Top 3 Players of the Month

There were some exceptional individual efforts that made it to our list of 'Top 3 Players of the Month' Check them out!

David Warner

Image: cricketnsw.com.au

"When he first emerged, David Warner was meant to be nothing more than a T20 slogger. Six years on he is changing the rules of modern batting" - Peter Lalor

The lad from Victoria has come a long way, for when the world had a first glimpse at Warner, they were pretty convinced of his abilities and that a lot would follow later. His journey began with a T20 game. In a space of 43 balls, he had justified everything. He was always going to be a good player in the limited overs but the fans awaited conversion of the raw talent into success at a bigger stage and now his Test record stands as a strong fact of his versatility.

David Warner was the first Australian in 132 years to debut in the national side without playing a first-class game. NSW didn't consider him good enough to include in their Sheffield Shield team. Several years later, now, Warner is answering all questions and scripting an entirely different story. Australia now have a reliable opener and vice captain in David Warner. Let's look at his recent performances.

Warner shattered all record books during the recent home series against the Kiwis with his enthralling knocks. At the end of the series, he ended up with 592 runs and 3 hundreds.

Back of my mind was to keep playing my natural game

Image: Reuters

"It was good to put a nice performance on the board. Loved the pitch they dished up, didn't have much for the bowlers. Always nice to be in form, I look back to England which was disappointing where I got a couple of fifties but wasn't able to contribute a lot. Back of my mind was to keep playing my natural game.", said Warner after the 1st Test where he scored a ton in each of the innings. 

This was the third time in his career that he achieved this feat, he previously did that against India and South Africa. Phillip Hughes is the youngest Australian to do so. 

Warner scored a brilliant 163 off 224 deliveries with the help of 20 boundaries in the first innings of the first test against New Zealand. He formed a good opening pair with Joe Burns who scored 71 before contributing significantly to take Australia to 556-4. The second innings was even more entertaining as both openers got a hundred at strike rate over hundred. Joe Burns (129) and Warner's 116 off 113 deliveries laid a strong foundation for Australia. 

In the second test at Perth, Warner scored his maiden double ton on the first day of the test itself. By the end of day one Warner’s average for this series against New Zealand stood at 261.50. The only higher Test innings at Perth is Matthew Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe. Lara's record was in danger looking at the way Warner was going. Eventually he was dismissed for 253 by Trent Boult. 

Warner failed to replicate the same in the third test, but he had an emphatic series with the bat overall.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Image: BCCI

No matter how many articles are written about the quality of the pitches, this effort is praiseworthy. Ravichandran Ashwin, the spinner is now India's go to man and one of the best spinners in the world.

The tweaker has bowled with venom, trying different variations and has explored different aspects. He simply does not let the batsman settle, the ability to build pressure and force the batsman to play the wrong shot sets him apart from others. He is not a spinner that bowls to contain, he is always a wicket taking bowler.

"Honestly I think it's the batting that makes the wicket look what it is. I don't know if any Indian journalist knows the name of the curator in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, but we seem to get a hang of Daljit Singh very quickly ," Ashwin told reporters.

"None of us go to South Africa and say the wicket is green. The grass is less green at the bottom and stuff like that. I don't hear any such statements. But unfortunately here the first day some of my good friends came and said the wicket is a little drier. We have played way too long in Mohali to know how the wicket works.", he added.

Home vs Away

His numbers in Asia are staggering: in 23 Tests in the continent he has taken 152 wickets - that's an average of 6.6 per Test - at an average of 20.47. His wickets tally is easily the best for any bowler after his first 23 Tests in the continent. The next-best, in terms of wickets in Asia after 23 Tests, is 130, by Waqar Younis.

Among all bowlers who have taken at least 100 wickets in Asia - there are 25 bowlers in this list - only Imran Khan has a better average than Ashwin's 20.47. Waqar comes in next followed by Muralitharan and Wasim Akram.

He clearly has a stronger record in Asia than overseas, but his skill cannot be overlooked. In the coming years, he can surely overcome that and perform outside Asia as well.

The Number Game

7/66 – Ravi Ashwin’s bowling figures of 7 for 66 in 2nd innings are his career best figures in an innings.

169 – Wickets taken by Ravi Ashwin in his 31 Test match career. These are the most wickets for a spinner after 31 Test matches. Only Sydney Barnes and Waqar Younis picked more wickets than Ashwin after 31 matches.

107 – Wickets taken by Ashwin in won Test matches. He is only the 59th player and 4th Indian to pick more than 100 Test wickets in won matches.

3 – Number of 12-wicket match hauls taken by Ravichandran Ashwin. He is one of the 8 players who picked 3 or more 12-wicket match hauls in Test cricket. Only Anil Kumble from India picked up three 12-wicket match hauls.

55 – Wickets taken by Ravichandran Ashwin in Test cricket in 2015. Most by any bowler in the year.

Josh Hazlewood

Image: thenewsdaily.com.au

Often compared to Glenn McGrath, Josh Hazlewood, the Australian pacer has now been one of the most consistent and successful bowler for the Aussies over the past 12 months. His recent exploits were enough to cement his spot in the Test team, if not in the limited overs formats.

Hazlewood has a very simple and uncomplicated action. He ended the series against New Zealand with 13 wickets, out of which 8 came from the third Day Night Test with the pink ball. He picked up a 6 wicket haul with the pink ball and also became the first bowler to take a wicketwith the pink ball. Right from his debut, he has been performing consistently in all formats of the game and has grabbed every opportunty that came his way.

If he keeps learning and improving at this rate, he will certainly achieve a lot in his career.