The modern-day great Jonny Bairstow and Nat Sciver among the nominees who make up the shortlists for the ICC Player of the Month awards for July.
The ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June, Jonny Bairstow, is once again making into the list stellar performances on field for England, while Sri Lanka’s spin magician Prabath Jayasuriya also received the honour of being shortlisted for the first time. While France’s Gustav McKeon, who recently became the youngest man to hit a century in T20 completes the list.
While, no stranger to the list Nat Sciver, another English player Emma Lamb and the Indian pacer Renuka Singh has been nominated as the ICC Women’s player of the month for July.
Jonny Bairstow
The man, who won the ICC Player of the month in June, continued his stellar form in July as well with his impressive two hundred knocks against India in a one-off test, (106 and 114), to guide his side win the match and level the series 2-2. While his destructive 53-ball 90 in the final T20 game against South Africa on July 31, places him ahead of competitors to win second successive ICC player of the month award.
Prabath Jayasuriya
Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka, who made a dream start to his Test career in July, with an impressive 29 wickets in 3 games at an average of 20.37 against Australia and Pakistan.
Sri Lanka were behind in the series after losing the first game by 10 wickets, but the debutant Jayasuriya turned the table towards his teams’ side after taking six and six in both the innings to secure an innings victory. He later took nine wickets and eight wickets in the next two Tests against Pakistan.
Gustav McKeon
The 18-year-old sensation from France, who just became the youngest batter to score a century during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Sub-Regional Europe B Qualifier in Finland, is on the line to clinch the ICC player of the month for July. He his heroics as McKeon has scored 377 runs in five T20I matches at an average of 75.40 and with a hugely impressive strike rate of 164.62.
Nat Sciver
Nat Sciver received honour of being nominated for the third time in four months, as the no.2 ranked all-rounder in T20 format. Sciver continues to be a driving force for England. Her significant contributions with both bat and ball enabled her side to record 3-0 series wins against South Africa in both the ODI and T20I series in July. Among her string of excellent performances was a haul of four for 59 in the first ODI that limited the tourists to a below-par score, before a powerful 55 from 36 balls laid the foundation for a momentum-building victory that set the tone for her side’s successful month.
Emma Lamb
Lamb, who played the most influential role in helping her side to a 3-0 ODI series against South Africa in July, is definitely a hot contender to receive the award. She recorded a blistering 102 in the first game, and then posted 2 half-centuries to finish the series as the highest run-getter.
Renuka Singh
It was Renuka’s first nomination, thanks to a splendid bowling effort all month. She ended the recently concluded Sri Lanka series as the Joint leading wicket-taker with seven wickets at an excellent average of 12.85. She also started her Commonwealth games campaign with a bang, as she almost broke the back of Australian team in their opening match, securing four wickets for 18 runs.
