Pat Cummins. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the shortlists of contenders for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for December 2023. The shortlist for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month contains three top performers from key ICC World Test Championship clashes last month.
Pat Cummins has enjoyed a remarkable 12 months as captain of Australia, and caps a fine year with his first ICC Men’s Player of the Month nomination following a commanding bowling performance to secure series victory over Pakistan. Taijul Islam of Bangladesh also welcomes his maiden nomination thanks to impressive bowling displays in the series against New Zealand. The Blackcaps’ Glenn Phillips provided plenty of heroics in the final Test between the two sides to level the series, and is the third name in contention for the December award.
The ICC Women’s Player of the Month shortlist for December includes two of India’s primary match-winners during their multi-format month, plus a Zimbabwe veteran who stole the show at the ICC Women’s T20WC Africa Qualifier.
Precious Marange bowled Zimbabwe to a landmark victory at the Africa Qualifier, with a sparkling run of form which included a hat-trick in the final outing. Jemimah Rodrigues led India’s batting charge superbly in December, hitting valuable runs in Tests and ODIs against England and Australia. Her teammate Deepti Sharma completes the shortlist thanks to blistering displays at both ends of the wicket – with notable runs and wickets against the same opposition.
An independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world will now be invited to cast their votes to decide the winners, which will be announced next week. Fans registered at icc-cricket.com/awards will be able to vote for their favourite performers until Saturday.
ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for December
Pat Cummins (AUS)
Cummins has enjoyed many moments of brilliance in 2023, all of which see him firmly in contention for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in the ICC Awards 2023. December capped a fine 12-month period across formats, and Cummins produced another inspiring display as Australia’s spearhead, bowling them to victory in the second Test in Melbourne with ten wickets in the match, including five for 48 in the second innings to clinch victory as the match headed towards a nervy climax. With 13 wickets over the two Test matches, including his 250th in the longest format, he could win his first Player of the Month crown.
Taijul Islam (BAN)
Taijul Islam is another celebrating his maiden nomination in the Player of the Month awards, and the experienced left-arm spinner produced a decisive spell as Bangladesh won the first of their Tests against the visiting Blackcaps in Sylhet. Four wickets in the first innings was followed by a memorable six for 75 as New Zealand fell short by 150 runs. More success followed, where despite losing the second Test, Taijul claimed another five wickets and earned the Player of the Series accolade.
Glenn Phillips (NZ)
With Taijul starring for Bangladesh, Phillips was the shining light for New Zealand as they battled to victory in the second outing to clinch a 1-1 series draw. Before his second Test heroics, Phillips had taken five wickets and chipped in with valuable runs, albeit in vain. On a difficult pitch for batters, Phillips scored 87 of New Zealand’s 180 runs, and followed this with a match-winning 40 as the Blackcaps rallied to reach the required target of 137 after having been 69 for six.
ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees for December
Precious Marange (ZIM)
Zimbabwe’s veteran bowler enjoyed a career-defining series of performances in December as her side secured safe passage from the Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier. Two wickets in their opening match against Kenya was followed by a wicket-less performance against Botswana. Marange then stepped up, with three successive Player of the Match showings, taking three for 13 against Tanzania, then three for nine against Namibia before her crowning glory – five for seven in the final against Uganda to restrict them to 79 all out, which included a 19th over hattrick.
Jemimah Rodrigues (IND)
Rodrigues exhibited superb versatility in December, producing impressive batting displays in all formats of the game. A modest start to the month in T20Is was followed by classy first innings knocks of 70-plus in India’s two Test victories over England and Australia. Rodrigues also continued her run-scoring spell in the subsequent ODI encounters against the Australians, hitting 82 and 44 in the first two matches to end the month having averaged over 60 in Tests and ODIs in December.
Deepti Sharma (IND)
The all-rounder was also a key performer in India’s Test and ODI outings during December. The Test victory over England was a particular highlight for Sharma, striking 67 and 20 with the bat as well as taking nine opposition wickets. She then top-scored for India in the following Test success against Australia before also outlining her ODI strengths, which included five for 38 in the second match as India fell agonizingly short.