Leaving behind Pakistan's Babar Azam and Bangladesh's Najmul Hossain Shanto, Ireland's batter Harry Tector bagged the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player of the Month Award for May 2023. Tector proved his mettle in a recently concluded One-Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh, scoring his career-best 140 off merely 113 balls to help Ireland post a big total in the first ODI of three-match series. The middle-order batter came to the pitch at number four when his team was struggling at 16-2 in the 7th over. However, by the time of his dismissal at the end of the 42nd over, he had turned the contest around, scoring 45 from 48 balls in the third ODI against Bangladesh. Tector has become the first-ever Irish player to bag the ICC Player of the Month Award.

"I'm delighted with the Award and would like to thank those who voted for me; however, cricket is a team sport first and foremost, so the Award is more a reflection on the performances and progress of the Ireland Men's squad," Tector said. "Without the support of Heinrich [Malan], Andrew [Balbirnie] and the dedicated group of coaches and players I work with, I wouldn't have been able to win this Award. "Thanks to the ICC - but I'm sure you'll understand that this will only be a brief moment of reflection as we have a crucial Qualifier starting in a matter of days, and our focus will be solely on that over the coming weeks," the young cricketer concluded.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP