England spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been named ICC Women’s Player of the Month for June at the conclusion of the voting process, which combines votes cast by former players, prominent journalists and global cricket fans.
Ecclestone wins ahead of Indian pair: Left-arm spinner Ecclestone edged out the Indian pair of Shafali Verma and Sneh Rana to become the second English female to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after Tammy Beaumont, who was crowned in February.
Ecclestone, a winner of the annual ICC Emerging Player of the Year award in 2018, was the most successful bowler in the one-off Test against India in Bristol, where she finished with an eight-wicket haul. She also grabbed three wickets each in the two ODIs which followed.
Sophie Ecclestone: “It’s really nice to win this award. It’s after a period in which we’ve played all three formats so it feels good to be recognised for my performances in the Test and the white-ball series.
“We’ve been happy as a team 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.
“It’s all crucial preparation for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, when we’ll be defending the title we won in 2017, and we feel in a decent place as a team.”
Big-hitting opener Verma had been nominated for a Player of the Match effort of 96 and 63 on debut in Bristol and some useful runs in the two subsequent ODIs. Rana’s performances during the period included a gritty 80 not out in the second innings to stave off defeat in Bristol and she picked up four wickets as well.
Voting Academy panelist Mpumelelo Mbangwa on Ecclestone: “What a month it was for Ecclestone. She compounded India’s problems with some magnificent bowling through the series. There is no doubt that her opponents got sick of having to deal with her as she ensured no place to hide, foxing them with her flight and guile. A quite wonderful month in which she was very influential for her England team.”
ICC Voting Academy for June 2021*:
Afghanistan: Hameed Qayoomi and Javed Hamim; Australia: Melinda Farrell and Lisa Sthalekar; Bangladesh: Tarek Mahmud and Mohammad Isam; England: Elizabeth Ammon and Claire Taylor; Ireland: Ian Callender and Isobel Joyce; India: Annesha Ghosh and VVS Laxman; New Zealand: Mark Geenty and John Wright; Pakistan: Faizan Lakhani and Ramiz Raja; South Africa: Firdose Moonda and Makhaya Ntini; Sri Lanka: Neville Victor Anthony and Russel Arnold; West Indies: Ian Bishop and Merissa Aguilleira; Zimbabwe: Tristan Holme and Mpumelelo Mbangwa; Others: Paul Radley and Dirk Nannes.
Fans can continue to vote every month for their favourite male and female 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.
Courtesy of the ICC
