The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced its Player of the Month for July, and once again, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner claims the honor. Gardner not only outnumbered her teammate Ellyse Perry but also outshone England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, who registered consecutive centuries in the final leg of the Women’s Ashes multi-format series.
Ashleigh Gardner has been recognized for her remarkable performance in July, where she accumulated 232 runs and claimed 15 wickets across formats. This outstanding display has earned her the prestigious ICC Player of the Month award for the fourth time. The 23-year-old all-rounder also happens to be the first-ever player, male or female, to secure the ICC Player of the Month award in successive months.
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Ashleigh Gardner beats fellow all-rounders Ellyse Perry and Nat Sciver-Brunt to win the title. 🙌👏#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/2zCdhw8rPZ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 15, 2023
After her exceptional spin bowling performance in the One-Off Ashes Test that earned her the Player of the Month award for June, Ashleigh Gardner continued her impressive form in the white-ball leg of the series. In the 1st Twenty20 International (T20I), she contributed a valuable 31 off 23 balls and followed it up with scores of 9 and 32 off 25 balls, while recording bowling figures of 0/27 (3), 2/39 (4), and 0/21 (2) in the 3-match series.
During the 3-match One-Day Internationals (ODI) against England, Gardner was back to bowling her best. She registered impressive bowling figures of 3/42 (10), 3/54 (10), and 3/39 (10), while also continuing to contribute with the bat, recording scores of 21 (24), 33 (37), and a quickfire 24-ball 41. After successfully retaining the W-Ashes with an 8-all draw, Australia extended their stay overseas touring Ireland for a 3-match ODI series.
The opening ODI against Ireland was washed out, while in the second match, Gardner continued to impress with a superb 39-ball 67 and recorded 1/21 (6) with the ball. In the third ODI, she produced another bowling delight, finishing on 3/38 (10), and wasn’t required with the bat as Australia’s openers led the team to a 2-0 series win.
Commenting on her brilliant run, Ashleigh Gardner, said, “It’s a great honour to win the ICC Player of the Month for July and particularly to become the first player to win back-to-back awards. It’s been a really hectic time over with the Women’s Ashes and the tour of Ireland and I’m really pleased with what the Australian team has achieved.
“From a personal perspective, it’s also been pleasing that I’ve been able to put in some really consistent performances with bat and ball over that period. As the Ashes showed the standard of women’s cricket is continually rising and the game is throwing up a lot of challenges.”
(Quotes sourced from ICC release)
