New Zealand pacer Nathan Smith has been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for June 2026. He beat Bangladesh's Mossadek Hossain and India's Shubman Gill for the award after his series-winning performance against England.
New Zealand pacer Nathan Smith has been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for June 2026 following a sensational run of performances in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. Smith played a pivotal role in New Zealand's memorable 2-1 Test series triumph in England, leading the bowling attack with his consistency and match-winning contributions, as per the ICC website.
The Black Caps seamer beat competition from Bangladesh's Mossadek Hossain and India's Shubman Gill to claim the prestigious monthly award.
'This is really special'
"This is really special. It was a great tour of England for the boys, and this is pretty cool. I don't usually play for individual awards, but it's nice to receive this recognition and, more importantly, to have contributed to a series win," Smith said after receiving the honour.
"Personally, it was really satisfying to contribute to the win. That's all I want to do for New Zealand - try as hard as I can and contribute in whatever way I can," he added.
Series-Winning Performance in England
The 28-year-old finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series against England with 16 wickets and was named Player of the Series despite New Zealand losing the opening Test at Lord's. His standout performance came in the opening Test, where Smith claimed three wickets in the first innings before producing a superb career-best haul of 6/70 in the second. He also registered his best-ever match figures, though the effort came in a losing cause.
Smith continued to strike at crucial moments throughout the series as New Zealand bounced back to win the final two Tests and seal a famous comeback series victory. He picked up just one wicket in the second Test but chipped in with a valuable 38, helping New Zealand tighten their grip in the second innings.
In the series decider, Smith's 4/91 in the first innings gave New Zealand a vital 82-run lead before he added two more wickets in the second innings to help the visitors seal a 2-1 series victory.
With several New Zealand quicks unavailable through injury, Smith emerged as the leader of a depleted attack and delivered.
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