ICC announces Women's Player of the Month nominees for July

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the list of nominees for the coveted Player of the Month award for July. Australian and English players dominate the list following a riveting Ashes series, which saw a tied score of 8-8, with the Women in Yellow retaining the trophy.

All of the nominees are also all-rounders in the form of Ellyse Perry, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Ashleigh Gardner. Each of the aforementioned players made an impact across the all-format Ashes series in England and helped their teams' cause.

Ellyse Perry came into July after a solid performance in the one-off Test in June, which saw her being dismissed for 99 in the first innings. She scored three fifties across the white-ball leg of the tour, with 91 being her highest score, which she went on to match with her display in the ODI against Ireland.

She accumulated a total of 276 runs across the three 50-over matches at an average of 69.00 and a strike rate of 83.13, leading her to the nomination among other performances.

Ashleigh Gardner, the reigning Player of the Month winner, after her match-winning display in the one-off Ashes Test, managed to make it to the list of nominees yet again.

The No.1-ranked ICC T20I all-rounder had a fruitful white-ball leg of the Ashes as well. Gardner claimed nine wickets in the ODI series and also scored a fifty in the series opener against Ireland. She also played some handy cameos in the T20I series as well as the ODI series.

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Will newly crowned No.1 ODI batter Nat Sciver-Brunt win the ICC Player of the Month award

England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt was at her best during the 2023 Ashes and continued her fine run of form for the year. After a dominant Women's Premier League (WPL) campaign for the Mumbai Indians (MI), she brought over her match-winning ability to the Ashes as well.

She chipped in with a couple of cameos and four wickets in the T20I series but really elevated the game during the subsequent ODIs. Scoring successive hundreds, including one in the series finale, she played a huge hand in England winning the series by a 2-1 margin and leveling the overall Ashes score.

Her exploits in the series landed her the Player of the Series award and a surge to the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings as well.

The all-rounder is currently partaking in the ongoing Hundred competition, representing the Trent Rockets alongside her MI teammate and skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur.

Who will win the ICC Women's Player of the Month for July 2023? Let us know what you think.