ICC Men's Player of the Month nominees for July 2024 announced

ICC has shortlisted three top performers from July 2024 for the Men’s Player of the Month award.

Gus Atkinson (England)

Gus Atkinson made a dazzling Test debut at Lord’s during James Anderson's farewell international match. Atkinson left a remarkable first impression by claiming 12 wickets, including a five-for in each innings.

 The 26-year-old dismantled the West Indies lineup with extraordinary figures of 7/45 in the first innings, dismissing them for just 121 runs. He then secured another five-wicket haul (5/61) in the second innings, leading England to an innings victory by 114 runs. For his 12 wickets, Atkinson was an obvious choice for Player of the Match.

He continued his strong performance by taking an additional 10 wickets in the remaining two Tests, including a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the final Test in Birmingham. Atkinson also made valuable contributions with the bat, scoring 21 not out in the second Test at Nottingham and another 21 in the final match. Ending as the series' top wicket-taker with 22 dismissals, Atkinson was awarded Player of the Series.

Washington Sundar (India)

After years of persistence and dealing with injuries, Washington Sundar seems to have finally secured his place in the Indian cricket team. He was part of a young Indian squad that visited Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series. With regular T20I players taking a break after their Men’s T20 World Cup win, Sundar emerged as the team's leading spin-bowling all-rounder, proving his value and justifying the trust placed in him.

In India's surprising loss in the first T20I, Sundar was one of the few positives, delivering impressive bowling figures of 2/11 and contributing 27 crucial runs, though the team fell 13 runs short in their chase of 115. He played a key role in India's comeback, helping them turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 series win by taking six more wickets over the next four matches. Sundar was named Player of the Match in the third game for his outstanding 3/15 performance and earned the Player of the Series title with a total of eight wickets.

With the regular players returning for the Sri Lanka series, Sundar featured in just one match but made the most of his chance in a thrilling Super Over, earning the Player of the Match award.

Charlie Cassell (Scotland)

July was a month filled with impressive debuts. Following Gus Atkinson’s stellar performance, it was Scotland’s Charlie Cassell who captured the spotlight with his ODI debut against Oman in Dundee. Cassell made an unforgettable first impression, taking a remarkable seven-wicket haul (7/21) and breaking Kagiso Rabada’s nine-year-old record (6/16) for the best bowling figures on ODI debut.

Cassell's dream start included taking two wickets with his first two deliveries in international cricket, dismissing Oman’s Zeeshan Maqsood and Ayaan Khan. By the 18th over, the right-arm pacer had already secured a five-wicket haul, and he continued to dismantle the tail end, finishing with figures of 7/21 and bowling out Oman for just 91.