The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the three nominees for the Men’s Player award in July 2024. In the past month, several exciting players displayed their excellent performances across formats.
England whitewashed West Indies in a three-match red-ball series at home with a 3-0 margin. Zimbabwe started their five-match series in the shortest format in an amazing way before India made a great comeback to register the series with a 4-1 margin.
The Blue Brigade displayed another brilliant performance in the recently finished three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka, which they won with a 3-0 margin.
This Indian player among ICC nominees for the July award
The first nominee of the ICC award for July 2024 is the premier pace bowler Gus Atkinson, who made his debut in a great way at the iconic Lord’s Ground in London, which was also the farewell international game for veteran pacer of the national side- James Anderson.
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Atkinson had a fantastic first impression in the encounter, begging 12 wickets in the game, which included two five-wicket hauls in each innings. The Surrey pacer ran through the Kraigg Braithwaite-led side’s batting line-up as he recorded incredible figures of 7/45 to bundle out them for just 121.
Gus followed it with another five-wicket haul in the second innings, as he ended with 5/61 to help Ben Stokes-led side register a victory by innings and 114 runs. Despite that special performance, he didn’t get the ‘Player of the Match’ award in the game.
Atkinson continued to impress for the rest of the series, as he included another four-wicket haul in the third and final game of the series in Birmingham, to end the three games as the highest wicket-taker (22) in three games at an average of just over 16.
“It was a special (talking about the first Test at Lord’s where Anderson played his final Test) and an incredible week, and one I won’t be able to forget. To run in hard and hit the pitch hard (talking about his approach), that is all I tried to do this series.” The 26-year-old expressed after winning the Player of the series award.
India’s spin all-rounder, Washington Sundar, is the second nominee for the ICC award of July. After years of struggle with injuries, he finally established himself in the blue colors.
With the senior players taking a rest from the five-match Zimbabwe series, the young players needed to step up and show their caliber in the game. Sundar ended as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the series, with eight scalps in five innings, at an average of under 12, and an economy rate of 5.16.
In the final 20-over game of the 2024 series against Sri Lanka, the Tamil Nadu-born picked up two wickets in four overs, giving away 23 runs at an economy rate of under six, at an average of 11.50.
“I need to be three every single day giving my 100 percent. And that’s something I have not compromised on.” He remarked on his future aspirations.
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The third nominee for the ICC July award is Charlie Cassell, the new pacer for Scotland. He broke into the scene with his phenomenal figures of 7/21. He made the dream start by taking two wickets off the first two deliveries, dismissing Oman’s Zeeshan Maqsood and Ayaan Khan.
His figures also ranked as the seventh-best bowling figures in the 50-over games.
“It’s a bit surreal. You wake up hoping to get one or two on your debut. You don’t expect to get seven.” Cassell said after that surreal game.