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Promising South African star Annerie Dercksen was named the ICC Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2024 on Sunday, beating a tough line-up of competitors to win the prestigious honour, which included Scotland's Saskia Horley, India's Shreyanka Patil and Ireland's Freya Sargent.
Dercksen wore the green and golds for the first-ever time in January 2023 during the T20I triangular series featuring India and West Indies and has never looked back. While the 23-year-old featured in five T20Is in her initial year, the all-rounder established herself in international cricket in 2024, in a year in which she also made her Test and ODI debuts. If 2023 was the year of testing the waters, the all-rounder opened up in full flow in 2024, making a big impact in the international arena. Dercksen's 2024 in review: 161 runs and 5 wickets in 17 T20Is, 60 runs in 2 Tests, 70 runs and 6 wickets in 4 ODIs Dercksen demonstrated composure with the willow, showcasing an ability to both reconstruct an innings and guide a chase should the situation demand. Among her contributions was a stabilising 27 in South Africa's only victory of the limited-overs leg of the series against England late in 2024, as per ICC. With the ball, the medium pacer picked up 11 scalps, underlining her potential as a true all-rounder. Dercksen was part of South Africa's stellar campaign in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, during which the Proteas managed to reach the final before falling short against New Zealand. Dercksen maintained a healthy average of 32.2 in T20Is and salvaged South Africa from several difficult situations, while also showing the ability to pick pace despite floating in lower-order positions at the start of the year before being drafted into the middle-order towards the end. She also picked up five wickets in the format, including a career-best 2/5 against Sri Lanka during South Africa's comprehensive win at home in March. Dercksen's bowling shone further in the longer white-ball format, where she delivered a career-best 3/16 during South Africa's win against England in the first ODI.A similar story continued in Tests, during tough contests against India and England. Dercksen's best was 41 in Bloemfontein, during which she helped rebuild the innings with a 92-run stand for the second wicket.In the leadup to the Women's T20 World Cup 2024, Dercksen had only one batting opportunity in the T20I series against Pakistan, but the youngster made the most of it. In the series decider, South Africa faced a challenging chase of 154. After losing Tazmin Brits early and seeing Anneke Bosch retire hurt at a critical moment, Dercksen was thrust into the spotlight. She rose to the occasion brilliantly, smashing an unbeaten 44 off just 23 balls, featuring six fours and two towering sixes, which came against the experienced Nida Dar and Sadia Iqbal. Her explosive knock guided South Africa to a series-clinching victory, earning her the Player of the Match award. (ANI)
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