Yashasvi Jaiswal, Annabel Sutherland named ICC Player of the Month for February

Dubai, March 12 (IANS) India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2024 while Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland won the corresponding ICC Women’s Player of the Month award.

For Yashasvi Jaiswal, the month was a canvas upon which he painted his brilliance with the strokes of his bat. Jaiswal was on top of his performance with a double-century (209) in the first inning of the second Test at Visakhapatnam and then slammed his second double-hundred of the series in the second inning (214) of the third Test.

Jaiswal scored 560 runs in his first three Tests, including an astonishing 20 sixes. Jaiswal’s innings helped India make a comeback in the series after losing the first Test. The back-to-back double hundreds at the age of 22 years and 49 days made him the third youngest batter in the world to record two double centuries in Tests after Sir Donald Bradman and Vinod Kambli.

“I’m really happy to achieve the ICC award and I hope I will be getting more in the future,” Jaiswal said to ICC. “It’s one of the best and this is my first five-match series series. I really enjoyed it, the way I have played and the way it’s been and we won the series by 4-1. It’s been an incredible experience with all my mates And I really enjoyed it,” he added.

Jaiswal also rated his Rajkot knock of 214* as his crowning achievement. “I think when I celebrated my double century in Rajkot, I think that was something which I really enjoyed and felt. And I was, I was living,” he added.

The young Indian opener created several records in February and equalled the long-standing Test record for most sixes in a Test inning (12) during his Rajkot knock. To his credit, he carried his form into March, reaching the milestone of 1,000 Test runs, becoming the second-quickest Indian to the landmark.

Meanwhile, Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland became the fifth Australian player to claim the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award, joining the esteemed ranks of previous winners Alyssa Healy, Rachael Haynes, Tahlia McGrath and Ashleigh Gardner. Sutherland rewrote the record books with her marathon double century in the one-off Test against South Africa. Her blistering knock of 210, achieved in just 248 balls, set a new benchmark for the fastest double century in Women’s cricket surpassing fellow Australian Karen Rolton (306 balls).

“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,” Sutherland said to ICC. “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,” she added.

Sutherland joined an elite group as the ninth woman to score a double hundred in a Test and the fifth Australian overall. At the age of 22, she became the second youngest double centurion in Test cricket, trailing only Mithali Raj, who achieved the feat at 19 years old.

Sutherland was eventually dismissed for 210, just three runs short of Ellyse Perry’s 213*, the highest score in Women’s Test cricket by an Australian. She also took five wickets in the match and was awarded Player of the Match for her performance as Australia recorded a massive win by an innings and 284 runs.

–IANS

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