The International Cricket Council (ICC) nominated three players for the Men’s Player of the Month award for September 2024 on 7 October. The nominees are Travis Head from Australia, Prabath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka, and Kamindu Mendis also from Sri Lanka.
Travis Head had an outstanding performance in the T20I series against Scotland and England as well as in a five-match ODI series against England.
In the ODI series Travis Head continued to shine. He was a key player for his team both batting and bowling, and earned the Player of the Series award as Australia won the series 3-2.
Prabath Jayasuriya also had an impressive month. He showed great skill as a bowler in September leading his team to victory over New Zealand in a Test series at home.
He took 18 wickets in the two-match series including two five-wicket hauls causing trouble for New Zealand’s batsmen. Overall he grabbed 21 wickets in three Tests, making him the fastest Sri Lankan to reach 100 Test wickets, achieving the milestone in just 16 matches.
Kamindu Mendis, another player from Sri Lanka, is also in contention for the Player of the Month award. He made a strong impact in Test cricket drawing comparisons to the great Don Bradman due to his exceptional start.
In September, he played four Tests, scoring 451 runs at an average of 90.20. He played a crucial role in his team’s success against England and New Zealand.
Mendis became the first male player to score over fifty in each of his first eight Test matches and the fastest batter in 75 years to reach 1000 Test runs achieving this in his eighth game.
For the ICC Women’s Player of the Month, England’s Tammy Beaumont was nominated for her outstanding performance during a white-ball tour of Ireland, scoring 212 runs at an average of 106.
Ireland’s Aimee Maguire was also nominated for her bowling, taking 12 wickets in five white-ball matches against England with her best performance being 5 wickets for 19 runs.
UAE player Esha Ozha is also a nominee for the Women’s Player of the Month. She delivered a strong all-round performance, helping her team win a tri-series against Namibia and Zimbabwe.