Amelia Kerr wins ICC Player of the Month for February

Women's CricZone Staff

14 Mar 2022 00:00 IST

New Update

Moments you want to play are ones where you bowl the last over or hit the winning runs: Amelia Kerr — Amelia Kerr © Getty Images

Amelia Kerr, New Zealand allrounder, has been awarded the ICC Player of the Month for the month of February on the back of her phenomenal performances with both bat and ball in the recently culminated series against India at home. She started the tour by scoring 17 runs and then bagged a two-fer in the only T20I that saw the White Ferns defeat the visitors by 18 runs and went on to stamp her authority on the ODI series.

The ODI series was convincingly dominated by New Zealand as they routed India 4-1 and Kerr played a massive role in it. She racked up 353 runs in the five-match series at a jaw-dropping average of 117.67 and made life extremely difficult for the Indian bowling attack. She scored an unbeaten century and three half-centuries during the course of the series and was adjudged the Player of the Match in the second and fourth ODI respectively. In addition to that, the 21-year old allrounder also recorded seven dismissals against her name with an economy rate of 5.78.

Kerr trumped fellow nominees in India skipper Mithali Raj and allrounder Deepti Sharma to win the award. Having only featured in 50 ODIs, these are still early days in her career but the kind of performances she has delivered of late have made her the talk of the town.

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“Amelia Kerr is growing into her role as a genuine allrounder in the New Zealand team,” said former Ireland cricketer Isobel Joyce, who was part of the voting panel.

“She’s been a world-class leg spinner for a number of years, but now her batting adds even more value to her spot in the team and makes her one of the best cricketers in the world."

With the World Cup being contested right now, Kerr holds paramount importance in the New Zealand's setup and will be expected to put up some astounding performances to help her side emulate the success of Emily Drumm's team. She has scored 111 runs and bagged five wickets in the four games that the hosts have played so far.

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