- August 7, 2025
Test cricket fans were treated to a rollercoaster of excitement and intensity throughout July 2025. There were outrageous performances, horrendous performances, lists of records shattered and revived, all-round masterclass performances, bouncers of all kinds, and swings from some excellent fast bowlers; if you are a Test cricket fan, July 2025 was your month to celebrate! This month’s nominees for ICC Men’s Player of the Month are as good as they get, each sending us to the edge of our seats in multiple and exceptional Test appearances.
Shubman Gill
Indian cricket is in a transition phase, and it just got a poster boy. In his first outing as Test skipper, Shubman Gill didn’t follow the script—he wrote his own. Gill scored 567 runs at 94.50 in July with one match to spare, where he put on an absolute once-in-a-generation match at Edgbaston with 269 and 161 runs in the same Test only.
Those figures are not just big, they are just about absurd. Only Graham Gooch has scored more in a Test match. But it wasn’t just the amount of runs, it was the when and how that added to the noise. Gill came in under pressure; he rescued India from a precarious start, turned long, hard sessions into sublime performances. Oh, did we mention he captained perfectly? Grace under pressure and leadership in style—he’s not filling Kohli’s boots, he’s making them his own.
Wiaan Mulder
If you weren’t attending South Africa’s series against Zimbabwe, then you might have also missed Wiaan Mulder’s heroic origin story. Let’s change that.
Mulder didn’t just have a good series; he had a record-breaking series! He had an astonishing 531 runs with a Bradmanesque average of 265.50 in his series, including his record-breaking 367 not out in Bulawayo—the highest Test score by a South African. But of course, he also took 7 wickets at 15.28 in that series because, why not, in addition to elite batting, add elite bowling!
As a newly appointed captain, Mulder didn’t just get noticed; he catapulted himself onto the world stage. Batting, bowling, leading—he was completely unflappable with the composure of a millionaire and the thrill of a newbie. South Africa may have just found their next great superstar!
Ben Stokes
When it comes to turning up when the pressure is high, you can always trust Ben Stokes to deliver. And he delivered from start to finish in England’s explosive series against India. With 251 runs at 50.20 and 12 wickets at 26.33, it is hard to argue that Stokes is the all-rounder that most players only dream of being.
From a gritty 141 at Old Trafford to impactful shifts with the ball, you can see Stokes’ fingerprints all over England’s fight back. His two back-to-back Player of the Match awards were by no accident; he was England’s beating heart, roaring engine, and clutch man, all rolled into one. Leadership, performance, intensity, Stokes was relentless on all fronts.
July 2025 showcased Test cricket at its finest, and these three captains provided a chance to watch it all on repeat in a personal highlights reel. Gill’s class, Mulder’s dominance, and Stokes’ spirit each tell a different tale, but all are worthy of the title “Player of the Month”.
So, who will you vote for? The maestro from India, the numbers man from South Africa, or England’s iron-willed enforcer—who claims the spotlight? Let us know because we can’t call it.
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