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Kamindu Mendis and Annerie Dercksen win ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award
Follow UsWhile Annerie Dercksen is 23, Kamindu Mendis emerged as the new rising in Men’s cricket at 26 years of age
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winners of the Emerging Men’s and Women’s Cricketer of the year award.
Kamindu Mendis from Sri Lanka was chosen as the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year after a surreal 2024 where he had Bradmanesque numbers at one stage.
Across formats, Mendis scored 1451 runs at an average of above 50, 1049 of which came in nine Tests at an incredible average of 74.92. He was amongst the only six batters in the world who scored above 1000 runs, and he averaged the highest amongst them.
He scored five centuries and three fifties in the format that year. He also equalled Sir Don Bradman’s record of the third-quickest 1000 runs in Men’s Test cricket in 13 innings. In the process, he helped Sri Lanka win Test matches home and away against New Zealand, Bangladesh, and England. He was the side’s leading run scorer in England.
Deservingly, he also made the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year 2024.
South Africa’s Annerie Dercksen was the ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the year as she had a breakout year in 2024 after making her debut for Proteas in January 2023 during the T20I tri-series between South Africa, India and West Indies.
In 2024, the 23-year-old allrounder scored 161 runs and picked 5 wickets in 17 T20Is, 60 runs in two Tests, and 70 runs and 6 wickets in four ODIs.
Her powerful batting in the middle order proved crucial for the Proteas in the T20 World Cup as well, where they reached the final again. Her 32.2 batting average in T20Is proves that she is a truth-worthy batter as well in the format.
