The ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award shortlist for December 2022 features players from three different nations, as batting dominated.
The Pakistani captain is in excellent form with the bat right now, having played well against England and in the first game of the New Zealand series.
Babar demonstrated his consistency even while carrying the responsibility of captaincy, scoring runs in all four Test matches he participated in. In eight innings, he scored two hundreds and three scores of fifties.
His 136 on day three of the first Test in Rawalpindi, where he struck 19 fours and a six to lead his team to 579, marked the start of the month. In the second and third Test matches, played in Multan and Karachi, respectively, he went on to score three hundreds in four innings, finishing the series with 348 runs at 58.
For the first Test match against New Zealand, Babar travelled back to Karachi and took advantage of his time in the middle to score 161 runs in only six hours.
In his innings, he hit 15 fours and a six, and his 14 in the second innings let him end with 523 runs at 65.37 during the course of December.
Harry Brook, who was given the go-ahead to attack in the middle order, had a strong debut Test season and contributed to England’s historic Test series victory in Pakistan.
Brook concluded with 468 runs at an astounding average of 93.60 for the month of December. He scored thunderous hundreds in each of England’s three victories on the tour.
The 23-year-old right-debut hander’s Test was only his second in his career, but his assertive, proactive demeanour gave the impression that he was a seasoned competitor.
The No. 5 crushed 153 runs off only 116 deliveries in a blitz of Pakistan’s attack, but was unable to fend off England’s onslaught, which saw them score 657 runs at a run rate of 6.50. His opponents received no relief in games two and three as he followed up the hit with an effort of 87 (65) in the second innings.
At the second Test in Multan, Brook went on to score an important century in the second innings. He continued by scoring another century in Karachi, this time with eight fours and three sixes, but maintaining an amazing strike rate of 74. For his efforts, Brook received the Player of the Series award.
Head concluded the month’s four Test matches for Australia with 455 runs at an average of 91 and one century. He also contributed two wickets to the team’s first Test victory over the West Indies.
Chopping on to fall just one run short of a century in the first game, he bounced back with a thunderous 175-run innings on his home field from just 219 balls, laced with 20 fours. He went on to score two fifties in South Africa’s first two Test matches, helping his team to 24 World Test Championship points and a 2-0 series lead.
