![\"Jasprit](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jasprit_Bumrah-BCCI.jpg\")
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today unveiled the shortlists in contention for the ICC Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Player of the Month awards for December 2024, celebrating the outstanding individual performances on the international stage during the calendar month.<\/p>\n
Following a gripping month of action in the race to the ICC World Test Championship Final, the nominees for the ICC Men\u2019s Player of the Month comprise standout wicket-takers from India, Australia and South Africa.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s Jasprit Bumrah is nominated for the second month in succession after continued spells of destructive bowling in India\u2019s efforts in the enthralling Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. Victorious Australia skipper Pat Cummins also earns his way onto the shortlist following decisive bowling spells, as Australia edged ahead with wins in Adelaide and Melbourne in December. Completing the lineup is South Africa\u2019s Dane Paterson, whose 13 wickets across two Tests helped South Africa become the first team to qualify for the WTC Final at Lord\u2019s in June.<\/p>\n
Australia, South Africa and India are also represented among the contenders for the ICC Women\u2019s Player of the Month award.<\/p>\n
Talismanic Indian batter Smriti Mandhana scored heavily during December, notching notable scores in Australia and against the West Indies on home soil. Nonkululeko Mlaba is nominated for the first time after historic wicket-taking feats in South Africa\u2019s Test against England at Bloemfontein. Australia\u2019s all-round sensation Annabel Sutherland is the final name on the shortlist after shining with the bat and ball during the month, hitting back-to-back centuries against India and New Zealand alongside valuable wickets.<\/p>\n
An independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world will now be invited to cast their votes to decide the winners, which will be announced next week. Fans are now able to vote for their favourite performers at icc-cricket.com\/awards.<\/p>\n
ICC Men\u2019s Player of the Month Nominees for December:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jasprit Bumrah (IND)<\/strong><\/p>\n The world\u2019s number one ranked Test bowler ended the year as strongly as he performed through it, with 22 wickets during his three Test outings in December. With Australia growing in confidence during the series, Bumrah was the primary resisting force, starring in spells of four for 61 in Adelaide, six for 76 in Brisbane, and in the nine-wicket performance in Melbourne which saw him reach the highest rating points tally by any Indian bowler in history. Bumrah will be hoping to win his second Player of the Month crown, and elsewhere, claim the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men\u2019s Cricketer of the Year in the ICC Awards 2024 following a dazzling year.<\/p>\n Pat Cummins (Aus)<\/strong><\/p>\n Australia\u2019s captain inspired a memorable fightback from the 1-0 series deficit with stirring performances in December\u2019s Tests that featured 144 runs and 17 wickets at 17.64. After the disappointment of Perth, last year\u2019s ICC Men\u2019s Cricketer of the Year ripped through the Indian batting lineup in the second innings in Adelaide, taking five for 57 to secure a ten-wicket victory from which they prospered. Arguably his highlight came in Melbourne, where, after his first innings 49, he helped his side recover from 91 for six with valuable lower order runs (41) before removing India\u2019s top three batters as Australia won by 184 runs and took the upper hand in the thrilling series.<\/p>\n Dane Paterson (SA)<\/strong><\/p>\n The South African seamer is nominated for the first time for the ICC Men\u2019s Player of the Month award, and does so after 13 wickets on a successful return to the Proteas Test side. Recalled for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha, Paterson immediately repaid the faith with a Player of the Match performance, claiming his first Test five-for with the wickets of Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Kumara in one over in his first innings return of five for 71. The spell proved crucial in the 109-run win and Paterson backed it up with more heroics with a probing five for 61 in the nail-biting victory over Pakistan that saw South Africa seal their place at Lord\u2019s in what will be their first ICC World Test Championship Final.<\/p>\n ICC Women\u2019s Player of the Month Nominees for December:<\/strong><\/p>\n Smriti Mandhana (IND)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Indian opener is hoping to win her second ICC Women\u2019s Player of the Month crown after 463 runs during a calendar month packed with ODI and T20I action. The 28-year-old hit 270 runs in her six 50-over contests, headlined by a sublime 105 against Australia at Perth. On the back of that performance, Mandhana then took apart the travelling West Indies bowling unit, hitting half-centuries in three successive T20Is and two further ODIs, taking home the Player of the Series prize in the former.<\/p>\n Nonkululeko Mlaba (SA)<\/strong><\/p>\n The South African strike bowler wrote her name into the history books in December thanks to a memorable display against England in their solitary Test at Bloemofontein. Following a modest showing in the ODIs that preceded the contest, Mlaba came to life in the longest format, extracting turn from the surface to take four wickets and a run out in the first innings, before six more in the second saw her become the first South African female to take ten wickets in a Test match.<\/p>\n Annabel Sutherland (AUS)<\/strong><\/p>\n The 23-year-old all-rounder enjoyed a fruitful end to 2024, helping her earn nominations for both the ICC Women\u2019s Cricketer of the Year and the Women\u2019s ODI Cricketer of the Year. December began with wickets in Brisbane and the seamer took four for 39 in a comfortable victory in the second ODI against India. The third ODI saw Sutherland hit three figures, smashing 110 in 98 balls to claim the Player of the Series, and she followed that performance with another century across the Tasman Sea, striking a brisk, unbeaten 105 in 81 balls in their opening victory over New Zealand. The second ODI saw her hit another 42 runs and take three wickets, as she won another Player of the Series prize.<\/p>\n The ICC Player of the Month Voting Process:<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u2019s digital channels.<\/p>\n Voting Academy for ICC Player of the Month:<\/strong><\/p>\n Afghanistan: Javed Hamim; Australia: Daniel Cherny and Lisa Sthalekar; Bangladesh: Mazhar Uddin and Md Ariful Islam Roney; England: Chris Stocks and Lydia Greenway; Ireland: Ger Siggins and Clare Shillington; India: S Gomesh and Shivani Gupta; New Zealand: Craig Cumming; Pakistan: Sawera Pasha and Sana Mir; South Africa: Zaahier Adams and Ashwell Prince; Sri Lanka: Azzam Ameen and Farveez Maharoof; West Indies: Daren Ganga and Stacy Ann King; Zimbabwe: Lawrence Trusida; Others: Darren Allan Kyeyune and Kyle Coetzer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Cricket Council (ICC) today unveiled the shortlists in contention for the ICC Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Player of the Month awards for December 2024, celebrating the outstanding individual performances on the international stage during the calendar month. Following a gripping month of action in the race to the ICC World Test Championship Final, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket-cricket"],"yoast_head":"\n