Amelia Kerr of New Zealand has been named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October 2024. She won the title by defeating Deandra Dottin of the West Indies and Laura Wolvaardt, the captain of South Africa. Kerr had an outstanding international career, playing a key role in her team’s first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup victory in the United Arab Emirates. She was New Zealand’s third-top run-scorer in the competition. Kerr scored 135 runs at a decent average of 27.00 in six innings for her team.
Amelia Kerr Sets New ICC Record
Aside from her successes with the bat, Kerr was the leading wicket-taker for her team. She also topped the tournament wicket-taking records with 15 wickets at a strike rate of 9.06 and an average of 7.33. Also, the economy rate was 4.85 in six innings with the ball. During the tournament against Australia on October 8, 2024, at the Sharjah Cricket Ground, she performed best with the ball, returning with outstanding match stats (4-0-26-4). Amelia Kerr also beat the record for most wickets (15 wickets) in the history of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
This event was previously led by Anya Shrubsole of England (13 wickets) in the tournament’s fourth edition in 2014, which Bangladesh hosted. Due to her crucial all-around contributions, Kerr was also selected “Player of the Match” in the final versus South Africa. She returned with good match stats (4-0-24-3) with the ball during the time she played, having scored 43 runs (38 balls) with the bat. Because of her overall performance during the tournament, 135 runs with the bat and 15 wickets with the ball, she was also voted “Player of the Tournament.”
Kerr’s Strong Bowling Start
After the completion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, India welcomed New Zealand for a three match ODI series. Kerr picked up where she left off in the Women’s T20 World Cup, bowling a fantastic stint (9-1-42-4) for her team. Aside from her contributions, she overcame an injury to come out at number 9. Plus, Kerr struck an unbeaten (25* off 23 balls) with the bat, but it wasn’t enough to help her team win the first ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. She was declared out for the rest of the series due to a quadriceps injury.
Youngest Player With Huge Milestones
Kerr was the youngest player to hit a double century in all formats of ICC international cricket at the age of 17 years old and 243 days. In addition, she took five wickets in the same game. Three months later, she signed a central contract with New Zealand Cricket. It made her the youngest female cricket player to represent New Zealand in the World Cup Internationals. Despite New Zealand’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2017 World Cup, Kerr finished as the team’s joint-highest wicket-taker with 10 from six games. Amelia Kerr also played for the Southern Vipers in the ECB’s Kia Super League.
Final Thoughts
Kerr was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October after she scored 160 runs and claimed 19 wickets in just seven games. Bates and Devine, 37 and 35 years old, respectively, celebrated New Zealand’s first T20 World Cup victory in Dubai. Kerr, who was 24 at the time, was the ideal link between their generation and a group of young people that New Zealand hopes will continue their legacy. With a T20 century at the Basin Reserve, Kerr became the only player to have made two. She was also a player in the tournament and the final match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
