DUBAI: Australian batter Travis Head, who smashed an explosive century to help Australia win their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup title, has been named as the ICC Men's Player of the Month for November 2023.

Head beat tough competition from teammate Glenn Maxwell and India seamer Mohammed Shami to claim the honour. Head scored 220 ODI runs in November, including a half-century and a century, and played a significant role in helping his team win the World Cup. The 29-year-old paid tribute to his teammates for their help in his journey over the last year.

Head's two best knocks during November came in the most critical stage of Australia's Cricket World Cup campaign. These innings won the Head, Player of the Match award in the semi-final and final of the 50-over showcase. In the semi-final, he made an impact with the ball initially, derailing the South Africa innings rebuild, claiming the important wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen. This helped restrict the Proteas to a modest total, which was overhauled in a tense chase. Head led Australia's effort, smashing an aggressive 62 from 48. In the final against India, he changed the course of the game with a stunning catch, which sent back the dangerous Rohit Sharma.

Then he smashed a brilliant 137 from 120 balls to help Australia win the game by six wickets as they chased a modest Indian total of 240. Australia's innings was in the doldrums at one stage, having been reduced to 47/3. However, Head kept his cool and picked pace after seeing off a tough new ball period. His special knock was studded with 15 fours and four sixes.