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Rachin Ravindra and Amelia Kerr have been recognised as New Zealand's outstanding male and female cricketers, respectively, at the New Zealand Cricket Awards ceremony in Christchurch on Wednesday.
"The 24-year-old batter Ravindra became the youngest player to receive the supreme award for the men's game the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal while Kerr took home the coveted Debbie Hockley Medal - the ultimate award in the women's game, for the second year running," New Zealand Cricket said in an official statement. The Sir Richard Hadlee Medal capped off a breakout season for Ravindra on the international stage, on which he contributed for New Zealand across all three formats. Ravindra shone at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India last year, finishing as the tournament's fourth leading run-scorer with 578 runs at 64, scoring three centuries and two half-centuries, including an unbeaten 123 in the tournament opener against England in Ahmedabad. His achievements were acknowledged in January when he was declared the winner of the esteemed ICC Emerging Player of the Year title. In the first Test against South Africa at Bay Oval, Ravindra continued his incredible ascent in the cricket arena, recording New Zealand's highest maiden Test century of 240 and being a major factor in the Blackcapas' historic first-ever Test series victory over South Africa. He also shone on the T20 international stage, featuring in 14 of the Kiwi's 26 T20I matches over the season and scoring a blistering 68 from 35 balls in the first T20I against Australia at Sky Stadium. Kerr claimed a clean sweep of the major female awards, winning the Debbie Hockley Medal after being named ODI and T20I Player of the Year, and the Dream11 Super Smash Women's Player of the Year. With 541 runs at an average of 67, the leg-spinning all-rounder led New Zealand in ODI run scoring, recording her third and fourth ODI centuries in the process. With 252 runs at an average of 42 and a strike rate of 118, she was also the team's second-highest scorer of T20I runs and tied for second in terms of T20 wickets taken. Kerr was chosen for the 2023 women's ODI and T20I ICC Teams of the Year, a testament to her success on the international scene. Kane Williamson was recognised for his outstanding form in the Test arena, named the ANZ Test Player of the Year, and won the Redpath Cup for men's first-class batting. With scores of 118 and 109 in the second Test against South Africa at Bay Oval, Williamson became just the fifth player from New Zealand to score a century in both innings of a Test. Williamson amassed 619 runs at 56 in the six Test matches in the judging period, including four centuries. Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner took home the ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards, respectively. Mitchell was a key performer with the bat for the BLACKCAPS at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, finishing as the tournament's fifth-leading run-scorer with 552 runs at an average of 69. Matt Henry's outstanding summer with the red ball was rewarded with the Winsor Cup for men's first-class bowling. (ANI)
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