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ICC World Test Championship Final: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Player of the Month awards for June 2025, with South Africa's Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada, and Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka featuring prominently in the men's category.

Aiden Markram played a pivotal role in South Africa's historic ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final victory over Australia at Lord's in June. After securing the crucial wicket of Steve Smith with the ball, Markram anchored the Proteas' successful chase of 282 runs with a brilliant 136. His vital partnerships with Wiaan Mulder and an injured captain Temba Bavuma were instrumental in securing South Africa's first senior ICC men's trophy in 27 years.

Kagiso Rabada spearheaded South Africa's bowling attack in the WTC Final with his characteristic consistency and aggression. He delivered a fiery spell in the first innings, picking up 5/49, a performance that saw him surpass Allan Donald on the list of South Africa's leading Test wicket-takers. Rabada also surpassed Allan Donald in the list of South Africa’s leading Test wicket-takers.

Rabada ended the match with nine wickets overall, playing a crucial role in limiting Australia’s scoring and keeping South Africa in the contest after a low first-innings total.

Pathum Nissanka was also named being Sri Lanka’s star batter in the Test series win against Bangladesh. He scored a career-best 187 in the first Test to help his team draw the game and followed it up with 158 in the second Test as Sri Lanka secured victory by an innings and 78 runs. Nissanka finished the series as the top scorer, showing great consistency and temperament.

ICC Women's Player Of The Month

The women's category features South African batter Tazmin Brits and two West Indies players, Hayley Matthews and Afy Fletcher.

Brits had an impressive month across formats. She scored 184 runs in the ODI series against West Indies, including a century (101 off 91 balls) in the final match that helped South Africa clinch the series 2-1.

In the T20I series, Brits started strongly with an unbeaten 98 but had lower returns in the next two games. She finished with 132 runs at an average of 66 in the T20Is.

Brits had an impressive month across formats. She scored 184 runs in the ODI series against West Indies, including a century (101 off 91 balls) in the final match that helped South Africa clinch the series 2-1.

Fletcher was the standout bowler in both the ODI and T20I series against South Africa. She claimed nine wickets in the ODIs at an average of 24 and picked up five wickets in the T20Is, playing a key role in the West Indies’ comeback to win the T20I series. Fletcher’s tight bowling helped contain the South African batters in crucial moments.

Inputs from IANS