South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt wins ICC Women's Player of the Month award for April
Dubai, May 14
South Africa women's captain Laura Wolvaardt has been named the ICC Women's Player of the Month for April 2026 after a prolific run with the bat across ODI and T20I cricket.
The 27-year-old Wolvaardt beat competition from Sri Lanka's Imesha Dulani and Brazil's Laura Cardoso to claim the honour, marking the third time she has received the award in the last seven months, following earlier wins in October and December 2025, ICC reported.
The South African skipper enjoyed a dominant month, first scoring 138 runs in two ODIs against the New Zealand women's team at an average of 69.00 before carrying her form into a T20I series against the Indian team.
Across five T20Is, Wolvaardt amassed 330 runs at an average of 82.50 and a strike rate of 168.36, registering one century and three half-centuries as South Africa secured a 4-1 series victory ahead of next month's ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England and Wales.
Her standout innings came in the third T20I against India, when she blasted 115 off 53 deliveries in a successful chase of 192. The innings, her third T20I century, featured 14 fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 216.98 and powered South Africa to a nine-wicket win.
"It feels incredible to win a third ICC Player of the Month award in such a short span of time, and I hope to continue batting with the same confidence and consistency," Wolvaardt told ICC.
"This has been one of the most enjoyable phases of my career, and it's especially satisfying to have achieved success across formats," she added.
"What makes this award even more special is that these performances came against the reigning World Cup and T20 World Cup champions, which is something I truly cherish. I'm grateful to my team-mates for their constant support, and I hope to carry this form into the ICC Women's T20 World Cup next month in England and Wales," she concluded.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Well deserved! Laura has been a class act. I hope our Indian girls learn from this and come back stronger - Harmanpreet and Co. need to work on their death bowling. But honestly, women's cricket is reaching new heights globally and I'm loving every bit of it. 🏏
Three awards in seven months? That's consistency personified. South Africa is building a strong team ahead of the World Cup. We need to seriously rethink our T20I strategy - can't keep relying on individual brilliance alone. 🎯
I remember watching that century live - absolute carnage! But let's not forget Imesha Dulani also had a great month for Sri Lanka. The competition in women's cricket is getting fierce. Our team needs to regroup and come back stronger. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
Incredible player. But I feel our team management needs to look at why we lost 4-1 at home. Too many experiments and not enough focus on basics. Nevertheless, congratulations to Laura - she's a true superstar of the game. 🌟
What a player! 330 runs in 5 T20Is at nearly 170 strike rate - unreal numbers. But this should be a wake-up call for BCCI. We need better preparation for the World Cup, especially in English conditions. The girls have talent but execution has been lacking lately.
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