The International Cricket Council has announced November's Player of the Month award winners in both women's and men's categories. Australia's aggressive southpaw Travis Head has won the award in the men's category while Bangladesh's slow left-arm orthodox bowler Nahida Akter has won it in the women's category.
Nahida bagged seven wickets for Bangladesh in the recently concluded series against Pakistan at home at an astounding average of 14.14 and helped her side clinch the three-match ODI series by a margin of 2-1. She pipped Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal and compatriot Fargana Haque Pinky to win the distinguished honour and expressed her elation on the same.
"This is a moment to cherish. To be recognised by such a distinguished panel of cricket experts means a lot and winning the ICC Women Player of the Month award will be a massive source of inspiration and motivation for me.
"We have played some amazing cricket in recent months and I am so happy to have contributed to the successes we have tasted as a team. I must thank my captain, coaches and teammates for always believing in me and that has allowed me to play my natural game against quality opponents and perform under pressure," Akter told ICC.
On the other hand, Head scored 220 runs in November which included two match-winning innings (62 and 137) that came against South Africa in the ODI World Cup semis and the final against India. He was also awarded the Player of the Match honour in the final for helping Australia win their sixth ODI World Cup title.
Head, 29, faced stiff competition from compatriot Glenn Maxwell and India's Mohammed Shami for the ICC honour but claimed it by virtue of performing when the stakes were really high. It is his first Player of the Month award and one that he is going to cherish for a long time.
"It’s been an incredible 12 months for the team which it has been a real privilege to be a part of. The way we have navigated a home summer, away trips to India, England, South Africa, India and the World Cup has been great credit to Pat, the players and the staff," Head told ICC.
"I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key.
"It’s a great honour to be recognised with this award, but it is a team effort. Without my team-mates across all formats this wouldn’t have happened; so these types of awards are as much for them as they are for me."
