Trescothick Lead Cut By Blackwell In MVP Race
The top two in the overall MVP, Marcus Trescothick and Ian Blackwell did battle at the Riverside this week with the latter closing the gap to 56 points by dint of a stunning 5-7 from 8.1 overs in Somerset's first innings. Blackwell failed to score with the bat in the rain-affected contest, but has taken his tally with the ball to 35 LV=CC wickets. In the Natwest Pro40 match against the Eagles he belted 59 off 46 balls and added a further wicket albeit in a losing cause. He has now scored 1194 runs and taken 61 wickets across all forms of the game.
Trescothick had a quiet week by his high standards, dismissed by Graham Onions for 31 in his first innings and marooned on 18 not out in the second when the weather closed in, but he is still on course for 3000 runs across all competitions. The former England opener has now scored 2631 runs, 1643 of which have come in the LV=CC where he is also ranked first. He has hit seven LV=CC hundreds and notched four other scores in the 90s. His duck against Yorkshire in June remains his only single-figure score in 23 innings.
Steven Davies will leave a huge hole in the Worcestershire team when he departs for Surrey at the end of the season. The Royals' gloveman has impressed in all forms of the game, but particularly in the Pro40 where he is on course for a successful defence of his crown. Davies recorded back-to-back hundreds against Notts and Hampshire in his last two knocks over 40 overs where he is ranked first, while in the LV=CC this week he made 62 in a losing cause against Warwickshire. He is ranked third overall having scored 1692 runs, taken 42 catches and completed 11 stumpings.
Another exceptional young batsman/keeper, Craig Kieswetter is just seven points back in fourth. Kieswetter made a duck at the Riverside, only his second in championship cricket this season, but has still amassed 1735 runs, taken 56 catches and completed 11 stumpings across all forms. Although he has scored more runs, and taken more catches than Davies, Davies is currently deemed as being more valuable to his team as he has scored his runs when they were needed more. Davies has scored 22.88 of his side's runs in the championship compared to Kieswetter's 13.93, while in the Pro40 Davies contributes a third of the Royals' total runs compared to Kieswetter's 14.71 of the Sabres total runs.
Mike Yardy jumps one to fifth after scoring 86 out of Sussex's only innings of 240 at Old Trafford. Yardy has filled Chris Adams' boots with considerable aplomb this season at the helm of the Sharks leading them to T20 glory and to the top of the Pro40 but his biggest fight will be to keep them in the championship's top flight. Yardy has accumulated 850 runs in the LV=CC, while across all forms he has made an impressive all-round contribution of 1424 runs and 25 wickets.
Sean Ervine slips to sixth after a quiet week, whilst his Hampshire teammate Michael Carberry is down to eighth as his broken finger looks like it could keep him out of the rest of the season. James Tredwell splits the men from the south coast in seventh spot but even the country's joint leading wicket-taker was a touch subdued failing to add to his 85 scalps against Derbyshire.
Ed Joyce and Andrew Hall maintain their positions in ninth and tenth respectively.
In the Pro40 the biggest movers are Phil Mustard who compiled a splendid hundred against Essex, and James Foster who retaliated with 83 not out from just 38 balls including 5 sixes in an over. They lie second and third respectively behind Davies.
Leading Run-scorers
1 Marcus Trescothick 2631
2 Jonathan Trott 2090 (160 for England)
3 Michael Carberry 1989
4 Jacques Rudolph 1984
5 Mark Ramprakash 1972
6 Ed Joyce 1879
7 Martin van Jaarsveld 1831
8 Craig Kieswetter 1735
9 Michael Lumb 1701
10 Jimmy Adams 1676
Leading Wicket-takers
1 James Tredwell, Danish Kaneria, Steve Kirby 85
4 Alfonso Thomas, Jon Lewis 73
6 Graham Onions 70 (20 for England)
7 Saj Mahmood 66
8 Imran Tahir, Charl Willoughby 64
10 Ian Blackwell 61
Rankings Bulletins
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