Rachin Ravindra, Hayley Matthews crowned ICC Players of the Month for October 2023
New Delhi: New Zealand’s rising all-rounder Rachin Ravindra and West Indies captain, all-rounder Hayley Matthews have been crowned as the winners of the ICC Players of the Month awards for October 2023.
Ravindra claimed his first ICC Men’s Player of the Month award thanks to a series of memorable innings in the group stages of the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India. On the other hand, the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for October has been awarded to Hayley, who led the way from the front with impressive individual performances in West Indies’ white-ball matches in Australia.
Ravindra beat India’s Jasprit Bumrah and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock to win the award, while Mathews was crowned the winner from a shortlist that also included Bangladesh’s Nahida Akhtar and New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr.
The 23-year-old Ravindra has been in great form during New Zealand’s explosive start to their ODI World Cup campaign. Despite playing only 12 ODIs before the start of the tournament, Ravindra quickly grabbed the headlines after scoring a brilliant unbeaten 123 in a nine-wicket tournament-opening win over defending champions England in Ahmedabad.
He continued to score stylish half-centuries against the Netherlands (51) and India (75), before his next century came in a thriller against Australia in Dharamsala – scoring 116 off 89 balls and taking New Zealand closer to the mammoth target of 389. Gave. Before eventually falling five runs short. Overall, Ravindra scored 406 runs at an average of 81.20 during his six matches in October 2023.
“I am very grateful to win this award. It has been a special month individually and for the team. To be able to play the World Cup in India has been incredibly special. Being supported by the team helps a lot, plus you can go out there with a lot more freedom and play your natural game. The fortunate thing is that the wickets are really good to bat on, which suits my game in terms of being positive and taking the game forward,” said Ravindra.
Hayley, on the other hand, claimed her second ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after a stellar performance in her team’s T20I series against defending world champions Australia. The top-ranked all-rounder in the Women’s T20I Player Rankings consistently thwarted the home team with power-hitting and crucial wickets on her way to the Player of the Series award.
Despite losing the first match in North Sydney by eight wickets, captain Healey scored an unbeaten 99 at the top of the order and also took the prized wicket of Alyssa Healy during Australia’s response.
She then produced her best performance – scoring an unbeaten 132 off 64 balls (20 fours and five sixes) as Australia chased down 213 to seal a fascinating win after taking the wickets of Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath and Annabel Sutherland. of. , The captain scored another half-century (79) in the final match, ending the month with 310 runs in the series at an average of 155.
“I am extremely grateful to have been awarded the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October. I love wearing the West Indies jersey. Whenever I wear maroon and gold, it definitely adds an extra layer where you can go out there and perform well.
“Not only for you and the team, but also knowing how much cricket means to the people of the Caribbean and how much it can bring people together. It was very special to go to Australia and perform the way I did, but knowing how many people I was able to bring smiles to the faces of back home in the Caribbean, that’s what means the most to me,” said Hayley.
