The ICC has revealed the men’s Player of the Month nominees for July 2024, and this list includes three bowlers, and contingently all of them are bowlers, which is kind of shocking in this batter’s era. The ICC has shortlisted England’s Gus Atkinson, India’s Washington Sundar, and Scotland’s Charlie Cassell for this prestigious accolade. Here is a short glimpse of the performances of all of the above-mentioned players, which brings them a nomination for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award.
Gus Atkinson (England)
Gus Atkinson made his brilliant Test debut in James Anderson’s last international match at Lord’s in what could have been a passing of the torch occasion.
In his debut Test match, Atkinson made a great impact by taking 12 wickets, including a five-for in both innings. With amazing figures of 7/45 in the first inning, the 26-year-old blew up the West Indies batting order for a meager 121.
England won the innings by 114 runs thanks to his second-inning five-wicket haul (5/61) after his first-inning heroics. He won the Player of the Match award for his brilliant bowling display in his first test match.
Atkinson maintained his outstanding form, collecting 10 more wickets in the final two Tests of the England-West Indies Series. This includes a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the final Test at Birmingham.
He also contributed with the bat, scoring an undefeated 21 in the second Test in Nottingham and another 21 in the last test. Atkinson took home the Player of the Series trophy after finishing with 22 wickets as the series’ highest wicket-taker.
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Washington Sundar (India)
Washington Sundar looks to have at last made an impression on the Indian cricket team after years of tenacity and overcoming injuries.
Sundar traveled to Zimbabwe for a five-match T20 International series as a member of a young Indian team. Sundar proved his worth and validated the belief in him by taking over as the team’s top spin-bowling all-around player while the usual T20I players were taking a break following their Men’s T20 World Cup success.
Sundar was one of the few bright spots in India’s surprising loss in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, with superb bowling stats of 2/11 and a critical 27 runs to keep the visitors in the game, but they eventually fell 13 runs short of 115.
He was a key player in India’s comeback, collecting six more wickets in the final four games to assist his side overcome a 1-0 lead and win the series 4-1. With impressive statistics of 3/15 in the third game, Sundar was voted Player of the Match. He also won Player of the Series after finishing the series as joint-most wicket-taker.
Sundar was only allowed to play in one match due to the return of the regulars for the Sri Lanka series. But he made the most of it in an exciting Super Over against Sri Lanka to win Player of the Match. Sundar’s vital 25 off 18 balls guided India to a competitive total of 137/8 in a low-scoring match.
With eight wickets remaining and only 23 runs needed from 24 balls, Sri Lanka looked to be coasting to victory. However, in his final over, he struck twice in two deliveries to spark a dramatic turnaround in the match.
Charlie Cassell (Scotland)
July was a month of dream debuts; following Gus Atkinson’s outstanding performance, Scotland’s Charlie Cassell stole the show in his ODI debut against Oman in Dundee.
After taking an incredible seven-wicket haul (7/21) and smashing Kagiso Rabada’s nine-year-old record (6/16) for the best bowling stats on his ODI debut, Cassell left an indelible first impression in his first international appearance.
Two wickets off his opening two deliveries in international cricket, against Oman’s Zeeshan Maqsood and Ayaan Khan, capped off Cassell’s incredible start.
The right-arm pacer had taken five wickets before the eighteenth over, and he was still going strong at the end, finishing with scores of 7/21 and helping Scotland scrape Oman for a mere 91 runs.
In addition to shattering records, Cassell’s performance was listed as the seventh-best bowling stats in ODI history, only surpassed by Andy Bichel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Rashid Khan, Glenn McGrath, Shahid Afridi, and Chaminda Vaas.
