Smriti Mandhana nominated for ICC Women's Player of the Month for May

Dubai, June 3 (IANS) India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has been nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Month for May following her strong show during the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka last month. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and South Africa all-rounder Chloe Tryon have also been nominated in the women's category for their stellar performances in limited-overs formats.

In the men's category, all-rounders Brendon McMullen of Scotland and Milind Kumar of the United States and the United Arab Emirates opener Muhammad Waseem have been nominated after their stellar show in the white-ball formats.

Rodrigues amassed 204 runs in three matches of the tri-series in Sri Lanka, including a useful 44 in the final against the hosts. Her 123 from 101 balls against South Africa was the highlight during this period, as she played a big role in India winning the three-team tournament.

The West Indies captain, Matthews, currently ranked as the No. 1 all-rounder in T20Is and second in ODIs, showed why she continues to be at the top of the ICC player rankings. The three-time winner of the monthly award scored 48 runs and took two wickets in the first ODI against England at Derby after being named the Player of the Series in a preceding three-match T20I series, topping the run aggregate with 177 runs with a strike-rate of over 137, and also grabbed three wickets.

The South African all-rounder Tryon scored 176 runs at a strike rate of 131.34 in three ODIs and took six wickets in the Sri Lanka tri-series in Colombo, also featuring India. She scored 67 against India and had scores of 35 and 74 against the hosts. Her left-arm spin bowling was in the spotlight as she grabbed five for 34 against Sri Lanka, including a hat-trick.

Among the men's shortlist, the 25-year-old McMullen has made the cut after aggregating 233 runs and finishing with 10 wickets in five ODIs. A string of fine performances in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, including two half-centuries against the UAE and a Player of the Match effort of 101 off 88 deliveries and four for 55 against the Netherlands at Utrecht, brought him into contention for the award.

The off-spinning all-rounder Milind Kumar scored 201 runs in four ODIs at an impressive strike rate of 116.86 and also picked up nine wickets to be shortlisted for the award. His standout performance was a blistering 115 not out off just 67 deliveries against Canada in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match in Lauderhill. He became the first player from the USA to score a fifty and take five wickets in the same ODI when he did so against Oman.

Muhammad Waseem showed his worth in both ODIs and T20Is during this period. He scored 169 runs in five ODIs playing as a middle-order batter in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 matches and was then named Player of the Series as the UAE defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in a T20I series played in Sharjah. Leading the team and opening the batting, he scored 54 and 82 in the first two matches of the series.

--IANS

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