‘Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award’ goes to Nat Sciver for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2022

• Nat Sciver wins Rachael Flint Award for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2022.
• She follows Charlotte  and Claire as third England player to get honour.
• Amelia Kerr and Australia’s Beth Mooney were also nominated.

Nat Sciver, an all-rounder for England, won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2022 due to her consistency in all three formats. She follows Charlotte Edwards (2008) and Claire Taylor as the third England player to get the honour (2009).

Aside from leg-spin all-rounder Amelia Kerr of New Zealand and left-handed opener Beth Mooney of Australia, the other three nominees for the award were left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana of India, who had previously won it in 2021 and 2018.

Nat, a seam-bowling all-rounder, led England for a large portion of their home summer while Heather Knight was out with a hip injury that required surgery. In 33 matches across all forms, Nat scored 1346 runs and claimed 22 wickets.

“I’ve been really happy with my form this year. “It’s weird to think that the World Cup was this year too. The two centuries in the World Cup were really special, and the Test match innings against South Africa was brilliant too.”

“As cricketers we are perfectionists and often remember the negative things that have happened so it’s hard to remember all the good things but there have been some great memories and highlights,” said Nat after picking up yet another award for her 2022 performances – the England PCA Player of the Year Award.

She had a spectacular Women’s ODI World Cup campaign, scoring two breathtaking rearguard hundreds against Australia in both the league stage and the championship match. Sciver struck an undefeated 109 from 85 balls in England’s opening encounter of the competition, but they still lost 12 runs short of their target of 311.

Then, in the championship, Sciver made an astounding 148 runs off just 121 balls as England once more attempted to chase down a massive 356 total. Nat entered the game with England in trouble at 38/2 and stayed there until the end, causing the bowlers to lose focus with her eye-catching strokes. In her innings, the all-rounder hammered 15 fours and a six, and if it weren’t for some miscues, her team might have won the World Cup.

She placed ahead of the Australian duo but behind Alyssa and Rachael Haynes in the overall run charts for the competition. Nat amassed 833 runs in 50 overs of cricket overall, averaging just under 60, and even recorded a career-high 4/59 against South Africa.

As if her World Cup accomplishments weren’t impressive enough, Nat helped England defeat the West Indies 3-0 in the Caribbean in December after taking a brief vacation to take care of her mental health. 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.

Her performance in England’s two Test matches against Australia and South Africa saw her score 242 over three innings, which was nearly as outstanding as her Test statistics. In Canberra, a second-innings half-century nearly gave England a historic victory over Australia, and in Taunton, an undefeated 169 against South Africa earned her Player of the Match honours.

Nat scored 271 runs at an average of nearly 27 in 14 T20Is, including the first Women’s T20 competition at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games tournament.

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