Mitchell Starc, the pace bowler for Australia, and Laura Wolvaardt, the skipper of South Africa, have won the ICC Player of the Month honours for men and women, respectively, after a string of outstanding performances that saw them defeat fierce opposition.
In December, Starc scored 139 runs in three Test matches and claimed 16 wickets at an average of 21.25. He was voted Player of the Series in Australia’s 4-1 Ashes win.
His Player of the Match performance in the second Test in Brisbane, when he finished with eight wickets and hit a crucial 77, was the most notable performance. In the Adelaide Test that decided the series, he also made a valuable 54.
Starc took home the prize before West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves and New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy.
Mitchell Starc stated:
Being named the ICC Player of the Month is an honour, and it’s even more meaningful that it follows such a great home Ashes. We will all be happy for a very long time to having contributed to winning such a legendary series in front of our home audience.
“Over the past few years, we’ve put on some incredible performances as a team. Now, the emphasis is on increasing that momentum in order to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship Final the following year.
In the home series against Ireland, Wolvaardt scored 137 runs at an incredible strike rate of 190.27 in two T20Is and 255 runs at a strike rate of 111.84 in three ODIs. In all formats, she recorded three hundreds and performed admirably at the top of the ranking.
After smashing an undefeated 115 in the first Twenty20 International, Wolvaardt scored 124 and 100 not out in the final two matches to earn Player of the Series in the ODIs. She won her second ICC Player of the Month title in three months, defeating both India starter Shafali Verma and colleague Sune Luus.
According to Laura Wolvaardt:
“I’m thrilled to receive the ICC Player of the Month award once more. I’ll treasure the fact that I won it twice in three months for a very long time. I had a great time batting on Ireland’s tour of South Africa, and scoring runs in both the ODI and T20I forms was really satisfying.
“My main goal is to keep up this momentum when the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 approaches. In recent ICC events, we’ve made great strides, and I’m looking forward to the summer in England and Wales. I want to keep contributing and help the team succeed.
India
