UAE's Muhammad Waseem creates history, beats competition from Shaheen Afridi to win ICC Player of the Month award

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem has created history by becoming the first-ever player from his country to win the prestigious ICC Men's Player of the Month award.

He received the award after enjoying a prolific run with the bat in April. Apart from Waseem, Pakistan star Shaheen Afridi as well as Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus were nominated for the Player of the Month award. However, Waseem beat the competition from the other two to claim the award for the first time in his career.

Waseem played a key role in UAE's success in the ACC Premier Cup in Oman. After opening his campaign with a duck against Kuwait, Waseem bounced back with a 65-run knock against Bahrain. He followed it up with knocks of 45 and 48 against Oman and Cambodia respectively.

The right-handed batsman failed to get going against Nepal and was out for just 11 before smashing a stunning match-winning century in the final against Oman. Waseem finished the competition with 269 runs at an average of 44.83. His fine run in the tournament has now been rewarded with the ICC Player of the Month award:

Muhammad Waseem thrilled to win the ICC Player of the Month award:

Muhammad Waseem expressed his delight over winning the ICC Player of the Month award and said that it would be a big motivation for the players from emerging cricket teams. He also expressed his happiness over being able to lead UAE from the very front in the ACC Premier Cup as he set his sights on the next edition of the Asia Cup.

"It is a great honour to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award. I am thrilled to join a distinguished list of award winners from around the world," Waseem said.

"The award is a big motivation for players especially those from emerging cricket teams like the UAE. Last month, our goal in the ACC Premier Cup in Oman was to qualify for next year's Asia Cup and I am proud of my team and their performance in the tournament.

"At a personal level I am happy that I led the team from the front especially in the final. Scoring a century in a big game is indeed a special moment, especially when it helps the team to victory. I look forward to our preparations for the Asia Cup and my aim is to continue to deliver for the team with the bat and lead by example in these exciting times for UAE cricket," he added.

Hayley Matthews claims award in women's category:

West Indies star Hayley Matthews has won the ICC Women's Player of the Month award after beating competition from South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu. Matthews has won the award for the third time.

"I’m really happy to win the award again. The performances resulted in the team’s success and that’s the most important thing for me as captain," Matthews said.

"To win in Pakistan … was always a big goal. I wanted to perform well and contribute to the team’s success so to be able to have performances and get the results that was really good and showed that the hard work and the concentration in Pakistan paid off.

"Being able to set some new records and achieve some new milestones as well was good for me so I’m extremely happy. We have confidence and we will take this with us going into the tour of Sri Lanka and look to secure more crucial points in the ICC Women's Championship," she added.

In April, Mathews played three T20Is and as many ODIs against Pakistan. In the ODIs, she scored 325 runs with the help of two centuries in addition to picking up six wickets. In the T20Is, Matthews scored 126 runs and picked up six wickets.