ICC Player of the Month (February): Brook, Gardner rewarded
England's swashbuckling batter Harry Brook and Australia Women all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner have won the ICC Player of the Month award for February. Brook won the accolade by beating Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie, who were also nominated. Whereas Gardner prevailed over England's Natalie Sciver-Brunt and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt as they were the nominees for the women's category.
Why does this story matter?
The ICC acknowledges brilliant performances every month in men's and women's categories internationally, and therefore, those players are nominated. Eventually, one of them is picked as the winner for that particular month. They have been handing out these monthly awards since the start of 2021. Renowned journalists and former cricketers form the voting panel. Meanwhile, the public has 10% voting rights.
Harry Brook's heroics in whites versus NZ
Brook has had a splendid run in Tests. He continued that against New Zealand, scoring two fifties and a hundred. His career-high knock of 186 helped him earn the Player-of-the-Match award despite England losing the 2nd Test. He finished the Test series as the highest run-getter, amassing 329 runs at 82.25. Astonishingly, his strike rate in the series was 110.40.
All-round Gardner stars in Australia's World Cup triumph
Gardner was influential in Australia's ICC Women's T20 World Cup triumph last month. The Aussies defeated hosts SA in the finals to bag their sixth title. The all-rounder was the Player of the Tournament, having picked 10 wickets and amassed 110 runs. Her best figures (5/12) came against rivals, NZ. She scored crucial 31 and 29 in the semi-finals and finals, respectively.
A look at Harry Brook's international numbers
In six Tests, Brook has scored 809 runs at 80.90 with a strike rate of 98.77. He has scored four hundreds till now along with three fifties in the longest format. Besides that, he has featured in 20 T20Is, scoring only 372 runs at 26.57. The tally includes a solitary fifty (81*) versus Pakistan. He has only played three ODIs, scoring 86 runs.
Here are Ashleigh Gardner's numbers
Gardner has been a pivotal player for Australia ever since she made her debut in 2017. In 73 WT20Is, she has scored 1,176 runs at 28.00, smashing six fifties. She also owns 53 wickets with an economy of 6.27. Gardner featured in 52 WODIs scoring 686 runs and picking 58 wickets. Gardner is currently playing for Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
