The New Zealand captain Suzie Bates has become the first cricketer to clinch both the ICC Women's one-day and T20 Player of the Year awards.
White Ferns captain Suzie Bates Photo: Photosport
In the past 12 months, which included the ICC Women's World Twenty20 in India and the ICC Women's Championship, Bates scored 472 runs in eight ODIs at an average of just over 94.
She also took eight wickets at an economy-rate of 3.75.
In the shortest format of the game, Bates was the leading run-scorer with 429 runs at an average of 42.90 and a strike-rate of over 115 runs per 100 balls.
A delighted Bates said from Perth, where she plays for the Scorchers in Australia's Big Bash T20 competition, that winning the two awards is an honour.
"It was a bit of a surprise to find out that I had won both these awards. It is always nice to be recognised for performances and after a busy year of cricket, I am pleased to have managed some consistency over both formats.
"The awards are always nice but the most important thing for me is to make sure I am performing consistently and helping put the team in a position to win more games.
"For the past one-and-a-half years, our team has been performing very well and lots of different players have stood up and performed under pressure. It is heartening to see that the team is doing very well going into the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 which will be held in England and Wales."
Bates captained New Zealand in the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 where her side reached the semi-finals, while she also inspired the White Ferns to a third-place finish in the ICC Women's Championship which earned them an automatic qualification for next year's ICC Women's World Cup 2017.
Bates has also been named in the ICC Women's Team of the Year 2016.
Apart from Bates, the side also includes two other New Zealanders - wicket-keeper Rachel Priest and off-spinner Leigh Kasperek.
-RNZ
