
Jay Shah congratulates ICC Player of the Month award winners for June 2025
South Africa batter Markram and West Indies skipper Matthews were announced as the winners of the ICC Men's and Women's Player of the Month awards for June 2025.
Taking to X, Shah wrote, 'Congratulations to Hayley Matthews and Aiden Markram on their @ICC Player of the Month Awards. Aiden's performance to lead South Africa to the #WTC25 title was simply amazing while for Matthews this was her record-equalling fourth POTM Award after a great month with bat and ball.'
https://x.com/JayShah/status/1944685825637408935
Markram won the men's award ahead of team-mate Kagiso Rabada and Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka for his for Player of the Match effort in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at Lord's.
The 30-year-old opener struck a solid 136 off 207 balls and featured in a 147-run third-wicket stand with captain Temba Bavuma in a successful chase of 282. The five-wicket victory helped South Africa win an ICC Title for the first time since the Champions Trophy in 1998. Markram also picked up a wicket each in the two innings.
Matthews, who has previously won the awards in November 2021, October 2023, and April 2024, edged South Africa's Tazmin Brits and compatriot Afy Fletcher to become only the second player to win the award four times after Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner.
The West Indies skipper scored 104 runs in the three ODIs against South Africa, which included a half-century in the third match. She also grabbed four wickets in the series. Her fine run continued in the subsequent 2-1 T20I series win. She was named Player of the Series for her two fifties in an aggregate of 147 runs and two wickets. (ANI)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Cricket-South Africa want promising batsmen to show potential on international stage
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final - South Africa v Australia - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - June 13, 2025 South Africa's Aiden Markram celebrates reaching his century Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/ File Photo CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -South Africa's Twenty20 captain Aiden Markram wants his team's promising young batsman to use the opportunity of limited overs tours to Australia and England over the next eight weeks to develop their careers and display their international potential. South Africa have high hopes for powerful teenage slogger Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis, the prolific 22-year-old run scorer who first competed in the Indian Premier League three years ago, as they continue preparations for next year's T20 World Cup. "The last thing you want to do is to clip their wings. You sort of want to let them fly and let them do their thing,' Markram told a virtual press conference on Friday as South Africa readied to depart for Australia, where they play three T20 internationals in Darwin and Cairns later this month. "I think we've seen on various stages around the world now that they are proper X-factor players and that they havetaken to international cricket quite easily,' he added. "So, I don't know if I have too much advice for them, besides the fact that they must keep taking the game on and not be scared of disappointments or failures. 'It's been great to see their progress. They're going to play a massive role moving forward in cricket in South Africa and that's the thing that we're quite excited about,' Markram added. Brevis, a regular in T20 leagues around the world, debuted for South Africa's T20 side against Australia two years ago while Pretorius, 19, debuted in last month's tri series against New Zealand and hosts Zimbabwe, scoring 51 in the final in Harare last weekend. The pair are also in the squad to take on Australia in three One Day Internationals after the T20 series. South Africa then head to England early next month for three ODIs and three T20s. "For us as a team it'll be about fine tuning a lot of things and preparing for that T20 World Cup, so a great opportunity in Australia and then followed by England and if we can get closer towards another trophy, that'll be good," Markram told reporters. South Africa were runners-up at the last T20 World Cup in the West Indies one year ago and Markram was the hero of their World Test Championship win over Australia in June. The next T20 World Cup to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka in early 2026. (Editing by Christian Radnedge)


The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Cricket-Zimbabwe recall Brendan Taylor after completion of ICC ban
(Reuters) -Zimbabwe have added batter Brendan Taylor to their squad for the second test against New Zealand in Bulawayo from August 7-11 after he completed a three-and-a-half-year suspension imposed for breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Anti-Doping codes. Taylor, 39, was banned in 2022 after admitting receiving $15,000 from an Indian businessman in 2019. He had retired from international cricket in September 2021. He admitted taking cocaine while in India and claimed this was later used to blackmail him into spot-fixing, though he denied going through with any fixes. "I certainly did think it was all done, but here I am – and it's an overwhelming feeling of gratitude," Taylor said in a media release from Zimbabwe Cricket on Wednesday. "I have to pinch myself a little to realise that I'm actually here. I've been soaking it all up and embracing every moment. "The last year and a half has certainly been dedicated to my return. I've put in an immense amount of work – from fitness to the technical side to diet – and I'm feeling a lot leaner, fitter and mentally stronger. That's only been possible through sobriety. I feel in a wonderful space." Taylor has played 34 test matches since making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2004, scoring six centuries and 12 half-centuries. With 9 938 international runs across all formats, he is Zimbabwe's third-highest run-scorer. Zimbabwe's first test in the two-game series against New Zealand started in Bulawayo on Wednesday. (Reporting by Nick SaidEditing by Christian Radnedge)


The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Rugby-Piardi call in Australia-Lions test should be accepted, Erasmus says
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - South African head coach Rassie Erasmus' Press Conference - SARU House, Tygerberg Park, Cape Town, South Africa - March 5, 2025 South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus during the press conference REUTERS/Esa Alexander/ File Photo (Reuters) -South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus believes the decision to award the British & Irish Lions a series-winning try in last weekend's 29-26 win over Australia was "touch-and-go" but World Rugby's explanation of the contentious call should be accepted. The Lions won the test with a try from Hugo Keenan in the final seconds but Australia believe a ruling from referee Andrea Piardi at a ruck immediately beforehand was incorrect. Australia coach Joe Schmidt said the call was an error in his post-match press conference, suggesting Jac Morgan's clear-out of Carlo Tizzano was dangerous, and Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said he would seekg "accountability" from World Rugby over it. But Erasmus, who received a two-month ban from World Rugby for a 62-minute video that was critical of Australian referee Nic Berry after the first Lions test in South Africa in 2021, said he could see both sides of the argument. "I had Australia (winning) by four points in the game, so I lost our internal (coach's competition) on that one," Erasmus told reporters with a smile on Tuesday. "It's such a tough decision. World Rugby has come out to say it was the right decision. It was a very tough call for the referee to make. "If I was Joe, I would be really disappointed, and if I was (Lions coach) Andy (Farrell), I would be really happy. I think it was touch-and-go, so I can understand both sides of what each coach sees. "But World Rugby has ruled on it and that is what everybody has to accept." World Rugby chief Alan Gilpin backed the call from Piardi earlier on Tuesday. "We do share with Joe and the coaching team why the match officials made that decision," he said. "Joe's got a view about what was wrong with that decision and there'll be a debate so that Joe and his players can go into the next test understanding how that game's going to be officiated." South Africa will host Australia in two Rugby Championship tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town next month. Italian Piardi will officiate the defending champion Springboks' final match in the competition against Argentina in London in October. (Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken Ferris)