Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
- Alice Davidson-Richards scored 332 runs at an average of 110.67
- Archie Vaughan picked up 11 wickets against Surrey in the County Championship
- Davidson-Richards: “From a personal point of view, it has been a great summer”
- Vaughan: I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done this year”
- PCA Player of the Month awards are decided by MVP Rankings and public vote
Alice Davidson-Richards and Archie Vaughan have been selected as September’s PCA Players of the Month.
Following excellent displays throughout the month, the duo were shortlisted for the sixth and final iteration of the award in 2024 through the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings. The unique algorithm selected the top four men’s and women’s players before they faced a public vote, with the winners decided by a 50:50 split between the two.
In the women’s game, Davidson-Richards came out on top having secured more than a third of the public votes. The 2024 cinch PCA Women’s Player of the Year Kathryn Bryce finished second in the poll, with Northern Diamonds bowler Phoebe Turner and South East Stars wicketkeeper Kira Chathli third and fourth respectively.
In the men’s category, Somerset saw three players nominated for the prize. The eventual winner was 18-year-old all-rounder Vaughan, who claimed the trophy with 43% of the votes. He finished ahead of the 2024 cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year Liam Dawson and teammates Jack Leach and Lewis Gregory, who were third and fourth respectively.
Davidson-Richards claims September prize
The 30-year-old had a great month on a personal level, scoring 332 runs from four innings at an astonishing average of 110.67. Those performances secured her the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Player of the Year title and saw her selected as captain in the PCA’s Team of the Month, with an MVP points haul of 99.45.
She played an instrumental role in guiding the South East Stars to the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. In the four tournament matches she played during the month, Davidson-Richards surpassed 50 in every innings.
Two of her best performances came in games where it mattered the most, the semi-final and the final. The middle-order batter secured Match MVPs in both, starting with an unbeaten score of 90 in the semi-final against Southern Vipers where she picked up 32.12 MVP points.
She then struck 93 in the final against the Sunrisers, accumulating 22.49 MVP points. The South East Stars, however, ended up as the losing side in a rain-affected affair.
Following her excellent end to the summer, Davidson-Richards said: “It is a really nice way to end the season. To get to two finals and help the team towards that has been really pleasing. From a personal point of view, it has been a great summer.
“Scoring runs in the semi-final and final was what the team needed there and then. We needed somebody to put their hand up and it wasn’t just me. There were a few others along the way, especially Kalea (Moore) in the semi-final. Somebody just need to stay in and play the long innings and thankfully I was the one to do it on those days.
“I think there are different challenges to 50-over cricket and T20. The former probably suits me pretty well at the moment and as long as I’m playing, I’m pretty happy.
“I’m already super excited for the 2025 season. I’m looking forward to being able to put on the three feathers and represent Surrey and come together as a team and see where we can take it. Hopefully there will be a few more finals next season.”
Vaughan wins September’s Player of the Month trophy
Vaughan enjoyed a breakout summer in 2024, which ended with him winning the Player of the Month for September. The Somerset youngster secured 124.28 MVP points thanks to his impressive contributions with the bat and ball.
The England U19 international picked up 13 wickets last month and scored 222 runs. His best outing came in the Vitality County Championship fixture against Surrey, where Somerset secured a dramatic 111-run win.
The young all-rounder won the Match MVP against the champions by securing 63.26 points. This was mainly down to his efforts with the ball, picking up career best figures of 11-140.
Vaughan also showed his versatility with the bat by opening the batting against Lancashire and Hampshire, scoring his maiden First-Class half century against the former.
After winning the Player of the Month for September, Vaughan said: “If you were to say I would do the things I have at the start of the season being at school, I wouldn’t have believed you. So firstly, I’m very happy to get the opportunity to play first-team cricket but then to put in the performances off the back of getting the opportunities, I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done this year.
“September went by pretty quickly. We had three County Championship games and I played the best game of my life so far against Surrey. Obviously, the way the match finished, so dramatically and how quickly it happened, I don’t think I’ll get many more games like that in my life.
“It’s been amazing to get the experience. As a team, we didn’t get the results we wanted, having had the opportunity to win three trophies. But, on a personal level, I was pretty happy with my performances.
“I’ve done a lot of my batting opening in age group and second team cricket, so it’s not foreign to me. I love opening so if I was to get an opportunity again to open, I would definitely take that role.
“As a spinner, to have such a great bowler like Jack (Leach) in the dressing room is so vital. And bowling is all about partnerships so to have someone like that at bowling at the other end helps me a lot as well.
“Securing my place in the team in 2025 would be nice and impacting the game as positively as I can and having a few more performances like I did this summer would be great.”
Find out more about the MVP Rankings and view the domestic men’s and women’s tables.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Stay ahead of the latest cricket industry trends by subscribing to our free cricexec “daily briefing” newsletter.
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.
