In honour of the standout players from an exciting month of international cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the shortlists for its July Player of the Month honours.
There are three exceptional bowlers on the ICC Men’s Player of the Month shortlist who made waves in all three of the international cricket forms last month.
When England defeated the West Indies in their decisive World Test Championship series, Gus Atkinson, who had only joined the Test arena in July, made an instant impression with a breathtaking display of devastating pace bowling. Charlie Cassell, a Scottish batsman, also made his debut, but in the ODI format, when he destroyed the Oman batting lineup in Dundee. Washington Sundar of India, who excelled at bowling during their short-format tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, rounds out the lineup.
Three highly regarded international players who contributed a lot of highlights to the games in July are on the shortlist for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award.
Thanks to her spectacular home-grown Women’s Asia Cup winning exploits with the bat, Chamari Athapaththu continues her stellar run of success for Sri Lanka and celebrates another nomination. As the final contender for July’s award, India’s Smriti Mandhana hopes to win back-to-back Women’s Player of the Month titles after concluding their Test series against South Africa with more run-scoring triumph and noteworthy performances in their Women’s Asia Cup campaign.
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Her fellow countryman Shafali Verma joins her as the winner after a record-breaking month at the top of the batting order.
July’s nominees for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month
Gus Atkinson (England)
The 26-year-old bowler Atkinson made his Test match debut at Lord’s in July just as the great James Anderson was stepping down. The pacer did not take long to establish himself as a possible successor, as evidenced by his outstanding fast bowling displays, which helped the home team defeat the West Indies in a commanding ICC World Test Championship series. 22 wickets at an average of 16.22 were taken by Atkinsons over the month because to his accurate and fast bowling, 12 of which came in the opening Test, including seven wickets for 45 in the opening innings, which was the second-best total for an England bowler making his Test debut.
Charlie Cassell (Scotland)
Scotland defeated Oman in a decisive ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match in Dundee thanks to another outstanding debut performance by 25-year-old Cassell. In just 5.4 overs, the fast bowler recorded a record-breaking performance of seven for 21, the greatest figures for any bowler making their ODI debut, surpassing the previous record set by Kagiso Rabada of South Africa. The host team eventually secured an easy, significant victory by eight wickets as Cassell started in blistering fashion, taking three wickets in his opening four balls as Oman was skittled for 91.
Washington Sundar (India)
Spinner Washington was one of the highlights of India’s triumphant journey to Zimbabwe following their victory at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. He was named Player of the Series after their 4-1 victory, which included an incredible three-for-15 in the third round, with eight wickets across their five-bout competition. His next destination was Sri Lanka, where he bowled brilliantly in the third Twenty20 International, including a standout Super Over effort that saw him hold the hosts to just two runs in a Player of the Match fashion.
July’s ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees
Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
Smriti Mandhana (India)
Having won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month title in June, Mandhana is hoping to achieve success twice in a row. In July, she maintained her form and scored an incredible 149 in the last Test match in Chennai against South Africa. She also shared a 292-run opening partnership with Shafali Verma as India won by a ten-wicket margin. Before making a significant impact in the Women’s Asia Cup, the opener scored 47 and 54 runs without out in the ensuing T20I series against the same opponents. She also scored half-centuries in the semifinal victory against Bangladesh (55 not out) and the final against Sri Lanka (60).
Shafali Verma (India)