Muneeba, Prendergast, Zwilling nominated for ICC Women's Player of the Month award

New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Pakistan’s Muneeba Ali, Ireland’s Orla Prendergast and Netherlands’ Iris Zwilling have secured nominations for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for August 2025.

During the T20I series against Ireland, Muneeba struck her second T20I hundred - only the second by a Pakistan batter in women’s T20Is - when she compiled 100 off 68 balls in the third match. Incidentally, her first T20I century had also come against Ireland, at the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter’s knock featured 14 boundaries and a six, showcasing both fluency and power at the crease. Muneeba finished the series as Pakistan’s second-highest run-getter, averaging 66, with only Orla ahead of her.

Orla, meanwhile, maintained her fine run of form with standout performances in the T20I series against Pakistan and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, hitting 244 runs at an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 127.08 while taking seven wickets in the month of August.

She played a decisive role in Ireland’s 2-1 series win over Pakistan, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 144 runs in three innings, including two half-centuries. She also topped the wicket charts for her side, claiming four scalps across the matches, and was named Player of the Series.

Orla carried that momentum into the Europe Qualifiers, where she added another 100 runs and three wickets in five outings, underlining her growing stature as one of Ireland’s key performers.

On the other hand, Iris emerged as one of the standout performers at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, helping Netherlands get four wins in six matches. She was particularly effective with the ball, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 scalps at an economy rate of 4.65.

Her best returns came in victories against Germany, where she claimed 3-14, and Italy, where she took 3-6. The 22-year-old also chipped in with the bat, adding 39 runs at a strike-rate of 121.87 from the lower middle order, underlining her value as a genuine all-rounder for the Netherlands.

--IANS

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