Gus Atkinson wins ICC men’s Player of the Month for July 2024
England pacer Gus Atkinson has won the ICC men’s Player of the Month for July 2024 following his heroics in his debut Test series against the West Indies. The speedster picked up 22 wickets in the three-match Test series, including 12 scalps on his debut at Lord’s in London.
The dream debut featured a five-wicket haul in both innings with best figures of 7/45 in the first innings. His exploits with the ball helped England register a 3-0 clean sweep against the Windies.
Atkinson, Player of the Series against West Indies, expressed his gratitude to captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. He told ICC:
“It is a real privilege to win the ICC Player of the Month! The start to my Test career has been unbelievable, and I never imagined achieving this level of success in my first series with England. I am incredibly grateful to my teammates and the fantastic environment created by Baz (Brendon McCullum) and Stokesy (Ben Stokes).”
“It's an honour to play and represent my country. I know there is a lot of hard work ahead, especially with a big series against Sri Lanka coming up. I'm excited to maintain consistency and do my best to help England succeed,” he added.
Atkinson is seen as England’s next big fast bowler following James Anderson’s retirement. Former England captain Joe Root has backed Atkinson to succeed in Australia in the Ashes next year owing to his consistency in bowling faster. He said (via ESPNcricinfo):
"When teams have gone out there what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl at the late 80s and early 90s [mph] and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace.”
Chamari Athapaththu named ICC women’s Player of the Month for July 2024
Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Athapaththu, who led her team to the first-ever win in the women’s Asia Cup, has been named ICC women’s Player of the Month for July 2024. The left-hander finished as the leading run-getter in the T20 intercontinental tournament, amassing 304 runs at a strike rate of 146.85.
The southpaw returned with a career-best score of unbeaten 119 against Malaysia before smashing back-to-back fifties against Pakistan and India. Athapaththu was previously chosen as ICC women's Player of the Month for September 2023 and May 2024 as well
Athapaththu said she was honored to be chosen as ICC women’s Player of the Month for the third time while expressing gratitude to her teammates and coaches. The 34-year-old said that the achievement will help the girls in Sri Lanka to take up the sport. She told ICC:
"I am happy and honored to have been chosen as the ICC Women's Player of the Month' for the third time and it is heartening to see such reckoning for the efforts of mine, achieved with the support of my teammates and coaches, being continuously recognized by the cricketing world.
"I believe these recognitions will send a positive message to thousands of girls who are already playing cricket in my country and also elsewhere and want to play for their country; that commitment and dedication for the game will one day pay off."
Sri Lanka have gone from strength to strength in women’s cricket under Athapaththu. The island country won their first-ever T20I series against England and South Africa in the last 12 months. In April-May, they also qualified for the women’s T20 World Cup by staying unbeaten in the qualifiers.