Cricket: Suzie Bates named world ODI and T20 player of year

Suzie Bates is the ICC world player of the year in the short forms of the game. Photo / John Davidson

New Zealand's Suzie Bates has become the first cricketer to win both the ICC women's ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards.

Based on the 12 months between September 14, 2015 and September 20, 2016, Bates scored 472 runs in eight ODIs at an average of just over 94. She also took eight wickets with a strike-rate of 22.50 and economy-rate of 3.75.

In the shortest format of the game, Bates was the leading run-scorer with 429 runs at an average of 42.90 and a strike-rate of over 115 runs per 100 balls.

A delighted Bates said from Perth: "It was a bit of a surprise to find out that I had won both these awards. It is always nice to be recognised for performances and after a busy year of cricket, I am pleased to have managed some consistency over both formats.

"The awards are always nice but the most important thing for me is to make sure I am performing consistently and helping put the team in a position to win more games.

"For the past one-and-a-half years, our team has been performing very well and lots of different players have stood up and performed under pressure. It is heartening to see that the team is doing very well going into the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 which will be held in England and Wales."

Bates captained New Zealand in the ICC World T20 in India this year where her side reached the semifinals, while she also inspired the White Ferns to a third-place finish in the ICC Women's Championship which earned them an automatic qualification for next year's ICC Women's World Cup 2017.

Bates won the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year award in 2013, but has been named as the ICC Women's T20I Player of the Year for the first time.