England's Harry Brook, left, and Australia's Ashleigh Gardner, right, have been named as the ICC's Players of the Month for December 2022 ©Getty Images

England's Harry Brook and Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner have won the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Player of the Month awards for December 2022, it has been announced.

The 23-year-old Brook played a key role in England's historic 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan, finishing the series as the highest run-getter with 468 runs in three matches.

Brook proved to be a perfect fit for the "BazBall" approach and slotted in seamlessly in the middle-order in the absence of Jonny Bairstow, with his runs coming at an incredible strike rate of 93.41.

Harry Brook played a crucial role for England as they beat Pakistan 3-0 on their first visit to the country for 17 years ©ICC
Harry Brook played a crucial role for England as they beat Pakistan 3-0 on their first visit to the country for 17 years ©ICC

Playing in just his second Test, the youngster returned scores of 153 and 87 in the first match of the series in Rawalpindi.

His century in the first innings came off just 116 balls as he picked apart the Pakistan bowling line-up to set the tone for the rest of the series.

Brook went on to score a century each in the remaining two Tests as England dominated on their return to play Test cricket on Pakistan soil after 17 years and was named Player of the Series.

Ashleigh Gardner ended a fantastic year in 2022 by finishing as the world's number one ranked female all-rounder ©ICC
Ashleigh Gardner ended a fantastic year in 2022 by finishing as the world's number one ranked female all-rounder ©ICC

Gardner, the world’s number one ranked female all-rounder, capped off a superb year by claiming the Women's Player of the Month award for December 2022.

She was chosen ahead of England youngster Charlie Dean and New Zealand opener Suzie Bates, after her superb individual series against India last month.

The 25-year-old picked up the equal most wickets during the five-match series against India with seven scalps, while also amassing 115 runs at an average greater than 50.

It caps off a tremendous 12 months for Gardner, who played a starring role in helping Australia to victory at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand and then the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.