Jatinder in ICC Player of Month nominees

Anuroop Athiparambath

MUSCAT, MAY 3

Star Oman batter Jatinder Singh has been included in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player of the Month Nominees for April.

Jatinder made it to the nominee list for the men’s award after his outstanding contributions with the bat in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 competition in the UAE.

Other two in the list are South African spin duo Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj.

They were nominated after tormenting Bangladesh batters throughout their 2-0 victory in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) series.

Jatinder had a great UAE tour with the bat for Oman. The right-handed batter scored 259 runs from the four matches, which included two fifties and a century.

Jatinder’s 118-run knock against PNG on April 12 is the highest ever individual tally for Oman in ODIs. He showcased his expansive repertoire of strokes throughout the campaign, forcing the bowlers to constantly tinker with their line and length and also ran hard between the wickets to accumulate runs with relatively risk-free shots.

The ICC Women’s Player of the Month shortlist sees two stars of the showpiece finale of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 in New Zealand nominated for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month — Alyssa Healy (Australia) and Nat Sciver (England). They are in the running to scoop the award alongside Janet Mbabazi (Uganda), who shone following dominant performances in the Capricorn Women’s Tri-series in Namibia.

The ICC Player of the Month nominees for April were announced on Tuesday, based on performances across formats and including matches from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand, amongst others.

An independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world can now vote to decide the winners, which will be announced next week. Fans registered on icc-cricket.com/awards are invited to cast their votes until Saturday.

Simon Harmer (South Africa)

The South African spinner was an integral part of the potent bowling attack that dominated Bangladesh in both of the ICC World Test Championship series matches taking place in Durban and Gqeberha. Harmer took 13 wickets at an average of 15.15, driving his side’s charge to victory by taking three or more wickets in each of the tourists’ four innings in the series. Harmer, alongside Maharaj, caused a constant threat to Bangladesh, who eventually succumbed by 220 and 332 runs.

Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)

So often the spearhead of the South African spin attack, Maharaj celebrates his nomination on the shortlist for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award after taking 16 wickets in the WTC series win over Bangladesh at an average of 12.12. Attacking in tandem with Simon Harmer, Maharaj took seven wickets on two separate occasions, both during the second innings where he ended with figures of 7 for 32 and 7 for 40. In addition to his bowling masterclass, he scored a useful 84 in the first innings at Gqeberha to help his side set an imposing total on their way to a 332-run victory.

Jatinder Singh (Oman)

Singh was instrumental at the crease for Oman in the highly competitive ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament in the UAE in April. Amassing 259 runs in his four ODIs at an average of 86.33, his two standout performances came in commanding victories over PNG (118 not out and 79) while also scoring a half-century in a narrow defeat against Scotland.

Voting Process

The three nominees for either category are shortlisted based on performances from the first to the last day of each calendar month. The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity including well-known journalists, former players, broadcasters and members of the ICC Hall of Fame. The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and hold a 90 per cent share of the vote. Fans registered with the ICC can vote via the ICC website, accounting for the remaining 10 per cent. Winners are announced every second Monday of the month on ICC’s digital channels.