West Indies' Gudakesh Motie has been revealed as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Player of the Month for May 2024 beating contenders Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi and Ireland's Lorcan Tucker.
West Indies played three T20Is against South Africa in May and won the series 3-0. Motie picked up eight wickets in the series at an average of 8.50.
Motie took 3 wickets for 25 runs in the series opener and repeated his wicket-taking magic in the second T20I as he picked three more wickets for 22 runs. A two-wicket spell in the final T20I got him the Player of the Series award.
He has just become the second player from West Indies to win this award after Shamar Joseph won the award in January.
Talking to ICC Motie said, “It means a lot to me and I am very happy to win this award. It’s very encouraging, I have put in a lot of work during this season and I am happy that I am seeing the rewards now," Motie said.
“The standout performance for me during the series against South Africa was the first game, where I took three for 25. The third wicket that night was my favourite. Playing in a World Cup means a lot to me, and playing at home in front of our fans and knowing the conditions is also special. We have started strongly, playing three games and getting three wins, and I see us going all the way and lifting that cup on 29 June,” he added.
After enjoying his success against South Africa, Motie has been stellar in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. He has picked up five wickets in three matches.
In West Indies’ T20 World Cup opener against Papua New Guinea, he picked up one wicket. Then West Indies played against Uganda where he picked one more wicket.
West Indies played their third match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against New Zealand where Motie picked up three wickets, defeating New Zealand.
ICC also revealed their Women Player of the Month and it is Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu. She has won the award for the second time.
Athapaththu was contending for the award with England’s Sophie Ecclestone and Scotland’s skipper Kathryn Bryce.
The Sri Lankan played four matches in May, scoring 151 runs at an average of 37.75 and taking six wickets.
Athapaththu expressed gratefulness to win the award saying, “I am extremely delighted and honoured to once again receive the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award, and wish to mention that continuous recognition at this level keeps me motivated to further up my game and continue the good performance," she said.
As for West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2024, they are looking good to qualify for the Super 8s with their three runs in a row. They still have one more game scheduled on June 17 against Afghanistan. Afghanistan has won both of their matches in the T20 World Cup and whoever wins the contest will lose their first game of the tournament.
