Alyssa Healy, Nat Sciver nominated for ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022

• Australia’s Alyssa Healy nominated for ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of Year 2022.
• Amelia started her ODI career with three half-centuries and a century.
• She continued her fine form during New Zealand’s World Cup campaign.

The ODI World Cup champions of this year, England all-rounder Nat Sciver and Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, were named on Thursday as ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022 nominees. Along with the pair, leg-spinner Amelia Kerr of New Zealand and tearaway South African bowler Shabnim Ismail have also been nominated for the award.

However, 2022 was all about the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand, which got underway at the beginning of March. Alyssa’s year of 50-over cricket began in Canberra during Australia’s triumphant Ashes campaign against England. The Australian team’s debutant scored a respectable 28 against England in Hamilton before smashing Pakistan for 72 runs in Mount Maunganui.

She then posted a pair of poor totals (15 against New Zealand and three against the West Indies), but in Australia’s critical group encounter against India in Auckland, the 32-year-old smashed a significant 72 from just 65 deliveries.

Alyssa, a right-hander, excelled during the intense knockout rounds, scoring back-to-back hundreds in the semifinal and championship match, where she struck a career-high 170 from just 138 balls, to help Australia win its eighth World Cup.

It is hardly surprising that she was voted Player of the Series in the ODI World Cup after finishing the competition with a staggering 509 runs at an impressive average of 56.

As she broke five half-centuries and two centuries to add to her already stellar résumé, Nat had a 2022 to remember. During the Women’s ODI World Cup, Nat helped herself to a team-best 436 runs, including a career-best 148 not out in the final, which came in a losing cause. The most of the huge scores occurred during that tournament.

As if her World Cup achievements weren’t impressive enough, Nat returned from a little hiatus in December to assist England in sweeping the West Indies 3-0. She scored knocks of 90 and 85 throughout the series, finishing as the series’ top run scorer with an impressive 180 runs at an average of 60.

Amelia developed some new consistency in her ODI performance in 2022, and her performances with bat and ball now clearly place her among the top players in the sport. In the five-match series against India in Queenstown that was played before the start of the Women’s ODI World Cup, she produced three half-centuries and a century, kicking off the year in brilliant form.

While the home World Cup left New Zealand feeling a little underwhelmed, Amelia was a model of consistency, scoring 204 runs overall and taking nine wickets to keep up her incredible run of form.

While the 22-year-old was scarcely needed with the bat during the White Ferns’ most recent home series against Bangladesh, more runs came her way during New Zealand’s September tour to the West Indies.

After picking up back-to-back four-wicket hauls during South Africa’s home series against the West Indies, Shabnim’s 2022 got off to a strong start. She continued on those efforts to become one of the most reliable players throughout the ODI World Cup in New Zealand.

The 34-year-old took 14 victims for the competition at a rate of of 17.50, and the Proteas’ outstanding performance of 3/27 against the tournament’s hosts in Hamilton was crucial in advancing them to the semi-finals.

After the World Cup, she kept up her excellent play during the away series against Ireland in Dublin, where she even picked up the second five-wicket haul of her illustrious ODI career.

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