New Zealand's Suzie Bates has become the first cricketer to clinch both the ICC Women's ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards, which were announced in Dubai on Wednesday.
Based on the 12 months period between 14 September 2015 and 20 September 2016, which included the ICC Women's World Twenty20 India 2016 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: "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."
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated Bates, saying: "Suzie is a well-deserved recipient of the ICC Women's ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards, maintaining strong and consistent performances across both formats of the game throughout the 12-month period under consideration.
"Next year promises to be the biggest yet in women's cricket history with the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 in the United Kingdom. We look forward to watching Suzie and the other stars of the women's game on the biggest stage of them all."
Besides, India batswoman Smriti Mandhana has been named in the Women's Team of the Year.