ICC Announces Nominations For Men's And Women's Player of the Month Award For May

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has shortlisted three Asian cricketers, Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews, bowler Asitha Fernando and veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim, for the Men’s Player of the Month award for May 2022.

The trio has succeeded in finding a place in the elite monthly performance list for their individual performances during a two-match Test series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Lankans came out on top in the second Test comprehensively by 10 wickets to seal the series 1-0.

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The veteran Angelo Mathews brought all his experience into play during Sri Lanka’s series win over Bangladesh away from home. He finished as the highest run-scorer in the series with 344 runs in two Tests that included two centuries.

Pacer Asitha Fernando finished as the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He picked up three wickets in the first match in the only innings Sri Lanka bowled. In the second game, though, he returned with 10 wickets in a match that eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides. He completed his maiden five-for with the wicket of Taijul Islam and finished with career-best figures of 6/51 with the final wicket that got Sri Lanka the win. He was duly awarded the Player of the Match for his ten-wicket match haul.

Fernando finished with 13 wickets to his name, but more importantly, he also emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

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Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim too was nominated for the award after his remarkable performance against Sri Lanka.

It was a memorable series for Rahim despite ending up on the losing side. He finished as the second-highest run-getter with 303 runs and like Mathews, had two centuries to show for his efforts. In the opening Test, he also became the first Bangladesh player to score 5000 Test runs. His 105 in the first Test helped Bangladesh take a 68-run lead. However, his second ton of the series came in more trying circumstances.

Two Pakistan stars — Bismah Maroof and Tuba Hassan — and an up-and-coming 17-year-old from Jersey, Trinity Smith, have been nominated for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for May 2022.

Tuba Hassan, in her first outing on the international stage, against Sri Lanka, took home the ‘Player of the Series’ award after finishing as her side’s highest wicket-taker.

It was a dream debut for Hassan, who took home the Player of the Match in the first T20I. She struck off the second ball of her first over to Anushka Sanjeewani and scalped Anushka Sanjeewani and Kavisha Dilhari thereafter to finish with figures of 3/8 on debut.

She picked up a wicket each in the next two games and was economical in her spells, giving away just 13 and 23 runs respectively in full spells of four overs each.

Skipper Bismah Maroof led from the front in the T20I series and finished as the highest run-getter with 65 runs in three matches. In all three games, she walked out when her team was in a spot of bother. In the first match, her 28 off 32 balls took Pakistan to touching distance of a win. In the remaining two matches, she ensured she batted through till the end to guide her team home.

In the second game, she played the perfect second fiddle to Ayesha Naseem with a 29-ball unbeaten 22. In the final match, Maroof took her team home in a crunch encounter with a brace off the final ball. Though she only scored an unbeaten 15 off 15, she won the Player of the Match for her crucial innings.

Like Tuba Hassan, Trinity Smith of Jersey too made her debut last month and already finds herself on the shortlist for ICC Women’s Player of the Month.

The 17-year-old all-rounder made her debut against France in the quadrangular series that also involved Spain and Austria. She didn’t get a chance to bat but picked up a wicket on debut.

In the first opportunity she got to bat, she scored an unbeaten 59 off just 43 balls and later picked up 2/18 in four overs with her right-arm medium pace. In Jersey’s final game of the series, she smashed yet another fifty (56 not out off 40 balls) and also picked up a wicket. Jersey finished the series unbeaten with four wins out of four.

ICC Announces Nominations For Men's And Women's Player of the Month Award For May

Angelo Mathews, bowler Asitha Fernando and veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim have been named for the Men's Player of the Month award for May 2022.