Darren Stevens Crowned Twenty20 MVP For 2009
Darren Stevens, one of the most successful players in the history of Twenty20 having won the Cup with both Leicestershire and Kent, is crowned the 2009 T20 MVP after another scintillating performance with the bat on finals day. Stevens, who hit the winning runs for the Spitfires two years ago, smashed 77 from 51 balls and bowled three overs for 21 runs in the semi-final against the Somerset Sabres but it was not enough to see his team into what would have been their third final in three years. The batting all-rounder started his campaign with a blistering 59 from 26 balls against Middlesex at Lord's before adding three further fifties to take his competition tally to 356 runs. He also added five wickets with a respectable economy rate of 6.00 runs per over.
Marcus Trescothick, meanwhile, increased his lead at the top of the overall MVP to a whopping 68 points with an exhibition of power hitting at finals day. Trescothick blasted Kent out of the competition with 56 from 32 balls before upping his strike rate in the final with 33 from just 15 balls against Sussex. The former England opener, whom many cricket writers have longed to see back in the England Test side for the Oval Ashes decider, is by far the leading run-scorer in the country having scored 2282 runs across all forms. 1330 runs have come in the championship (LV=CC) where he is ranked second, 476 came in the Friends provident Trophy (FPT) where he finished fifth, and 153 have come to date in the Natwest Pro40 where he is currently ranked fourth.
Mike Yardy had an exceptional week picking up his first trophy as captain of Sussex just two days after completing a championship victory over division one's bottom side Worcestershire. Yardy only managed 29 and 6 in the four-day match and just 4 against Somerset in the final of the T20 but his bowling and leadership were instrumental in the Sharks success at Edgbaston. He returned figures of 4-0-21-1 in the semis against the Steelbacks and 4-0-17-0 in the final to strangle the life out of the Sabres. Yardy is ranked third in the overall MVP having scored 1290 runs and taken 25 wickets; in T20 he finished in sixth spot with 107 runs, 13 wickets and one trophy.
Jonathan Trott's tremendous season was capped this week by his selection for the deciding Ashes Test at the Oval, which for those of us who study the merits of the PCA's MVP was no surprise. Trott is the leading run-scorer in the T20 this year with 525 runs (he's ranked third), and is ranked sixth overall having scored 1801 runs across all forms. His 121 against Notts at Trent Bridge was his fourth century in the championship this summer taking his tally in the longest form to 934 runs.
James Tredwell is a new entry into the overall top ten at number seven after his ten-wicket match haul led Kent to victory over Northants and took him personally to the top of the LV=CC MVP. Tredwell's bowling efforts - his third ‘five for' in three innings has seen him net 57 championship wickets for the season to date, including a career best 8-66 against Glamorgan back in May. The off-spinner also took 6-27 against Middlesex at Southgate in the Friends Provident Trophy, taking his haul across all cricket to 80 wickets, which makes him the country's leading wicket-taker. He is no mug with the bat either having scored 416 runs including four championship fifties.
Leading Run-scorers
1 Marcus Trescothick 2282
2 Michael Carberry 1903
3 Mark Ramprakash 1831
4 Jonathan Trott 1801
5 Jacques Rudolph 1686
7 Martin van Jaarsveld 1679
8 Dale Benkenstein 1420
9 Michael Di Venuto 1321
10 Michael Lumb 1310
Leading Wicket-takers
1 James Tredwell 80
2 Alfonso Thomas 72
3 Jon Lewis 69
4 Steve Kirby 68, Graham Onions 68 (20 for England)
6 Danish Kaneria, Saj Mahmood 59
8 Graham Wagg 55
9 Gary Keedy, Charl Willoughby, David Masters 53
Rankings Bulletins
MVP Goes Amateur!
Fans of the PCA's groundbreaking Most Valuable Player system will be delighted to hear that MVP is being rolled out to all amateur cricketers! That's right, clubs and schools around the world will now be able to sign up for the professional MVP treatment, thanks to a brand new web portal in a joint initiative between the ECB and PCA.
No more arguing about who is the best player on your team - the MVP formula, designed by the pros for the pros, delivers a cumulative points system that rewards every run scored, wicket taken and catch held. All your scorecard information will be processed to determine who is grinding out the match winning performances...and who is full of hot air. Please visit at http://www.mycricketmvp.com/ for all the details.
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