A rising star from England has been chosen as the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2023, earning the prestigious honor for the second time in his brief professional career. To win the prize, Harry Brook, a budding English talent, defeated India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie in a tight race. With two fifties and a hundred in February, Brook elevated his burgeoning Test career.
The 24-year-first-old’s cricket match of the month, an ODI against South Africa, saw him score just six runs. He stepped up the pace, though, as he switched to Test cricket, where his efforts on the Pakistan tour had earned him the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for December 2022. In Mount Maunganui during the first Test match against New Zealand, Brook scored fifty in each of his innings.
Harry Brook, ICC Men’s Player of the Month
In the first inning, Brook batted at number five and hit a blazing 89 off 81 deliveries, including 15 fours and a six. With his quick 54 from 41 in the second dig, Harry Brook struck seven fours and two sixes. He received the Player of the Match award for his contributions to England’s convincing victory. In the second Test in Wellington, Brook’s personal situation did improve.
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The Yorkshire batsman, who came in for England’s first innings at a perilous 21/3, slammed a career-best 186 off 176 balls, hitting 24 fours and five sixes. His 302-run partnership with Joe Root helped England take the lead. Moreover, the famed New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson, who was bowled by him for his first wicket in the game, fell to his medium pace.
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Unfortunately for Brook, England went on to lose the game by one run as a result of his diamond duck in the second inning. Nonetheless, he was rewarded for his efforts by winning Player of the Series. An overjoyed Brook said, “To receive this award again in a couple of months is a wonderful honor,” after receiving it a second time.
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I want to express my gratitude to the England teams’ coaching staff and players for their encouragement and support in letting me play to my skills. “I think we can build on what will be a tremendous summer and winter for the Men’s sides with an Ashes and attempting to win the 50-over ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in the fall, which I’m aiming to be part of both squads,” he said.