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ICC reveals Player of the Month nominees for July
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today named the shortlists for the ICC Player of the Month awards for July, celebrating the standout performers from an action-packed month of international cricket.
The ICC Men’s Player of the Month shortlist features three outstanding bowlers who grabbed the headlines across all three formats of international cricket last month.
England’s Gus Atkinson entered the Test arena in July and made an immediate impact with a stunning display of destructive pace bowling in their dominant World Test Championship series victory over West Indies. Charlie Cassell of Scotland also made his first steps, this time in the ODI format, blitzing the Oman batting lineup with an inspired spell in Dundee. The lineup is completed by India’s Washington Sundar, who bowled superbly on their short-format tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
The ICC Women’s Player of the Month shortlist contains a decorated trio of international icons who provided plenty of highlights during July’s contests.
Chamari Athapaththu continues her rich vein of form for Sri Lanka and celebrates another nomination thanks to her dramatic Women’s Asia Cup-winning exploits with the bat on home soil. India’s Smriti Mandhana aims to make it back-to-back Women’s Player of the Month awards after ending their Test series against South Africa with more run-scoring success and notable performances in their Women’s Asia Cup campaign, while compatriot Shafali Verma joins her as the final candidate for July’s award, after a record-breaking month at the top of the batting order.
An independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world will now be invited to cast their votes to decide the winners, which will be announced next week. Fans are now able to vote for their favourite performers at icc-cricket.com/awards.
ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for July:
Gus Atkinson (England)
26-year-old Atkinson made his introduction to the Test match arena at Lord’s in July as the legendary James Anderson was bowing out, and the pacer wasted no time in underlining his credentials as a potential successor, with supreme spells of fast bowling that saw the home side claim a dominant ICC World Test Championship series sweep over the West Indies. 22 Wickets fell to Atkinsons sharp, accurate bowling at an average of 16.22 during the month, 12 of which falling in that first Test, including seven for 45 in the first innings – the second-best haul by an England bowler on Test debut.
Charlie Cassell (Scotland)
Another impressive debut spell came courtesy of 25-year-old Cassell, who inspired Scotland to a thumping ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 win over Oman in Dundee. The fast bowler produced a record-breaking spell of seven for 21 in his 5.4 overs – the best figures for any bowler on ODI debut, beating the record previously held by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. Cassell started in blistering fashion, taking three wickets in his first four balls as Oman were skittled for 91, with the home side eventually securing a comfortable, valuable win by eight wickets.
Washington Sundar (India)
In the aftermath of their triumph at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies, India headed to Zimbabwe, and among the stars of their successful tour was spinner Washington. With eight wickets over the course of their five-match contest, he claimed the Player of the Series accolade following their 4-1 win, highlighted by a superb three for 15 in the third match. The next stop was Sri Lanka, where he bowled supremely in the third T20I, including a memorable Super Over performance which restricted the hosts to just two runs in a Player of the Match display.
ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees for July:
Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
With a number of individual accolades under her belt in recent times, the Sri Lanka captain enjoyed another career-defining moment in July, inspiring her side to a memorable triumph in the Women’s Asia Cup on home soil. Athapaththu hit 304 runs during the competition at an average of 101.33 and a strike rate of 146.85, which included a statement, unbeaten 119 against Malaysia and two crucial half-centuries in the latter stages; the first in their tense semi-final victory over Pakistan, and the second as they stunned India to claim their maiden Women’s Asia Cup title, successfully chasing a competitive 166 for victory in Dambulla.
Smriti Mandhana (India)
Mandhana is aiming to make it back-to-back success after winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award in June. Her success continued into July, where she hit another superb 149 in the final Test against South Africa in Chennai, enjoying a 292-run opening stand with Shafali Verma as India eased to a ten-wicket win. Scores of 47 and 54 not out came in the subsequent T20I series against the same opposition before the opener contributed strongly in the Women’s Asia Cup, including half-centuries in the semi-final victory over Bangladesh (55 not out) and the final against Sri Lanka (60).
Shafali Verma (India)
Shafali is nominated for the first time since June 2021 and stands in contention after breaking more records in July. The 20-year-old registered the fastest double-century in women’s Test matches in India’s final Test victory over South Africa, showcasing her trademark attacking style to blast 205 in 197 balls. In addition to this, Shafali then starred in the T20I format, top-scoring for India in their Women’s Asia Cup campaign where she produced more fireworks, including in innings against Pakistan (40 in 29 balls), UAE (37 in 18 balls) and Nepal (81 in 48 balls).
The ICC Player of the Month Voting Process:
The three nominees for either category are shortlisted based on performances from the first to the last day of each calendar month. The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity including well-known journalists, former players, broadcasters and members of the ICC Hall of Fame. The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and hold a 90 per cent share of the vote. Fans registered with the ICC can vote via the ICC website, accounting for the remaining 10 per cent. Winners are announced every second Monday of the month on ICC’s digital channels.
Voting Academy for ICC Player of the Month:
Afghanistan: Javed Hamim; Australia: Daniel Cherny and Lisa Sthalekar; Bangladesh: Mazhar Uddin and Md Ariful Islam Roney; England: Chris Stocks and Lydia Greenway; Ireland: Ger Siggins and Clare Shillington; India: S Gomesh and Shivani Gupta; New Zealand: Craig Cumming; Pakistan: Sawera Pasha and Sana Mir; South Africa: Zaahier Adams and Ashwell Prince; Sri Lanka: Azzam Ameen and Farveez Maharoof; West Indies: Daren Ganga and Stacy Ann King; Zimbabwe: Lawrence Trusida and Grant Flower; Others: Darren Allan Kyeyune and Kyle Coetzer.
Large crowds have greeted Nepal’s former king in the capital, Kathmandu, calling for the reinstatement of his abolished monarchy amid dissatisfaction over the state of the country.
An estimated 10,000 supporters of Gyanendra Shah on Sunday gathered near the main entrance to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport as he arrived from a trip to western Nepal.
“Vacate the royal palace for the king. Come back king, save the country. Long live our beloved king. We want monarchy,” the crowds chanted.
Passengers were forced to walk to and from the airport, with hundreds of riot police blocking the peaceful demonstrators from entering the premises.
Gyanendra, 77, was crowned in 2001 after his elder brother Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and his family were killed in a mass murder that wiped out most of the royal family.
He ruled as the constitutional head of state without executive or political powers until 2005, when he seized absolute power, saying he was acting to defeat anti-monarchy Maoist rebels. The king disbanded the government and parliament, jailed politicians and journalists and cut off communications, declaring a state of emergency and using the army to rule the country.
The moves triggered huge street protests, forcing Gyanendra in 2006 to hand power to a multi-party government. That government signed a peace deal with the Maoists, ending a decade-long civil war that caused thousands of deaths.
In 2008, Gyanendra stepped down from the throne after parliament voted to abolish Nepal’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy, transforming the country into a secular republic.
But since then, Nepal has had 13 governments, and many in the country have grown frustrated with the republic. They say it has failed to bring about political stability and blame it for a struggling economy and widespread corruption.
Rally participants said they were hoping for a change in the political system to stop the country from further deteriorating.
“We are here to give the king our full support and to rally behind him all the way to reinstating him in the royal throne,” Thir Bahadur Bhandari, 72, told The Associated Press news agency.
Among the thousands was 50-year-old carpenter Kulraj Shrestha, who had taken part in the 2006 protests against the king but has changed his mind and now supports the monarchy.
“The worst thing that is happening to the country is massive corruption and all politicians in power are not doing anything for the country,” Shrestha told AP. “I was in the protests that took away monarchy hoping it would help the country, but I was mistaken and the nation has further plunged so I have changed my mind.”
Gyanendra has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite the growing support, Gyanendra has slim chances of returning to power.
Political analyst Lok Raj Baral told the AFP news agency that he did not see any possibility of the monarchy being restored because the institution had been “a source of instability”.
“For some disgruntled groups, it has become a retreat due to incompetence of politicians who have grown increasingly self-centred. This frustration has manifested in such gatherings and demonstrations,” he said.
[Aljazeera]
RCB’s loss to UP Warriorz on Saturday night may have smothered the passage into the playoffs for both MI and GG, but there’s still an extra edge to this contest as the top spot is still not booked.
Giants have to win to entertain thoughts of finishing at No. 1. Mumbai have a game in hand and can get there even if they lose on today, but it would then mean a three-way tie should they beat RCB. They would want to avoid this logjam, having been in a similar position last year and then going down to RCB in the Eliminator.
GG are on a bull run, having won more games (three) over the past week than they did all of last season. But there’s one thing they haven’t done yet: beat MI, who have a 5-0 record against them in the tournament’s short history. If that wasn’t pressure enough, they now face the challenge of playing Harmanpreet Kaur’s MI in Mumbai, at the Brabourne Stadium, where they are yet to lose a single game.
They have been the most explosive side in the middle-overs, courtesy Ash Gardner and new (old) signing Deandra Dottin. But MI have the best economy (6.6 runs an over) and average (17.9) in this phase. This battle will form the crux of the contest.
The return to form of Harleen Deol, instrumental in GG’s stunning chase of 178 the other night against Delhi Capitals, bodes well. Kashvee Gautam’s all-round prowess and Beth Mooney’s unshackling at the top make them look more dangerous.
MI look equally strong but have changed their batting combinations because of Yastika Bhatia’s prolonged lean run. In their previous game, Amelia Kerr was promoted to open with Hayley Mathews. It remains to be seen if this will be their plan at the back end too. If it is, it could mean a bigger batting responsibility for S Sajana and Amanjot Kaur in the middle order.
Dayalan Hemalatha’s poor run at the top of the order may force a change for GG. Simran Shaikh, who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket, could get a look-in to inject some lower-order firepower. Mumbai have no reason to tinker with their XI.
Gujarat Giants (probable): Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Lichfield, Harleen Deol, Ash Gardner (capt), Deandra Dottin, Simran Shaikh, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Priya Mishra
Mumbai Indians (probable): Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), G Kamalini, S Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia
Mark Carney was decisively elected the Liberal Party’s new leader, making him the successor to Justin Trudeau as Canada’s next prime minister.
Carney obtained more than 85% of the votes, beating his closest rival, former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, by a landslide.
[BBC]
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