ICC announces Men's and Women's Player of the Month nominees for June
The ICC announced the nominees for the men's and women's Player of the Month award for June, and the list is headlined predominantly by Ashes stars on both sides. The nominations also feature standout performers from the ongoing Men's Cricket World Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
From the women's side, England veteran Tammy Beaumont and Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner were among the nominees for their incredible display in the recently concluded one-off Ashes Test.
Joining the two stalwarts is West Indian skipper Hayley Matthews who decimated Ireland in the recent ODI series with her all-around performance.
Among the men, Australian middle-order batter Travis Head is in the running for the prestigious award for his impressive showing in the WTC final and the first Ashes Test.
He is joined by two spin bowling all-rounders from the World Cup Qualifiers, Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka and Sean Williams of Zimbabwe.
A look at the performances of the Women's nominees for the ICC Player of the Month in June
Ashleigh Gardner and Tammy Beaumont:
The one-off Ashes Test between England and Australia took centerstage in June, with both teams putting on a show for the Nottingham crowd. The visitors emerged victorious in a thriller by 89 runs, with Ash Gardner winning the Player of the Match.
Gardner scored a valuable 40 in Australia's first innings total of 473. However, her bowling blew the doors of the English batters in both innings.
After picking up an impressive 4/99 in the first innings, the 26-year-old destroyed the hosts in the second innings with figures of 8/66 to single-handedly win Australia the game. Gardner's second-innings bowling figures were the second-best in Women's Test history behind only Indian spinner Neetu David (8/53 vs England in 1995).
The other star from the Ashes Test was England opener Tammy Beaumont, who scored a breathtaking 208 in their first innings. It was the first double century by an England player, overhauling Betty Snowball's 189 in 1935. The right-hander was the last batter dismissed and almost took England to parity in the first innings.
Despite scoring a crisp 22 in the second essay, her dismissal off the bowling of Gardner proved to be the turning point in the side collapsing to be bowled for 189.
Should the battle for the Player of the Month award come down to Beaumont and Gardner, the off-spinner dismissing the England opener on both occasions could tip the lead in favor of Gardner.
Hayley Matthews:
While the cricketing world was glued to the Women's Ashes, the West Indian skipper Hayley Mathews had a spectacular showing against Ireland in the first two ODIs. Already the third-highest run-getter and wicket-taker for the West Indies in ODIs and T20s, Mathews smashed a sparkling 109 off 106 deliveries to lead the side to 297/6 in the first ODI.
The 25-year-old then wreaked havoc in Ireland's innings, picking up three wickets, dismissing the set batters Gaby Lewis and skipper Laura Delany. Her all-round performance helped the West Indies win by 58 runs.
Mathews backed up her impressive showing with a wicket in the second ODI to reduce Ireland to 36/5 before rain abandoned play.
A look at the performances of the Men's nominees for ICC Player of the Month in June
Travis Head:
Australian middle-order dasher Travis Head has been in incredible form in Test cricket since 2021, averaging almost 55 in 20 games. The 29-year-old smashed India to all corners of the ground in the WTC final at the Kennington Oval. Coming in at a tricky situation at 76/3, the southpaw counter-attacked and dismissed the Indian bowling with utter disdain in his knock of 163 off 174 deliveries.
It helped Australia post a daunting first-innings total of 469, which eventually proved too much for Team India as the Aussies clinched their first WTC title. Head followed up his WTC final heroics with another solid half-century in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston to help Australia take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Sean Williams and Wanindu Hasaranga
The standout performers of the World Cup Qualifiers, Sean Williams and Wanindu Hasaranga, led their respective sides to an unbeaten league stage.
The Zimbabwean left-hander scored three centuries against Nepal, the USA, and Oman to help Zimbabwe to record five straight wins. Despite the hosts narrowly missing out on World Cup qualification, the all-rounder has averaged an incredible 100 with the bat and chipped in with three wickets.
Williams has totaled 700 runs, with three centuries and two half-centuries thus far in seven games of the World Cup Qualifiers.
On the other hand, Sri Lankan star Wanindu Hasaranga has undoubtedly been the bowler of the tournament. The 25-year-old has scalped 20 wickets at an average of 12.45, making him the leading-wicket taker in the competition. The leg-spinner also picked up three five-wicket hauls in consecutive matches, joining former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis as the only cricketer to achieve the feat.
Hasarnga's masterful bowling has led Sri Lanka to an unbeaten run thus far in the Tournament, helping them qualify for the World Cup in India later this year.