More rain and more wickets - 08/05/12

Predictably, there was more rain and more Andre Adams’ wickets this week in the LV County Championship (LV=CC). The Kiwi all-rounder is threatening to pull away from the chasing pack in the FTI Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rankings, after returning career best figures of 7-32 against Lancashire at Old Trafford. He followed that with second innings figures of 3-18 to take 10-50 in the match, and his overall wicket tally for the season to 28 scalps in just 4 matches. Adams, who finished top of last season’s LV=CC FTI MVP and third the year before, picked up bonus points for taking top order wickets and for conceding his runs at under 2 per over. He leads the overall FTI MVP by 9 points and the LV=CC FTI MVP by 22 points.

Second in both, is Keith Barker of Warwickshire. The former Blackburn Rovers and Rochdale striker has added a yard of pace this season and has found lavish swing from his left-arm over angle. He took 5-33 and 5-37 against Durham at Edgbaston to propel himself up the rankings. He also took 3-41 against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the opening round of the CB40. Barker has taken 25 wickets across both forms of the game and looks a real international prospect.

Alan Richardson drops a place to third, despite returning his third five-wicket haul of the season against Middlesex at Lord’s. The veteran seamer’s figures at the home of cricket read: 33-12-89-5 as he once again shouldered the bulk of the workload for Worcestershire. Richardson is on course to beat last season’s tally of 73 first-class victims, having already taken 24 from 4 games.

Matthew Coles has enjoyed another remarkable week. Having led the wicket-taking leagues in April with 21 scalps to storm into the top four of the FTI MVP, it was thought he might slip down the rankings this week as Kent were without a Championship match. That was to underestimate what he might achieve in the one-day game, as he flattened Yorkshire at Headingley with 6-32. In the first five weeks of the season, Coles has achieved his best bowling figures in the Championship (6-51 versus Northants), his highest first-class score (103 off 111 balls against Yorkshire) and his best one-day return. He remains fourth with 117 points.

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MVP Goes Amateur!

Fans of the PCA's groundbreaking Most Valuable Player system will be delighted to hear that MVP has 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  www.mycricketmvp.com/ for all the details.