Prendergast collects player of the month award

Orla Prendergast enjoyed a successful August with both bat and ball

Ireland all-rounder Orla Prendergast has been named as the ICC Women's Player of the Month for August.

The 23-year-old receives the accolade after being chosen as Player of the Series in the home T20I series against Pakistan which her side won 2-1.

Prendergast compiled 144 runs and took four wickets in that series and continued her good form in the Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier.

She made 244 runs at an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 127.08 and took seven wickets.

Prendergast becomes the fifth Irish woman to receive the honour, with Eimear Richardson (August 2021), Laura Delany (October 2021), Arlene Kelly (August 2023) and Any Hunter (January 2024) also collecting the prize.

Ireland's Harry Tector won the men's award in May 2023.

"The T20I series win against Pakistan was the highlight of the summer. Additionally, we had a brilliant series T20I and ODI win against Zimbabwe and completed a clean sweep at the European T20 Qualifiers," said Prendergast.

"We'll be looking to build on these performances into our winter series and the Global T20 qualifiers in January.

"Personally, this award means a lot and further validates the decision I made five years ago to pursue cricket as a career.

"When I was growing up, that wasn't an option. But today, a young girl is able to see women's cricket being played live, on TV or online. Visibility is so important in growing interest and participation in the sport, and equally, awards like this one help to reinforce that growing status of the women's game globally."