12 August,2024 05:38 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Gus Atkinson (Pic: File Pic)
England pace bowler Gus Atkinson has been named as the ICC Men's Player of the Month for July. He pushed his contenders Washington Sundar and Charlie Cassell down to win the award.
"It is a real privilege to win the ICC Player of the Month! The start to my Test career has been unbelievable, and I never imagined achieving this level of success in my first series with England. I am incredibly grateful to my teammates and the fantastic environment created by Baz (Brendon McCullum) and Stokesy (Ben Stokes)," Atkinson said as quoted by ICC.
"It's an honour to play and represent my country. I know there is a lot of hard work ahead, especially with a big series against Sri Lanka coming up. I'm excited to maintain consistency and do my best to help England succeed," the pacer added.
Gus Atkinson made his Test Debut during the last match against James Anderson. In that match, the pacer claimed 12 wickets.
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The brilliant spell included a five-for in each innings as the 26-year-old ran through the West Indies batting order to record incredible figures of 7/45 in the first innings, bundling out the visitors for just 121.
He followed up the initial heroics with yet another five-wicket haul (5/61) as England recorded an innings win by 114 runs.
For a total of 12 wickets, he was the undisputed choice for the Player of the Match award, as per the ICC.
Atkinson continued his impressive form, taking 10 more wickets across the remaining two Tests. This included a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the final Test in Birmingham. He also contributed with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 21 in the second Test at Nottingham and another 21 in the final match.
Later, Gus Atkinson ended the series as the leading wicket-taker. He bagged 22 wickets, following which was awarded the "Player of the Series".
