Sidra Ameen of Pakistan has been named the ICC Women's Player of the Month

Sidra Ameen, the opening batswoman for Pakistan, was honoured as the ICC Women's Player of the Month for her outstanding performances during the recent triumphant ODI series against Ireland at home in November.

Sidra won the ICC Women's Player of the Month title for the first time, defeating Gaby Lewis of Ireland and Natthakan Chantham of Thailand, both of whom scored a tonne of runs in their respective matches throughout the month.

"I would like to dedicate this award to my parents and to everyone who has always supported me and prayed for my success. My performance with the bat against Ireland which helped the side claim the sweep over Ireland in the ODI series at home will always remain close to my heart," she said on winning the honour.

Sidra began the month with her greatest ODI performance, a magnificent 176 not out, as the hosts earned a convincing 128-run victory in the first game. Sidra finished the series with 277 runs and was only dismissed once.

In the second ODI, Sidra scored another unbroken score of 91 from 93 balls to help her team chase down the mark and win by nine wickets, rendering Ireland's bowlers equally helpless to stop her.

"Individually, this year has been great for me, I have scored three ODIs centuries and all coming this year. And to top it off, ending the year by winning the ICC Women's Player of the Month for November is just amazing," she added.

Sidra won the Player of the Series title despite ultimately losing her wicket in the third ODI, capping up a fantastic series and a strong run of performances in 2022. She is also Pakistan's second consecutive prize winner after off-spin all-rounder Nida Dar took home the honour in October.

"I feel great to have won this award. It is also special following my teammate Nida Dar who won the award for October. This shows our team has displayed some great performances in the past few months in international cricket," Sidra said.

Prior to focusing on the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa from February 10–26, Pakistan's next international assignment will be a tour of Australia in January. The ICC Hall of Famer and member of the voting panel Lisa Sthalekar said, "When you get the opportunity to score a hundred it is a special moment, but for Sidra to go on and make it a big one, 176 and then to back it up with 91 in the very next match, this shows not only that she has the skills, but she has the temperament."