ISLAMABAD, Sep 08 (APP): Pakistan’s Muneeba Ali has been named in the nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award.
Meanwhile, Orla Prendergast and Iris Zwilling form the shortlist for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award, while fast bowlers Matt Henry, Jayden Seales and Mohammed Siraj are in the running for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for August.
The women’s shortlist is based on T20I performances in Europe. Ireland all-rounder Orla Prendergast is in the shortlist after helping win a home T20I series against Pakistan and continuing the form in subsequent T20Is, Muneeba makes it to the shortlist as she helped win the last match of that series with a sparkling century and the Netherlands’ Zwilling is there among the three after finishing with a bagful of wickets in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier.
Meanwhile, Siraj’s burst on the final day of the Test series against England that helped India win at The Oval has put him in the reckoning even as Henry’s clinical display in a two-Test series in Zimbabwe and Seale’s superb performances in a memorable home ODI series against Pakistan put them in contention.
Women’s Shortlist- Muneeba Ali (Pakistan): Muneeba struck only the second century in a WT20I by a Pakistan batter, her 100 not out off 68 deliveries helping her team win the third match of the series against Ireland by eight wickets. The left-handed opener scored a total of 132 runs in three matches at an average of 66.00
Orla Prendergast (Ireland): The 23-year-old Ireland all-rounder was named the Player of the Series in a home T20I series against Pakistan that her team won 2-1. She aggregated 144 runs and took four wickets in the series and continued her fine run in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. Her aggregate over the month was 244 runs at an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 127.08 and a total of seven wickets.
Iris Zwilling (Netherlands): Zwilling grabbed 10 wickets in six T20Is during the period which saw her finish as the joint leading wicket-taker in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. She averaged 10.70 per wicket at an economy of 4.65 and had returns included three-wicket hauls against Germany and Italy.
Men’s Shortlist- Matt Henry (New Zealand): Henry finished as the Player of the Series against Zimbabwe as New Zealand blanked the home side 2-0. The 33-year-old had match hauls of nine for 90 and seven for 56 as his team won the two Tests in Bulawayo by massive margins.
Jayden Seales (West Indies): Seales grabbed 10 wickets to be named the Player of the Series in the three ODIs at home against Pakistan. He finished as the leading wicket-taker and the highlight for him was a career-best haul of six for 18 in the final match that his team won by a huge 202-run margin to claim their first series win over the opposition since 1991.
Mohammed Siraj (India): Siraj’s match-winning performance at The Oval that helped draw the five-match series against England 2-2 was sensational. He grabbed three wickets on the morning of the final day as India won the match by six runs. He had hauls of four for 86 and five for 104 in the two innings, finishing with nine wickets at an average of 21.11.