Pat Cummins crowned as ICC Men's Player Of The Month for December 2023

Australia skipper Pat Cummins' exceptional 2023 sees yet another feather into the cap as he has been crowned as ICC Men's Player of the Month for December. The right-arm pacer, fresh from his exploits at the 2023 ODI World Cup, played a massive role in Australia's 3-0 whitewash over Pakistan to kickstart the Aussie home season.

Cummins led Australia in all three Tests, bagging three consecutive five-wicket hauls and finishing as the Player of the Series with a total of 19 wickets to his name.

He played a huge role, particularly in the tense Boxing Day Test triumph in Melbourne. Cummins induced a collapse in the final session of Day 4, including the key wicket of Mohammad Rizwan, to finish with the second 10-wicket haul of his career.

Cummins' efforts in the Test series helped him ward off Bangladesh's Taijul Islam and New Zealand's Glenn Phillips en route to the award.

This marks the second consecutive month where an Australian player has bagged the award, following Travis Head's triumph in November 2023, on the back of his exploits in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

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Pat Cummins will be seen in action during the home series against West Indies

Despite a dominant home series triumph against Pakistan, the reigning Test champions will be fielding their strongest playing XI, including the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.

"Realistically the word rest and rotated gets thrown around a lot but you never miss a Test if you are fully fit. While over the last couple of years, we might have been rested from the odd game, the bulk of work we've been able to do is because of those small gaps. If we are fully fit we won't be resting," the skipper had said ahead of the home season.

The pacer, however, has been rested for the ensuing ODI series, with Steve Smith set to take charge of the team. Cummins will be keen to manage his workload ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as well as the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA.

Australia's first Test against the West Indies is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 17, at the Adelaide Oval.