Shafali Verma, Test Debut,
Shafali Varma (Image Credit: Twitter)

India women stars Shafali Verma and Sneh Rana’s brilliant performances have earned them a nomination for the ICC Player of the Month award for June. The governing council has announced 6 players – 3 men and 3 women – shortlisted for this award.

This particular award was instituted in January this year to “recognise the best international performances across formats for male and female cricketers.”

Sneh Rana and Shafali Verma earn a place alongside England‘s Sophie Ecclestone as the 3 nominated women cricketers; all three played against each other in a Test match and 2 ODIs in the month of June in England.

Shafali Verma was the Player of the Match in the Test in Bristol for her twin fifties on debut – the first Indian woman to do so. She struck 96 in the first innings – highest by an Indian woman on debut – and 63 in the second essay. She also aggregated 59 runs in two ODIs against India at a strike rate of 85.50.

Sneh Rana
Sneh Rana. Image-Twitter

Sneh Rana staged an act of defiance in India’s second innings with her 80* saving the Test after India were made to follow on. Earlier in the match, she finished with a four-wicket haul.

Sophie Ecclestone, the left-arm spinner, was all over India in the 3 matches – she picked 8 wickets in the Test match at an average of 25.75; she also bagged 3 wickets in each of the two ODIs at an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 3.65, helping England win the series, and ran away with the Player of the Series award with two more scalps in the third ODI.

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Devon Conway, Quinton de Kock, and Kyle Jamieson nominated for the men’s award

Devon Conway, Quinton de Kock, and Kyle Jamieson have been short-listed for the men’s award.

The Kiwi opener had a sensational start to his Test career, smashing a double hundred on his debut Test innings against England at Lord’s; he followed it up with an 80 in Birmingham and then a score of 54 in the WTC final against India as New Zealand became the first World Test Champions.

Virat Kohli and Kyle Jamieson
Virat Kohli and Kyle Jamieson (Image Credit: Twitter)

Conway’s teammate Kyle Jamieson was the Man of the Match in the final versus India for his five-for in the first innings, and 2 wickets, that of Virat Kohli and Chetehswar Pujara, in the second innings. Earlier, in the Lord’s Test, he had picked 3 wickets.

South African opener Quinton de Kock had a staggering month of June in both red-ball and white-ball cricket against West Indies. He smacked 141* and 96 in the two Tests; then the left-hander hit 135 runs at a strike rate of 142.10 in the 3 T20Is in June.

The winners will be announced on Monday, 12 July. The previous winners of the award for May are Bangladesh‘s Mushfiqur Rahim and Scotland all-rounder Kathryn Bryce.

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