Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
Wyatt and Bell-Drummond lead the MVP Rankings for June.
You can now vote for your Players of the Month for June as the top four men’s and women’s domestic players have been announced using the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings.
Fresh from his mammoth unbeaten 300 for Kent, Daniel Bell-Drummond has the most MVP points in the men’s game across June, leading a star-studied shortlist. Hampshire captain James Vince is in second place as he continues to lead the Overall MVP while supporters can also choose between Essex all-rounders Daniel Sams and Matt Critchley.
For the women’s award, Southern Vipers opening batter Danni Wyatt tops June’s table with her skipper Georgia Adams just behind in second. Central Sparks all-rounder Erin Burns and South East Stars captain Bryony Smith also had an impressive month, completing the nominees.
The players are selected by the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings, which picks out the game’s top performers across every single fixture which forms the rankings for each competition, as well as an overall table which is how the top four is selected. The MVP takes into account batting, bowling and fielding contributions as well as match defining contributions using a unique algorithm developed with CricViz.
The PCA Player of the Month is decided by the public vote below with the poll closing on Wednesday 5 July at 11am.
Men’s PCA Player of the Month
The month of June saw a combination of two rounds of LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures and an array of Vitality Blast games as teams closed in on the latter part of the group stages. The shortlist contains an astonishing 11 Match MVP awards between them:
Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent)
Leading the way on the men’s standings with a huge total of 237 points is Kent opening batter Daniel Bell-Drummond.
The 29-year-old scored a massive 829 runs in June with 508 coming in the Vitality Blast at an average of 72.6 and 359 in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
During his 12 games in the month, Bell-Drummond won three Match MVP awards. The first came against Hampshire when the Kent opener scored 89 from 55 balls to earn 31 MVP points.
A fantastic 111 off 58 balls against Middlesex also won Bell-Drummond a Match MVP and a huge total of 46 MVP points.
To top off a brilliant month, Bell-Drummond scored a career best 300 not out against Northamptonshire in the County Championship, winning the Match MVP award and a further 62 points.
James Vince (Hampshire)
Just 10 points behind the leader on an impressive 227 is Hampshire captain James Vince.
The 32-year-old scored 543 runs in the month with an average of 49.4. The LV= Insurance County Championship saw him contribute 137 runs at an average of 45.7 and 406 in the Vitality Blast, averaging 50.8.
The T20 opener secured a phenomenal four Match MVP awards in the month, picking up two of them against Essex, including scoring a fabulous 103 off 48 to earn 53 points on 2 June. The second coming 21 days later as he scored 76 off 42 balls to claim 40 MVP points.
A brilliant innings of 71 off 39 against Sussex and an unbeaten knock of 62 off 40 against Surrey also earnt the Hampshire skipper Match MVP awards.
Daniel Sams (Essex)
In third position in the rankings with a strong 223.8 MVP points in June is Essex overseas star Daniel Sams.
The 30-year-old all-rounder scored 319 runs in the month with an average of 35.4 with a highest score of 69 not out.
With the ball, the left-arm quick bowler took a notable 19 wickets with a brilliant average of just 14.7.
The Australian won two Match MVP awards in June, the first coming against Glamorgan for a knock of 41 off just 16 balls alongside figures of 1-20 earning 40 MVP points.
The second came against Middlesex as he scored an incredible 67 off 24 balls which included eight sixes to go with brilliant figures of 1-15 which earnt 38 points as Essex won by 22 runs on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
Matt Critchley (Essex)
Completing a strong top four for June is another Essex all-rounder in Matt Critchley with 223.6 MVP points.
Critchley scored 450 runs in the month with an average of 40.9, 230 runs coming in the LV= Insurance County Championship and 220 in the Vitality Blast.
The 26-year-old also took 23 wickets with a fantastic average of 19.5 bowling leg spin.
Critchley also managed to secure two Match MVP awards in the month with one each in the Blast and County Championship.
Against Somerset in the longer format of the game, Critchley secured 53 MVP points and the Match MVP award after scoring 121 and 52 alongside taking 2-46, helping Essex to victory by 196 runs.
His Blast Match MVP came against Middlesex, scoring a blistering 36 off 18 balls and then following that up fantastic figures of 5-28.
Women’s PCA Player of the Month
To help make your decision on who to vote for in the women’s category, below is a quick glance at the four nominee’s achievements in June with the culmination of the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)
Topping the table with an impressive 103 points from just three matches is Southern Vipers opener Danni Wyatt.
The 32-year-old scored 194 runs at an average of 64.7 and finished as the leading run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup with 273 runs at 45.5 with a brilliant strike rate of 150.
Astonishingly, Wyatt won the Match MVP award in each of her three games.
A brilliant innings of 68 off 49 balls against Central Sparks earnt her 43 MVP points.
Wyatt continued her good form in to the Finals Day Eliminator, scoring 76 off 50 balls earning her 34 points.
In the final, the opener’s skills were on display again as she scored 50 off 28 balls helping her team to Charlotte Edwards Cup success for the second year in a row.
Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers)
Second on the MVP table for June is the victorious Southern Vipers captain Georgia Adams.
For the second year in succession, the 29-year-old lifted the Charlotte Edwards Cup trophy after leading her side to victory over The Blaze by seven wickets.
The all-rounder scored 127 runs in the month at an average of 63.5 alongside taking six wickets at 20.3.
Adams picked up the Match MVP award and 40 MVP points against Sunrisers for a fantastic knock of 63 not out off 33 balls as Vipers won by five wickets.
Figures of 2-20 and an unbeaten 16 in the main event ensured victory.
Adams finished top of the 20-over competition’s MVP table with a phenomenal 155 points, winning the Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year, sponsored by Vitality, earning £2,500 and a bespoke Mappin & Webb trophy.
Erin Burns (Central Sparks)
Amassing 73 MVP points in June and in third position on the table is Central Sparks all-rounder Erin Burns.
The 35-year-old scored 109 runs at 36.3 and took four wickets at an average of 29.7.
In the Charlotte Edwards Cup group stages, Burns took impressive figures of 3-26 against Southern Vipers including skipper Adams for one, helping Sparks to a seven-run victory.
The all-rounder picked up a Match MVP award against Western Storm and 37 MVP points for a striking innings of 66 runs off 45 balls, alongside taking figures of 1-26.
The Australian enjoyed another blistering innings of 39 off 22 balls against South East Stars, but Sparks slipped to defeat by six runs.
Burns finished fifth on the final Charlotte Edwards Cup MVP table and took nine wickets in the competition at an impressive average of 22.2.
Bryony Smith (South East Stars)
Smith completes the impressive top four with 70 MVP points in June despite playing just two games.
The 25-year-old finds herself nominated for the Player of the Month award for the second month in a row after scoring 98 runs and taking four wickets with a brilliant average of 14.3.
The off-spinning all-rounder picked up two Match MVP awards in both games she played in during June.
Against Thunder figures of 1-34 including the wicket of Fi Morris for 44 and then 51 off 32 balls secured 33 MVP points.
Another impressive all-round performance against Central Sparks secured 37 MVP points. A fantastic knock of 47 off 28 balls was followed up with figures of 3-23 as Stars won by six runs.
Smith finished second in the race for Vitality Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year with 146 points.
Find out more about the PCA MVP Rankings and view the men’s and women’s tables.
Name of Author: Professional Cricketers Association
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey as the Cricketers’ Association, represents past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales. In the 1970s, the PCA established a standard employment contract and minimum wage for professional cricketers. It also helped create a pension scheme in 1995 and launched the magazine All Out Cricket and the ACE UK Educational Programme in 2002.
