NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced the men’s and women’s nominees for the ICC Player of the Month awards, with players from Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies confirmed to be in the running.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj, West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales and Sri Lanka all-rounder Dunith Wellalage have been shortlisted for the men’s award, while those making it to the shortlist for the women’s honour are Sri Lanka batter Harshitha Samarawickrama, Ireland all-rounder Orla Prendergast and Ireland opener Gaby Lewis.
ICC Men’s Player of the Month nominees for August:
Maharaj, who is in line for a second Player of the Month award after having won earlier in April 2022, was the Player of the Series in the two Test matches against the West Indies with 13 wickets.
He grabbed four wickets in each innings of the drawn Test in Port of Spain, which included three of the top four batters in the first innings and four of the top five in the second. He chipped in five scalps in the second Test in Guyana that his side won by 40 runs.
West Indies’ new-ball bowler Seales is in contention for the award after finishing with 12 wickets in the series against South Africa, including nine in Guyana, that helped him attain a career-best 13th position in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings and become the top-ranked bowler in the format from the West Indies.
On the other hand, Wellalage made it to the men’s shortlist for his performances in ODIs. The left-handed all-rounder was Player of the Series in his side’s 2-0 series win over India with scores of 67 not out, 39 and two. He also finished with seven wickets including a haul of five for 27 in the third match.
ICC Women’s Player of the Month nominees for August:
Samarawickrama carried her form from the Asia Cup into the tour of Ireland. The stylish left-hander amassed 151 runs in the two T20Is played in Dublin at a strike rate of 169.66 and 172 in three ODIs played in Belfast at a strike rate of 82.69. She smashed a match-winning 86 not out off 45 balls in the first T20I and became only the third Sri Lanka woman to register a century in ODIs with a knock of 105 in the second ODI.
The 22-year-old Prendergast was the leading run-scorer for Ireland as they defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series. She had a superb outing in the first ODI, blazing a 122 not out off 107 deliveries after grabbing three for 25 and taking two catches to be named the Player of the Match. She also chipped in with scores of 29 and 38 in the two T20Is.
Lewis scored 158 runs in two T20Is at a strike rate of 146.29, which included a knock of 119 in the second match, the highest individual score for Ireland in the format. She scored nine in the first ODI but a quad injury ruled her out for the remaining two matches of the series.