Annerie Dercksen given Proteas World Cup boost as best ODI player

Dercksen has been one of the finds of the season, having scored 399 runs at an average of 39.90 in 11 matches played, with a strike rate of 99.50. 

She says individual accolades are not what drive her, but rather winning as a collective.

"I've been really blessed to have some amazingly experienced and very good players around me, and they've sort of allowed me to tap into their experience and knowledge," said Derckson.

"So a lot of credit has to go to them, but I think I'm not really one for personal recognition or awards, as long as the team's winning then I'm happy.

"I think the team is in a good space, heading to this World Cup and we've got a good mix of youth and experience at the moment, and I feel like all the players that have been given opportunities have grabbed it with both hands.

"So I'm really looking forward to it, and hopefully I do get selected, but if not, I just hope we win the trophy."

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In a surprising revelation, the 24-year-old says she didn’t always prefer ODI cricket when she started international cricket, but enjoyed the shortest format more. 

She says a lot has changed in the last season with help from her coaches and teammates.

"It's really exciting looking ahead to the World Cup, I mentioned earlier to someone, when I came into this space, I didn't enjoy ODI cricket that much and I felt I was more the T20 player, and I definitely enjoyed that more," she shared.

"But now it's sort of shifted, [having] all the players around me, tapping into their experience and all the coaches' knowledge, I sort of almost feel like this has now become my favourite format.

"So I'm really honoured and humbled by [the award] and inspired to keep on working."

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