SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – West Indies Women’s captain Stafanie Taylor has been rewarded for her dominance on the international stage after she was named the ICC Women’s Twenty20 International Player of the Year yesterday.
The 24-year-old Taylor, presently in Australia campaigning in the Women’s Big Bash for Sydney Thunder, has been one of the leading batsmen in world cricket in recent years and is currently installed sixth in the ICC T20 rankings and number four in One-Day Internationals.
Taylor, who won the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2011 and 2012, said the honour was a surprise and was elated to win it.
“It came as a major surprise. I wasn’t expecting to win the award but I’m thrilled,” the Jamaican all-rounder said.
“I’m delighted to be the winner again as I wasn’t expecting to win this year. For me, it is an early Christmas gift, so I have something extra to celebrate.
She added: “Winning an award is an added motivation to do better. It’s great to win awards but my aim is to get better, do better for the team and try to lift West Indies cricket. We were dominant in our two series this year against Sri Lanka and against Pakistan and that is something to build on.
“Next year we will face South Africa and then onto India for the ICC World T20. Those are two ‘big’ series and I am fully geared up for what is to come.”
During the period of review, Taylor topped the world charts with 340 runs in nine matches. She hit three half-centuries as well as registering three scores over 30. Her best score was 78 off 58 balls against Australia at the MCG in November, 2014.
Taylor is the most successful women’s cricketer in West Indies history. She made her debut as a 16-year-old back in 2008 and since then, has made over 4,000 runs.
In 88 ODIs she had scored 3376 runs and has carved out another 1874 in 65 T20 Internationals. She is also a clever off-spinner and had taken 108 wickets in ODIs and 56 in T20s.
Taylor took over as West Indies captain last September and led by example with a Player of the Series performance as the Windies beat Pakistan 3-0 in the T20s and 3-1 in the ODIs, in a series in the Caribbean.
“I would like to dedicate this award to my team-mates, who have been very supportive of me throughout my career. I took over as captain earlier this year and they have been absolutely amazing with their support.”
Australia’s captain Meg Lanning was voted ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year.
