Dubai, Jul 5 (IANS): England opener Tammy Beaumont, Australia off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews have earned nominations for the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for June 2023.
Tammy last won an ICC Player of the Month crown in February 2021 and the right-handed batter lit up the June 2023 with her record-breaking innings of 208 in the one-off women’s Ashes Test in Nottingham. She was the shining light for England as they fell to defeat at the hands of an Ashleigh-inspired Australia.
Her mammoth score came from 331 balls and kept the home side in contention throughout. The feat meant she became the first English woman to register a Test double hundred, and just the second woman from her country to hit a hundred in all three formats of the international game.
On the other hand, Ashleigh again finds herself among the candidates for the prize after previously winning the award in December 2022 and February 2023. She earned a nomination for her excellence in the longest format, clinching a valuable victory over England with a ruthless spell of bowling across both innings.
After taking four wickets for 99 in the first innings including the prized scalp of Beaumont as well as other dangerous players in England line-up, Ashleigh ran through the hosts' batting line-up in the second innings with match-winning figures of eight for 66.
Ashleigh's effort means she finished the one-off Test with an astonishing 12 wickets, with her haul being an Australian record. She also became the second bowler to take eight wickets in women’s Tests, after India's Neetu David took 8/53 against England in 1995.
Her overall match figures of 12/165 from the one-off Ashes Test are also second-best figures in women's Tests after Pakistan's Shaiza Khan took 13/226 against West Indies in 2004.
Meanwhile Hayley, a previous winner of the ICC Women's Player of the Month in November 2021, was at the heart of the action for the West Indies in the rain-affected series against Ireland at Gros Islet.
She produced a glittering all-round display in the first ODI, scoring a fine century (109 off 106 balls) before stifling the opposition response with impressive bowling figures of three for 53 to secure a commanding victory and eventually lead the team to 3-0 series triumph.