Martin van Jaarsveld Leads MVP & Treble Bid
Kent are in with a fighting chance of recording an historic treble if they can carry off the Friends Provident Trophy (FPT), the Twenty20 Cup and their first Championship (LVCC) Pennant since 1978. Their tremendous season is reflected in the fact that four of their foreign legion are represented in the top ten of the MVP.
Martin van Jaarsveld is currently the country's most valuable player. The South African tops the overall MVP, the FPT MVP and the LVCC MVP. He has 1455 runs including seven centuries, six wickets including a career best 5-33 against Surrey and 22 catches across all cricket.
While Van Jaarsveld is scoring most of Kent's runs, Yasir Arafat is taking most of their wickets - 62 to be precise. The Pakistani bowling all rounder added a further six scalps to his collection this week against Yorkshire as well as scoring a match aggregate of 109 unbeaten runs, 90 of which came in the first innings - his 28th first-class fifty.
Arafat leapfrogs Tim Bresnan to move into second place in the overall MVP. The Yorkshireman bowled well at Canterbury as the Tykes gave the home side a scare on the final morning. He has scored 472 runs and taken 57 wickets in all forms while his impressive Championship tally of 317 runs and 31 wickets sees him hang on to second spot in the LVCC MVP.
Samit Patel will undoubtedly be hugely disappointed that Nottinghamshire are no longer playing the quarter final of the Twenty20 Cup but there is some consolation for the batting all-rounder as he slides back up the MVP to number four. He scored 134 in the second innings against Surrey - 36% of Nottinghamshire's runs - bringing his season's totals to 916 runs and 31 wickets.
Azhar Mahmood is looking like the signing of the season. The third Kent player in the top five turned the game against Yorkshire on its head by taking 6-55 in the first innings including the last five wickets to fall as the visitors crashed from 341-2 to 410 all out. Mahmood has been consistent across all competitions with 637 runs and 39 wickets.
It is no surprise to see two Essex all-rounders in the overall MVP top ten as they get ready to contest two major finals. But while Graham Napier is the man grabbing all the headlines, it is the unsung Ryan ten Doeschate who slides in at number six. He has 821 runs and 45 wickets.
Ravi Bopara has never been out of the MVP top ten this season. His double century in the FPT quarters against Leicestershire remains the highlight of what has been another tremendous season for the young Essex and England batting all-rounder. He has scored 1294 runs and taken 27 wickets across all cricket and is ranked eighth.
The Essex boys are split by that wily old campaigner Anthony McGrath. McGrath is the leading run scorer in the Twenty20 Cup and has brought that form into the Championship scoring his usual hundred (144) against Kent. Before this week's century he had registered just one fifty in the LVCC but now has 1067 runs and 27 wickets from all forms.
Ryan McLaren was rested by Kent this week but hangs on to ninth courtesy of having taken 53 wickets and scored 287 runs.
Nicky Boje, the Northants captain, completes the top ten after accumulating more points this week in the drawn match versus Worcestershire. Boje took 3-57 against the Royals bringing his wicket tally to an impressive 44 for the season, in addition to 676 runs which included a double century against the same opponents at the end of April.
Rankings Bulletins
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