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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
TRAILBLAZER Mary-Anne Musonda keeps putting the country on the world map after she was nominated for the ICC Player of the Month for October.
This follows her superb performance in Zimbabwe women’s maiden ODI series against Ireland last month.
Musonda, who made history when she became the first women to score a century for Zimbabwe during the series, was back in the international spotlight again yesterday after the ICC announced six nominees for the men’s and women’s game.
The Lady Chevrons captain will battle for the honours with two Irish players, Laura Delany and Gaby Lewis, who also had outstanding performances, during the series.
Musonda announced Zimbabwe’s arrival with a bang, in their first official game after getting the ODI status from the ICC, earlier in the year.
Although Zimbabwe went on to lose the series, the 30-year-old enjoyed her moment in the sun, with an unbeaten century, as the Lady Chevrons secured the first match, with a deserved four-wicket win.
She entered the record books, as the first Zimbabwean woman ever to score an ODI ton, and the first woman to hit a century on their country’s ODI debut, since 1973.
It was an extraordinary feat, which could not escape the attention, of world cricket.
The performance also saw her enter the ICC Player rankings, for the first time at number 77, among the ODI batters.
“Musonda captained Zimbabwe in four ODIs against Ireland and scored a total of 169 runs with a strike rate of 90.86.
“On a day that proved historic for Zimbabwe as they played their first ODI since being granted the status, Mary-Anne Musonda’s unbeaten century had powered them to a four-wicket win against Ireland,” said the ICC in a statement.
The men’s team captain, Sean Williams, is the only other Zimbabwean cricketer to be nominated this year.
He was shortlisted in the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for March.
Williams lost the race to Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Voting for the October award has already started and Musonda is in line to cap a memorable year, with an individual accolade.
But, it will be a tough contest, against Delany and Lewis.
“Ireland’s all-rounder Delany played four ODIs against Zimbabwe last month and scored a total of 189 runs with a strike rate of 108.62.
“Additionally, she went on to take four wickets with an economy rate of 3.85. Delany went on to score 86, 35 and 68 in her three innings in the ODI series win over Zimbabwe,” said the ICC.
The world cricket controlling body also highlighted Lewis’ achievements.
“Gaby also played four ODIs against Zimbabwe and scored a total of 263 runs with a strike rate of 77.35.
‘’Lewis was the leading run-scorer in Ireland’s ODI series win against Zimbabwe, scoring 65, 96 not out and 78 in the last three matches as Ireland recovered from 1-0 down to win the series 3-1 with Zimbabwe.”
The men’s shortlist is made up of Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Pakistan’s power hitter and finisher Asif Ali and Namibia’s prolific batter David Weise.
“The three nominees for either category is shortlisted based on performances from the first to the last day of each calendar month.
‘’The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world.
“The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity including well-known journalists, former players, broadcasters, and members of the ICC Hall of Fame.
“The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and hold a 90 per cent share of the vote. Fans registered with the ICC vote via the ICC website, accounting for the remaining 10 per cent,” said the ICC.
Winners will be announced on December 13 on the ICC’s digital channels.
ICC Player of the Month October Nominees
Women:
Mary-Anne Musonda, Laura Delany and Gaby Lewis (both Ireland)
Men:
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Asif Ali (Pakistan) and David Wiese (Namibia)
Online Reporter