Record Breaking Napier Tops Twenty20 MVP
The MVP rankings cut through the stats and find the key performers, who win games for their teams so it's no surprise that after the group stages of the Twenty20 Cup seven of the top ten in the Twenty20 MVP will be involved in quarter final action. And it's no surprise that of the top ten nine have contributed with both bat and ball, all of whom would be classed as all-rounders.
Graham Napier leads the way after his heroic 152 not out against Sussex at Chelmsford catapulted him simultaneously to the top of the leaderboard and into the limelight. Napier has scored 283 runs in the Cup at an incredible strike rate of 1.99 and notched eleven wickets at an economy rate of 7.21. His innings against Sussex came from just 58 balls, included a record 16 sixes and represented 62.81% of Essex's total. He has also taken three catches and contributed three run outs to further demonstrate his value to the Eagles' cause.
The quarter final between Essex and Northants throws Napier together with his leading rival in the Twenty20 MVP, Andrew Hall. Hall has scored 233 runs at a strike rate of 1.18 including three fifties and has been even more impressive with the ball taking 18 wickets at an economy rate of 7.69, including 6-21 against Worcestershire and 5-29 versus Glamorgan.
Tyrone Henderson is in third place having played a key role in Middlesex's domination of the South Division. The powerful South African, who always plays the game with a smile on his face has whacked 158 runs at a strike rate of 1.78 and taken 18 wickets with a miserly strike rate of 6.63, including 4-29 in the win over Kent at Uxbridge and 3-22 against Surrey.
Anthony McGrath is the leading run-scorer in the competition with 392 runs at a strike rate of 1.32 including four fifties. He has been responsible for over 31% of Yorkshire's total runs in the Cup and he has also chipped in with the ball taking four wickets with an economy rate of 8.15. He occupies fourth spot in the Twenty20 MVP and fifth in the overall MVP with 828 runs, 19 wickets and 8 catches across all cricket.
Azhar Mahmood has played a massive role in Kent's progression to the quarter final. The Pakistani all-rounder has been a match winner with bat and ball tilting several close finishes in Kent's favour. He has scored 239 runs at a strike rate of 1.72 often from number six or seven and contributed 13 wickets with an economy rate of 8.08. His Twenty20 performances have seen him re-enter the overall MVP top ten at number six. He has 598 runs and 31 wickets in all competitions.
Leicestershire have had a terrible Twenty20 Cup by their standards but one shining light has been Jim Allenby, who after a series of steady performances burst into the top ten at number six with 50 and 5-27 against Derbyshire. He has 190 runs at a strike rate of 1.11 and 14 wickets with an economy rate of 7.05. He is ranked 10th in the Friends Provident Trophy (FPT) MVP and eighth in the overall MVP with 531 runs and 39 wickets. He will do well to progress further up the leaderboard, however, as the two-time Twenty20 winners are now out of both cup competitions.
Abdul Razzaq, signed specifically for the Twenty20 Cup by Surrey could not lift his team mates through to the knock out stages despite scoring 185 runs at a strike rate of 1.41 and taking 15 wickets with an economy rate of 7.25. Ranked seventh after the group stage his best performance came against Kent scoring 39 and taking 4-17.
Another Twenty20 specialist Dwayne Smith suffered the same fate as Razzaq. Some fine individual performances, notably his 72 not out from 27 balls against Hampshire at Hove, could not inspire Sussex who endured a woeful few weeks in the Cup. Smith scored 185 runs a strike rate of 1.59 and took 12 wickets with an economy rate of 8.49, which sees him currently occupy eighth.
The only out and out batsman in the Twenty20 MVP is Lou Vincent at number nine. The big-hitting Kiwi has scored 267 runs at a strike rate of 1.28 including his 102 from 63 balls during his demolition of Derbyshire, which represented 66% of Lancashire's total. The Lightning travel to London for the quarter final where Vincent will need to get the better of one of the most miserly attacks in the Cup, Middlesex.
Yasir Arafat is having a great one-day season for the Kent Spitfires. Ranked fourth in the FPT MVP he is up to tenth in the Twenty20 MVP and second in the overall MVP. In the Cup he has been promoted up the order to good effect scoring 42 off 23 balls against Sussex and 27 off 18 against Surrey in his last two matches. He has particularly enjoyed playing against the Sharks taking a combined total of 7-29 across both games. He has scored 109 runs and taken 16 wickets, while his consistency is demonstrated by the fact he has now taken a total of 52 wickets in all cricket.
Arafat is beaten into second place in the overall MVP by Tim Bresnan, whose performances in the Twenty20, whilst unspectacular have still helped Yorkshire progress to the quarter-finals where they will take on Durham. The bowling all-rounder is ranked 64th in the Twenty20 MVP, seventh in the FPT MVP and first in the Championship (LVCC) MVP. Across all cricket the leading player in the country has scored 448 runs and taken 48 wickets.
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