Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland wins ICC Women's Player of the Month for February 2024

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced that Australia's star all-rounder Annabel Sutherland has been named the ICC Women's Player of the Month for February 2024. With the top honour, Sutherland became the fifth player from Australia to win the ICC Women's Player of the Month Award after Alyssa Healy, Rachael Haynes, Tahlia McGrath and Ashleigh Gardner.

Sutherland triumphed over Esha Oza and Kavisha Egodage of the United Arab Emirates to win the coveted prize. Sutherland scored 229 runs and claimed seven wickets in four matches in February 2024.

The 22-year-old was thrilled to collect her maiden Player of the Month award. "It's a massive honour to be named the Player of the Month and a nice way to cap off a successful home summer for the team. South Africa are always a strong opponent and to be able to perform against them in a home Test is something I'm proud of.

Test cricket is always a highlight and to have been able to contribute toward winning that match was really special," Sutherland said as quoted by ICC. With her epic double century in the one-shot Test match against South Africa, Sutherland completely changed the course of history. Sutherland helped Australia win the ODI series, which the hosts won 2-1, prior to the Test series.

The adaptable all-rounder made significant runs in addition to taking two wickets. Sutherland found that switching to the Test format was fortunate. Choosing to bowl first, Australia quickly eliminated South Africa for a mere 76 runs, as Sutherland's medium-fast pace took out Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, and Delmi Tucker, destroying the Proteas middle order.