ICC Women's Player of the Month for July 2023 revealed
Cricket
Ashleigh Gardner, Australia's star all-rounder becomes the first-ever player
(Web Desk) -Australia's star all-rounder becomes the first-ever player – male or female – to win the ICC Player of the Month Award in consecutive months.
There's no stopping Ashleigh Gardner at the moment after the Australian all-rounder won the ICC Women's Player of the Month for the second time running. This is the fourth time Gardner has won the coveted monthly award, beating fellow all-rounders Ellyse Perry and Nat Sciver-Brunt to the title.
“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," said Gardner on her achievement.
“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.”
Gardner made vital contributions with the bat and ball in the T20I leg of the Ashes. She scored 31 and 32 in the first and final match of the series but went wicketless in those games. In the second T20I though, Gardner scalped two wickets.
Moving on to the ODI series, Gardner made significant contributions in every game, showcasing her prowess with both bat and ball. In each match, the 26-year-old picked up three wickets while also amassing a total of 95 runs across the ODI leg of the tour.
Australia successfully secured the Ashes victory in the second ODI, during which Gardner's performance stood out. She initially scored 21 off 24 with the bat and later followed up with an impressive bowling performance of 3/54. Notably, two of her wickets came in the 38th over that broke England's momentum, contributing to Australia's narrow three-run victory.
In the Ireland series after the Women's Ashes, Gardner scored her second-highest individual score of 65 in the second ODI, which was her fifth half-century in the format. In the third match, she claimed three wickets as Australia won the series 2-0. Gardner was awarded the Player of the Series.
Throughout the month, Gardner aggregated 232 runs and scalped 15 wickets during her eight ODI and T20I matches, showing yet again why she is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders to ever play the game.
