The ICC has announced the Women’s ODI team of the year 2024 naming South Africa’s talented player Laura Wolvaardt the captain. She was one of the most in-form batters last year smashing 697 runs in 12 matches for her country and has been among the shortlists for the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award as well.
She will be accompanied by India’s Smriti Mandhana who had a dream year in ODIs in 2024. She amassed 747 runs in 13 ODIs last year scoring back-to-back centuries against South Africa. Overall, she notched up five centuries in a year climbing the list of players with most tons in ODIs. Chamari Athapaththu, Hayley Matthews and Marizanne Kapp form the strongest middle-order of this team.
All three players are capable all-rounders and arguably the best batters of this generation as well. Athapaththu scored 458 runs last year and picked up nine wickets in nine matches while Mathews also smashed 469 runs apart from accounting for nine scalps in seven ODIs played in 2024.
Kapp didn’t have a great year with the bat mustering 114 runs but she picked up 12 wickets in 11 matches. Ashleigh Gardner is a proper all-rounder picked in ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year having scored 269 runs and picked 20 wickets in 12 ODIs last year. Annabel Sutherland is the other Australian in the line-up with 369 runs and 13 wickets to her name in 2024. Amy Jones is the wicketkeeper picked in the team and one of the three England players in the line-up.
Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma are the other three players in the team having accounted for 19, 21 and 24 wickets respectively. Moreover, Deepti also scored 186 runs with the bat in 13 ODIs last year.
ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year 2024: Smriti Mandhana, Laura Wolvaardt (C), Chamari Athapaththu, Hayley Matthews, Marizanne Kapp, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Amy Jones (WK), Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross.
