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Nash Leads CB40 FTI MVP, and Trescothick's LV=CC Lead Narrows – 05/09/11
Chris Nash and the rest of his Sussex team-mates bowed out of the Clydesdale Bank 40 (CB40) competition after defeat at the Kia Oval on Sunday, but the hard-hitting opener will take some catching in the race for the CB40 FTI MVP. With only Surrey and Somerset left to contest the Final, Nash's nearest challengers are Peter Trego of Somerset, who is 32 points back in third spot, and Surrey duo Jason Roy and Matt Spriegel in eighth and ninth respectively who are both 43 points behind Nash. To make up that kind of points difference a player would need to have an extraordinary match with bat and ball, which probably rules Roy out of the equation as he doesn't bowl. Roy, though, can enjoy the consolation of being the highest U25 run-scorer in the competition with 574 runs at a strike rate of 111 runs per 100 balls including 4 fifties and 2 hundreds. He leads the U25s from the likes of Middlesex's Paul Stirling and Dawid Malan who have 535 and 510 runs respectively, Worcestershire's Moeen Ali (476) and Hampshire's James Vince (473) in a competition which sees counties giving their younger players a real go. Nash, who at the age of 28 is entering his peak years as a batsman, has scored 649 CB40 runs at a strike rate of better than a run-a-ball. He made centuries against Kent and Holland as well as five 50s, the last of which came in the semi-final defeat against Surrey Lions in a forlorn run-chase. He scored 26.31% of the Sharks' runs and finished as the top run-scorer in this year's competition. He also accrued points with his off-spinners taking 6 wickets and conceding runs at a healthy 5.63 runs per over. His best bowling return was 3-30 against Holland. Nash said: ‘Obviously like the rest of the team I'm absolutely gutted that we have come to the end of the road in the CB40. We had real aspirations of getting to a Lord's final and getting our hands on the trophy but hats off to Surrey who have been very strong throughout the group stages and were better than us on the day. Personally, I've been pleased with my 40-over contributions and it's great to be sitting on top of the CB40 FTI MVP rankings and in the top half-dozen of the overall FTI MVP rankings.' In the LV= County Championship (LV=CC) FTI MVP the dominance of leather over willow is demonstrated by the makeup of the top ten, which shows Marcus Trescothick and Ian Blackwell - who's earned plenty of points with the ball, too - surrounded by a load of seam bowlers, who have feasted on favourable conditions. That's not to take anything away from the staggering feats of Dave Masters with 86 scalps (second in the LV=CC FTI MVP) and Andre Adams, whose 62 wickets allied to 508 belligerent runs have seen him open up a 21-point lead at the top of the ladder. Alan Richardson, who took 6-22 to help bowl Lancashire out for just 80 in Worcestershire's latest win at New Road, has also taken 62 wickets and is up to fourth. In the overall race Trescothick's lead has been cut to 79 points by Kent's Darren Stevens. Somerset's captain hobbled off in the last group CB40 match against Essex Eagles with ankle ligament damage, which has made him vulnerable to a challenge from an all-rounder like Stevens, who can rack up points with both disciplines. Across all forms Stevens has 1459 runs and 52 wickets compared to Trescothick's 2503.
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