the format in 2022.
The final major awards will be announced on Thursday, with Australia’s Beth Mooney, England’s Nat Sciver, India’s Smriti Mandhana and New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr all shortlisted for women’s cricketer of the year.
England Test captain Ben Stokes is the hot favorite to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for men’s cricketer of the year ahead of Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Tim Southee.
AAP