Australia and NSW’s prolific all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has become the first player to win back-to-back ICC Women’s Player of the Month awards, claiming the honour for the fourth time in her career, following another scintillating set of performances against England and Ireland in July.
Gardner ICC Player of the Month….again
Gardner emerged victorious over former NSW Breaker Ellyse Perry and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, who were also shortlisted for their stellar performances in July.
Votes for the honour are gathered from global fans registered at icc-cricket.com and a specialist panel comprising ICC Hall of Famers, former international players, and media representatives.
Following the success which saw her win the June award, Gardner continued her rich vein of form into July, this time demonstrating her prowess in the shorter formats. Returning a total of 232 runs with the bat, and 15 wickets with the ball, the all-rounder made telling contributions across the eight ODI and T20I fixtures she featured in during the calendar month.
In the earlier part of the month, as her team pursued another Ashes triumph, Gardner provided valuable runs in the middle order to frustrate the hosts while also enjoying plenty of wicket-taking success. The number two ranked all-rounder in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings was at her destructive best as she took three wickets in each of the three ODIs that formed part of the series.
Australia then travelled to Ireland for another ODI series, where the all-rounder chipped in with 65 runs in the first contest and took three more wickets in the second.
Gardner was thrilled to win back-to-back awards and looked forward to more challenges in the upcoming season.
“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 I’ve been able to put in a 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.
“So, it is really nice to be rewarded for all the hard work we put in to meet the strong oppositions we’re now facing.
“I’m really looking forward to the coming summer with the West Indies and South Africa touring as well as linking back up with Sydney Sixers in the WBBL.”
Fans can continue to vote every month for their favourite cricketers across all formats of international cricket as part of the ICC Player of the Month initiative by registering at www.icc-cricket.com/awards.