Two England Ashes stars among nominees for ICC Player of the Month Award for July 

Dubai [UAE], August 7 (ANI): Two of England's Ashes stars and a young Dutch phenomenon have been nominated for the ICC's Men's Player of the Month award for July 2023, according to International Cricket Council (ICC).
-Zak Crawley (England)
Possibly the best embodiment of England's change in thinking with the bat, Zak Crawley continues to flourish at the top of the order. The right-hander was the highest runs-scorer for England in the recently-concluded Ashes even against the new ball. He was prolific in July and the most notable innings was 189 (182) at Old Trafford. 
The innings was sandwiched by scores of 33 and 44 at Headingley, as well as innings of 22 and 73 to help England level the five-match series 2-2. England earned World Test Championship points at the beginning of the 2023-2025 cycle and it took his score for the month to 412 runs at an average of 58.85.
Throughout the Ashes, he scored 480 runs in five matches and nine innings at an average of 53.33, with one century and two fifties. His strike rate was also an explosive 88.72 and he reflected England's 'Bazball' approach under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. 
-Chris Woakes (England)
Coming into the England team for the all-important third Ashes Test at Headingley, Chris Woakes needed to hit the ground running to turn aroung the series and the bowling all-rounder certainly made an impression.
The 34-year-old found the outside edge of Marnus Labuschagne’s bat to remove the right-hander early on the first morning, returning to remove Travis Head and Mitchell March and helped the hosts restrict Australia to just 263. He claimed three more wickets in Australia’s second innings of 224, before striking the winning runs in a score of 32* with Mark Wood at the other end.
The bowler took five wickets in the first innings in Manchester, and a total of seven wickets in the final Test, plus another contribution with the bat at The Oval to help England to a 2-2 series draw. In the month, Woakes averaged 18.15 with the ball.
Despite his limited involvement, playing three of the five Test matches, Woakes went on to claim the Ashes 2023 Player of the Series. He scored 79 valuable runs in five innings and took a total of 19 wickets, ending as the third-highest wicket-taker in the series with the best figures of 5/62. 
-Bas de Leede (Netherlands)
With a great individual performance in men’s ODIs which helped the Netherlands to a Cricket World Cup spot, Bas de Leede continues to make a name in the international cricket. 
The 23-year-old took 5/52 and struck 123 for Netherlands against Scotland in Bulawayo during the World Cup 2023 Qualifiers to ensure that the men in orange pipped their opponents and a book a seat for Cricket World Cup on the basis of net run rate. He became just the fifth player in the history of ODI cricket to achieve the five-wicket/century double, joining the select league of Viv Richards, Paul Collingwood, Rohan Mustafa, and Amelia Kerr.
In the other match in July, de Leede compiled 39 against Oman, and the all-rounder is expected to make a big impression in Cricket World Cup that begins in October.  He ended the Qualifiers  tournament with 285 runs in seven innings at an average of 47.50, with one century. He also ended as the tournament's third-highest wicket-taker with a total of 15 scalps. (ANI)