New Zealander Suzie Bates has become the first cricketer to win both the one-day international and Twenty20 awards ©Getty Images

New Zealander Suzie Bates has become the first cricketer to win both the International Cricket Council (ICC) women’s one-day international and Twenty20 Player of the Year awards.

Bates received the one-day international prize after she scored 472 runs in eight matches at an average of just over 94 during the period from September 2015 to September 2016.

The 29-year-old was also in superb form in the T20 format of the game as she was the leading run-scorer in the world with runs at an average of 42.90.

She also had an impressive strike rate of 115 runs per 100 balls.

“It was a bit of a surprise to find out that I had won both these awards,” Bates, who captained the New Zealand side which reached the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 in India earlier this year, said.

“It is always nice to be recognised for performances and after a busy year of cricket, I am pleased to have managed some consistency over both formats.

“The awards are always nice, but the most important thing for me is to make sure I am performing consistently and helping put the team in a position to win more games.

“For the past one-and-a-half years, our team has been performing very well and lots of different players have stood up and performed under pressure.

“It is heartening to see that the team is doing very well going into the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.”

Bates was also named in the ICC women’s team of the year, along with players such as team-mates Rachel Priest and Leigh Kasperek.

England’s Heather Knight and Australian star Ellyse Perry have also been selected for the team – the first time the ICC has compiled a list of the best women’s players.

West Indian Stafanie Taylor, who spearheaded the West Indies to its maiden ICC Women’s World Twenty20 title, has been chosen as captain.

“Suzie is a well-deserved recipient of the ICC Women’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards, maintaining strong and consistent performances across both formats of the game throughout the 12-month period under consideration,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said.

“The quality and depth of the women’s game continues to grow year by year, with a number of outstanding performances during the voting period, the selectors must have had an exceptionally difficult task in settling on the final 12 players.”