Pietersen Still Most Valuable Player - 30/01/2009 - The Professional Cricketers' Association

Pietersen Still Most Valuable Player - 30/01/2009

Kevin Pietersen might no longer be England captain but according to the PCA's unique formula he is the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP), something that will no doubt be reflected in the IPL auction in Goa, which takes place on February 6, slap bang in the middle of England's first Test in the West Indies.

A lot has happened since England's last Test match in Mohali, India, before Christmas, but if his century in the warm up match in the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Kitts is anything to go by, Pietersen is more determined than ever to let his bat do the talking and add to his impressive run tally. And as we enter the final straight of this year's MVP race, Pietersen who has scored 1291 runs across all cricket, will take some catching. His 144 in Mohali was his sixth century of the year, his fourth in Tests, and it earned him significant MVP points as it represented 47% of England's total score. Pietersen is second in the Test MVP sandwiched between James Anderson who has led from the very start of the campaign, and his successor as captain Andrew Strauss in third.

Strauss scored a hundred in each innings in Chennai to climb to second in the Test MVP but he was leapfrogged by Pietersen after Mohali. All Strauss' 698 runs have come in Test cricket but the England captaincy has allowed him another crack at the one-day scene, which should enable him to climb the overall MVP table more quickly.

Anderson's statistics suggest he struggled on the batsman-friendly Indian pitches but he bowled without luck for much of the time and will hope to get back to his prolific ways of last summer. Anderson carved through New Zealand at the beginning of the international season and consolidated against South Africa to top the Test and overall MVP tables by the end of September. In Test cricket he has taken 38 wickets, which have helped him maintain a 39-point lead at the top of the Test MVP.

Monty Panesar will have a big role to play in the Caribbean. He is England's second-highest wicket-taker in the Test campaign behind Anderson and looked to be somewhere near his best in St Kitts. You wouldn't bet against him having an outstanding series and adding significantly to his 28 Test scalps.

The impressive Stuart Broad, who lies second behind Pietersen in the overall MVP and fifth in the Test MVP, has ruled himself out of IPL contention to further establish his fledgling international career. Broad has scored 357 runs and taken 43 wickets across all cricket.

There's been lots of debate about who will bat at three for England in the Test matches with Ian Bell coming under increasing pressure from Owais Shah. Bell, the incumbent has passed fifty just twice in 15 innings but the first occasion was his highest Test score of 199 against South Africa at Lord's. He lies fifth in the overall MVP and tenth in the Test MVP with 864 and 426 runs respectively.

For more information and to see the full tables and leaders in individual competitions click on the links below.

Overall Rankings - MVP
LVCC Rankings
Friends Provident Rankings
Twenty20 Rankings
NatWest Pro40 Rankings