Ellyse Perry wins Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award
SYDNEY (ICC) - Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year and also been named as the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year, the International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday, 17 December.
Both Perry and Healy have also been named in the women's ODI and T20I teams of the year, alongside fellow Australian and national team captain Meg Lanning, who has been named as skipper of both the 50-over and 20-over sides.
With Perry, Healy, and Lanning recognised in the annual ICC Women's Cricket Awards, Australian women's cricket finds itself in something of a golden era at just the right time.
"It's a huge honour to be named captain of the ICC ODI and T20 Teams of the Year alongside some incredible players," said Lanning.
"It's been an amazing year for the Australian team and we're looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead in 2020.
"A home T20 World Cup is an opportunity that doesn’t come along often, but we are looking forward to and embracing the challenge of performing well in front of our home crowd."
Ranked No.1 in both the One-Day and T20 International formats, the ICC Women's T20 World Cup reigning champions will be keen to retain their title on home soil, at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in front of a potential new world record crowd for a women's sporting fixture.
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 final will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day, Sunday 8 March 2020.
Commencing in Sydney on 21 February, the tournament will also see Thailand compete at their first-ever World Cup – in women's or men's cricket, T20I or 50-over.
Qualification was assured in Scotland earlier this year at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019, thanks in much part to 12 wickets for just 68 runs from bowler Chanida Sutthiruang, who has been named the ICC's Emerging Cricketer of the Year.
The 26-year-old right-arm seamer has enjoyed outstanding success with the national side this year as they set a new world record of 17 consecutive T20I victories, took victory in a quadrangular series featuring Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands and finished top of their ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier group.
"On behalf of the ICC I would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Ellyse, Alyssa and Chanida on their well-deserved individual accolades as well as the other players who have made the teams of the year," said Manu Sawhney, ICC chief executive.
"I'd like to pay particular tribute to Ellyse on winning both the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint trophy and the ODI Cricketer of the Year. She has achieved so much over the last 12 months and becoming the first cricketer in history to complete the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in T20 international cricket is an exceptional achievement.
"Chanida's Emerging Player award recognises the huge achievement of Thailand in qualifying for their first-ever ICC global event and we're looking forward to seeing more of her and her teammates at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia next year. The form of all of the players recognised in the ICC Awards 2019 makes next year's event such an exciting prospect as the world's best cricketers go head-to-head for a global title. Fans around the world are certainly in for a treat."
Perry has had a stellar year across formats, with three hundreds, including one in the Women's Ashes Test. She averages 73.50 from 12 ODIs this year, where she has also taken 21 wickets, including a national record 7/22. She became the first player to complete 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20I cricket.
"It's an amazing honour and I'm a little bit shocked, given how many amazing performances there have been across the year," said Perry, who has won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the second time in three years – the first as the inaugural winner in 2017.
"It's amazing to be acknowledged and I do truly appreciate it. It’s a really nice way to finish the year on a personal note."
Upon being named the ODI Player of the Year, Perry said, "It's been nice to have a chance to tour so consistently with the Australian team. It's been an amazing year, I've really enjoyed all of it and it's just been nice to be a part of it.
"It's so exciting that the T20 World Cup is here at home early next year and with the target of the final at the MCG it could be a really special moment in the game’s history."
Perry dominated the crease throughout 2019 alongside opening partner and fellow award winner Alyssa Healy.
Named as T20I Cricketer of the Year for the second year running, Alyssa Healy entered the record books in October, scoring a world record 148* off 61 balls against Sri Lanka – the highest score by a woman in T20Is. The wicket-keeper batter reached her half-century off 25 balls and her maiden hundred off just 46, for the fastest century ever by an Australian man or woman.
"I'm really pumped to be awarded the T20I Cricketer of the Year," said Healy.
"The Australian women's team had a fantastic 12-month period and we played some really consistent T20 cricket. Whilst the individual award is really nice for me personally, I think it was great to see our team play so well throughout that 12-month period, especially leading into a home World Cup in 2020."
