Dubai: England spinner Sophie Ecclestone edged out India’s teen batting sensation Shafali Verma and all-rounder Sneh Rana to become the ICC Player of the Month for June, while New Zealand opener Devon Conway bagged the honour in the men’s category.
Sophie Ecclestone in action during the one-off Test against India in June. Twitter @ICC
Left-arm spinner Ecclestone thus became the second English female to win the award after Tammy Beaumont, who was crowned in February.
Ecclestone, a winner of the annual ICC Emerging Player of the Year award in 2018, was the most successful bowler in the one-off Test against India in Bristol, where she finished with an eight-wicket haul. She also grabbed three wickets each in the two ODIs which followed.
“It’s really nice to win this award. It’s after a period in which we’ve played all three formats so it feels good to be recognised for my performances in the Test and the white-ball series,” Ecclestone said in an ICC release.
“We’ve been happy as a team how we’ve performed across this series. We would have liked to have won the Test match but hopefully we can clinch the multi-format series.
“It’s all crucial preparation for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, when we’ll be defending the title we won in 2017, and we feel in a decent place as a team,” she added.
Big-hitting opener Verma had been nominated for her Player of the Match effort of 96 and 63 on her Test debut in the one-off fixture against England and some useful runs in the two subsequent ODIs.
While Rana’s performances during the period included a gritty 80 not out in the second innings to stave off defeat in Bristol and she picked up four wickets as well.
In men’s cricket, Conway became the maiden New Zealand player to win the award after an astounding first month in Test cricket.
The left-hander had cracked a solid double century on debut against England at Lord’s, following it up with two half-centuries in his next two games, including in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India in Southampton.
Conway won the award ahead of team-mate Kyle Jamieson, who was the Player of the Match in the WTC final, with South Africa’s Quinton de Kock the other nominee for his fine performances on their tour of the West Indies.
“I’m truly honoured to win this award. That I have received it for my performances in Test cricket makes it extra special,” Conway said.
“Scoring a double century at Lord’s was a dream come true for me and to have also been able to contribute to our win over India in the ICC World Test Championship final is something that I know I will proudly look back on in years to come.”
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