Dubai: Star batters Laura Wolvaardt and Shafali Verma, along with South Africa’s influential all-rounder Sune Luus, have been shortlisted for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for December 2025 following outstanding performances in the last month of the year.
Fresh off a commanding campaign in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, Wolvaardt continued to showcase her brilliance, rounding off a remarkable year by registering three centuries across formats. Leading South Africa against Ireland, the Proteas captain was in sensational form as her side completed clean sweeps in both the ODI (3-0) and T20I (2-0) series.
Wolvaardt was at her destructive best in the opening T20I, blasting an unbeaten 115 at a staggering strike rate of 205.35, an innings studded with 15 boundaries and four sixes. Her dominance carried into the ODI series, where she opened the batting and played a key role throughout. After a steady 31 in the first match, she struck back-to-back centuries, hammering 124 off 111 balls in the second ODI before finishing unbeaten on 100 in the final game to seal the whitewash.
Across the three ODIs, Wolvaardt accumulated 255 runs at a remarkable average of 127.50 and a strike rate of 111.84. In the T20I series, she scored 137 runs at a blistering strike rate of 190.27, losing her wicket only once.
India’s Shafali Verma was equally explosive during the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, consistently providing aggressive starts as India cruised to a dominant 5-0 series victory on home soil.
After a quiet outing in the series opener, Verma found her rhythm from the second match, smashing an unbeaten 69 to guide India in a comfortable chase. She followed it up with another unbeaten knock of 79 in the third T20I, helping India wrap up the chase inside 14 overs. Her most destructive performance came in the fourth T20I, where she forged a record-breaking partnership with Smriti Mandhana, India’s highest for any wicket in women’s T20Is, and struck a rapid 79 off 46 balls as India posted their highest-ever T20I total of 221.
Verma finished the series with 241 runs from five matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 181.20 and an average of 80.33, earning the Player of the Series award for her match-winning contributions.
South African all-rounder Sune Luus also enjoyed a standout month, delivering crucial performances with both bat and ball as South Africa completed comprehensive whitewashes over Ireland in both formats.
Luus produced a brilliant all-round display in the first T20I, scoring 81 while opening the batting and then claiming four wickets. She followed it up with a vital 37 in the second match as South Africa posted a commanding total of 201. Her influence grew further in the ODI series, where she top-scored with an unbeaten 66 in the opening match and also picked up a wicket. In the second ODI, Luus registered her second ODI century, striking 114 off 113 balls and adding another wicket to her tally.
Across the two ODIs, Luus amassed 205 runs at an impressive average of 102.50 and a strike rate of 98.55, while also taking four wickets at an economy rate of 4.97. In the T20Is, she contributed 118 runs at a strike rate of 157.33 and claimed four wickets at an economy of 6.42, underlining her value as a dominant all-rounder throughout December.
(IANS)
