ICC announces nominees of Women's Player of the Month for April 2023

DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the women's 'Player of the Month' nominees for April 2023. Thailand's Naruemol Chaiwai, UAE's Kavisha Egodage and Zimbabwe bowler Kelis Ndlovu are being selected for the 'Player of the Month' award.

32-year-old Chaiwai has proved herself as a reliable middle-order batter for Thailand with exceptional performances in the ODI series win against Zimbabwe, as per the ICC release.

The right-hander scored two unbeaten half-centuries in the 3-0 series win. She played a fighting knock of 57*, lifting her team from a precarious position of 21/4 and helping them post a decent total of 154.

Thailand later managed to close out a 78-run victory, with the visiting Zimbabweans skittled out for just 76. In the T20I series, Chaiwai single-handedly helped the hosts chase down a total of 113 with an unbeaten 53.

The Thailand batter was also adjudged the Payer of the Series' for her stellar contributions in the 3-match T20I series. She scored 29 in the second T20I, helping Thailand win by five wickets. Kavisha Egodage, meanwhile, scored 236 runs across eight T20Is, playing in different conditions against different oppositions.

Egodage was in a blazing run of form in Uganda, in the Victoria Series in Kampala, and was the tournament's highest run-getter with 112 runs at an average of 56.

The 20-year-old scored 44* against Tanzania, before making 38 against hosts Uganda and 30 against Rwanda, all at the Lugogo Ground.

UAE then travelled to Namibia to compete in the four-team Capricorn Series, where Egodage was next only to Theertha Satish in terms of the total runs scored in the tournament.

Making two consecutive scores of 30 at the start of the tournament, Egodage went on to make a half-century against Uganda. Zimbabwe's Kelis Ndlovu, making her debut for the senior team after excellent individual performances in U19 Women's T20 World Cup campaign, shone with the ball.

Featuring against Thailand in the ODI and T20I series, Ndlovu made a big impression in the 50-over format, claiming 5/22 (9) at Terdthai Cricket Club in Bangkok. Ndlovu almost turned the tide for Zimbabwe in the second ODI, taking three wickets in quick succession as Thailand stumbled from 100/0 to 104/3.

She finished with impressive figures of 3/17 as Thailand were all out for 217. However, the Zimbabweans were unable to reach the target. Ndlovu claimed 2/19 (8) in the final ODI, picking up a total of 9 scalps, which was the most across both teams for the series.

The starlet took her form into the T20Is, taking a further 4 wickets at an economy rate of 7.60. Her 2/28 (4) helped Zimbabwe to their only win on the tour. Further efforts with the ball, which saw her record figures of 1/19 and 1/29, strengthened her case for the monthly accolade.