DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Team of the Year recognized 11 remarkable performers who shone in 2023, whether with the bat, the ball, or their all-around performances.
Phoebe Litchfield (Australia
Phoebe Litchfield, 20, made a great debut in international cricket this year, scoring 485 runs in ODIs. She was the second-highest run-getter in women’s ODIs this year, averaging 53.8 with the bat, including a century and four fifties.
With an impressive first year, Litchfield earned out a position for herself on an Australian team stacked with superstars. She began her ODI career with back-to-back half-centuries, but she saved her best for late in the year, when she stood out on her debut tour of India.
Litchfield scored 78 and 63 in the first two games of the series, earning the Player of the Series honor. In addition, she scored her first ODI century against Ireland this year.
In four of the 14 ODIs she played this year, the budding phenomenon was named Player of the Match.
Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
Chamari Athapaththu excelled as an ODI player throughout the year.
Her greatest performance came in the series decider against New Zealand, when she hit a magnificent unbeaten 140 off only 80 balls, leading her country to a historic triumph after a rocky start in the chase.
She also led Sri Lanka to a 1-0 series triumph against Bangladesh.
Athapaththu’s outstanding performance during the year saw her score 415 runs in just eight ODIs, averaging 69.16 and scoring at a pace of more than 125. She is one of two openers in the Women’s ODI Team of the Year.
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Although Ellyse Perry was unable to add to her career ODI century total in 2023, she had a fantastic year, scoring five fifties in ten innings.
Perry was Australia’s leading run-scorer in the Women’s Ashes in England, scoring 185 runs in three One-Day International innings, including two fifties and another in the forties.
The senior Australian player once again played an important part in the series in India, firing off half-centuries in the first two games.
The other players include,
Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
Beth Mooney (wk) (Australia)
Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)
Ash Gardner (Australia)
Annabel Sutherland (Australia)
Nadine de Klerk (South Africa)
Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand)
Nahida Akter (Bangladesh)
