Giles scoops monthly award

England's spinner, Ashley Giles, has won the first Frizzell Professional Cricketers' Association performance-of-the-month award for 2005, after racing to the top of the wicket-takers list with an impressive haul of 24 scalps in three matches.

Giles, 32, is currently the country's leading wicket-taker - no-one else has managed more than 15 - and his displays have launched Warwickshire's defence of their 2004 title in impressive style, with two wins and a draw.

Giles edged out his team-mate, Ian Bell, who picked up a record-breaking first-class aggregate of 480 runs before May. His prize is a cheque for £750 from the championship sponsors, Frizzell.