Asian Players rules the roost in the player of the Month Award nominations for May

Dubai:The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the nominees for the ICC Player of the Month Awards for May to recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.

Hasan Ali (Pak), Praveen Jayawickrama (SL), and Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) were nomiated for ICC Men’s Player of the Month Awards while Kathryn Bryce (SCO), Gaby Lewis (IRE), and Leah Paul (IRE) were nominated among the women.

In the month of May, Hasan Ali of Pakistan played two Tests against Zimbabwe where he took a total of 14 wickets.

From Sri Lanka’s camp, debutant Praveen Jayawickrama played one Test against Bangladesh, where he took a total of 11 wickets at 16.11. He bowled Sri Lanka to victory in the second Test against Bangladesh with the best match figures by any Sri Lankan bowler on Test debut.

Meanwhile, Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh played one Test and three ODIs against Sri Lanka. He helped Bangladesh win their first ODI series against Sri Lanka by scoring 125 in the second ODI.

In the women cricket, all-rounder Kathryn Bryce is the first player from Scotland, male, or female, to make it to the top 10 of the batting or bowling lists in the ICC Player Rankings released recently.

She played four T20Is against Ireland where she scored 96 runs and took 5 wickets with an economy rate of 4.76.

Gaby Lewis from Ireland also played four T20Is against Scotland where she scored 116 runs at 29.00 with a strike rate of 116.00. She became the leading run-scorer in the series between Ireland and Scotland, with innings of 47 in the second match and 49 in the fourth.

Her compatriot Leah Paul took 9 wickets at 4.44 with an economy rate of 4.44 against Scotland and became the leading wicket-taker in the T20I series between Ireland and Scotland.

According to the ICC release, the three nominees for either category are shortlisted based on on-field performances and overall achievements during that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month).

This 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 family including senior journalists, former players, broadcasters, and some members of the ICC Hall of Fame.

(UNI)