South Africa’s young all-rounder Annerie Dercksen was crowned ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year on Sunday for her 2024 exploits across forms. This 23-year-old beat India’s Shreyanka Patil, Scotland’s Saskia Horley, and Ireland’s Freya Sargent to win the award.
Dercksen, who debuted in 2023, was a crucial player for South Africa’s women’s squad due to her versatility. 2024 saw her score 291 runs and 11 wickets across formats. She was best in T20Is, scoring 161 runs and taking five wickets.
New Zealand defeated South Africa in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 final, which Dercksen played in. South Africa’s first ODI triumph against England saw her score a career-best 3/16 in white-ball.
In tough series against India and England, Annerie Dercksen succeeded in the longer format. Her best innings was 41 runs at Bloemfontein, when she built a 92-run second-wicket partnership. No awards for me. I am humbled by this award, Dercksen stated.
Feels like a dream. I play with and against all my idols, yet I still get excited like I did in the backyard when I was 5. It’s been great learning from such talented and seasoned teammates. She stated she barely recognises herself from last year.
