Dubai, July 12 (IANS): New Zealand opener Devon Conway and England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone have been named ICC Players of the Month for June.
“Conway won the award ahead of team-mate Kyle Jamieson, who was the Player of the Match in the WTC (World Test Championship) final against India, with South Africa’s Quinton de Kock the other nominee for his fine performances on their tour of the West Indies,” said a statement from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The left-handed batsman is the first New Zealand player to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award after an impressive first month in Test cricket, cracking a solid double century on debut against England at Lord’s and following it up with two half-centuries in his next two games, including in the ICC WTC Final in Southampton.
“I am truly honoured to win this award. That I have received it for my performances in Test cricket makes it extra special,” said Conway.
“Scoring a double century at Lord’s was a dream come true for me and to have also been able to contribute to our win over India in the ICC World Test Championship final is something that I know I will proudly look back on in years to come,” he added.
The England left-arm spinner Sophie pipped the Indian pair of Shafali Verma and Sneh Rana to become the second English woman player to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after Tammy Beaumont, who won it in February.
Sophie, a winner of the annual ICC Emerging Player of the Year award in 2018, was the most successful bowler in the one-off Test against India in Bristol, in which she grabbed an eight-wicket haul. She also grabbed three wickets each in the two ODIs which followed.
“It is really nice to win this award. It is after a period in which we’ve played all three formats so it feels good to be recognised for my performances in the Test and the white-ball series,” said Sophie.
“We’ve been happy as a team how we’ve performed across this series. We would have liked to have won the Test match but hopefully we can clinch the multi-format series,” she added.
“It’s all crucial preparation for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand [in 2022], when we’ll be defending the title we won in 2017, and we feel in a decent place as a team.”
