ICC Women’s Player of the Month nominees for October 2025
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)Wolvaardt was South Africa’s mainstay on the field as a batter and a captain. The Proteas had a shaky start to the Women's Cricket World Cup after a shock loss to England in their tournament opener, a game in which they were bowled out for a paltry 69.The team found its way back during their third league stage encounter against India, where Wolvaardt played a defining role with her 70, before Nadine de Klerk’s clean hitting took the game away from the hosts.Wolvaardt kept improving with each game, hitting half-centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan as the Proteas made it to the knock-out round.Up against England in the semi-final, who had proved to be their nemesis in the opening round, Wolvaardt didn’t give an inch as she smashed an all-time great Cricket World Cup knock. Her 169 was more than half of South Africa’s 319, and eventually turned out to be too formidable for England.Under Wolvaardt’s captaincy, the Proteas made their first-ever Women’s World Cup final. Her fine performances helped her reach the pole position in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings.Smriti Mandhana (India)Much like Wolvaardt, Smriti Mandhana was expected to lead India’s charge at the top, and proved equal to the task.After a relatively quiet start, Mandhana came into her own with a blistering 80 against Australia, followed by a resolute 88 versus England.While India lost both these games by a fine margin, it was clear that one of the positives for them going into the must-win encounter against New Zealand was Mandhana’s form.Ash Gardner (Australia)Ash Gardner’s exceptional run in the Cricket World Cup saw her reach the top three in both ODI Batting and Bowling Rankings in the last week of the tournament.She contributed in almost every single outing, producing centuries in wins against rivals New Zealand (115) and England (104*). Of these, the latter stood out as Gardner walked in after Australia were 68/4 and then produced a brilliant partnership of 180 with Annabel Sutherland, in which she added 104 runs off 73 balls, with 16 fours to her name.Her seven scalps in the month showed that she was a handy asset with the ball, providing key support with the ball.
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