On Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of the ‘Players of the Month Awards’ for June 2021. These awards rate the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.
Last week, ICC had shared the list of nominations. In the male category, the race was between New Zealand’s all-rounder Kyle Jamieson, batting star Devon Conway, and South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock.
Similarly, in the female category, the nominees were Indian teen sensation Shafali Verma, all-rounder Sneh Rana, and England’s star spinner Sophie Ecclestone.
Amongst men, Kiwi opener Conway won the ‘Player of the Month’ for June 2021 for his impressive performances in the longest format in the recent past. The left-handed batsman scored a double century on his Test debut against England and followed it up with two fifties in his next two matches, including in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against India in Southampton.
🔸 WTC21 champion
🔸 Double century on Test debutThis @BLACKCAPS star has been voted the men's #ICCPOTM for June 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bMVGduhabL
— ICC (@ICC) July 12, 2021
Reacting to the special award by ICC, Conway said that he is honoured to receive such recognition. The South Africa born Black Caps player mentioned that smashing a double at Lords was a dream come true and to contribute to a win over India in the WTC final is something he will always be proud of.
“I’m truly honoured to win this award. That I have received it for my performances in Test cricket makes it extra special. 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,” said Conway as quoted by ICC.
When it comes to Women cricket, the prestigious award was bagged by Ecclestone for her supreme consistency with the ball against India. In the one-off Test, Ecclestone grabbed an eight-wicket haul and followed it with three wickets each in the first two ODIs.
A bucketload of wickets in June means this England star was voted the women's #ICCPOTM winner! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/zFtAt8D0L9
— ICC (@ICC) July 12, 2021
Ecclestone expressed her excitement to win the special award, saying it’s nice to be recognised after a good performance.
“It’s really nice to win this award. After a period in which we’ve played all three formats, it feels good to be recognised for my performances in the Test and the white-ball series. We’ve been happy as a team with 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,” said Ecclestone.
