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Barnard wins the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP accolade while Abbott claims Rothesay MVP award.
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Warwickshire all-rounder Ed Barnard has claimed the 2025 PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP award after a standout season across formats to top the PCA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rankings, powered by OFX.
The 29-year-old secured 555.82 MVP points after a fruitful summer which yielded 43 wickets and 1,615 runs, including four centuries. Scoring 922 runs in the Rothesay County Championship, it’s the most he has achieved in one season, beating his previous tally of 895 in 2022.
Barnard has won a bespoke gold MVP trophy produced by Mappin & Webb to go along with a cash prize worth £10,000 after topping the MVP table.
The right-handed all-rounder has amazingly improved his position on the MVP Rankings every season since finishing 16th in 2021, with his previous best points tally of 480.85 claiming a third-place finish in 2024. The Warwickshire One Day Cup captain scored 273 runs more compared to last year which saw him earn 83.57 more batting points than his tally from 2024.
Barnard registered his highest First-Class score of an unbeaten 177 against Surrey at Edgbaston in a season where he averaged 54.23. He forged an unbeaten 225-run partnership in that game with Zen Malik who himself scored his maiden century in red-ball cricket.
The former Worcestershire man also excelled in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, a tournament where he won the Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024. Barnard scored 358 runs at an average of 51.14 and took nine wickets. He also picked up two Match MVPs in the competition.
His first came against Kent where he secured 24.55 MVP points for scoring 60 whilst opening the batting and taking two wickets to help Warwickshire to a 79-run victory.
Barnard’s second Match MVP in the 50-over competition came against Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside Stadium. He scored an unbeaten 141 as his side chased down 301 to win the game. He also took 2-48 to collect 39.40 points.
He also earned one Match MVP playing in the Vitality Blast as the Bears reached the quarter-finals. He secured 31.05 points against Yorkshire after hitting a 40-ball 67 to win the game by a margin of 32 runs.
After being named the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP winner, Ed Barnard, said, “I am very proud to have won the Overall MVP award. It has been a long season, but I am pleased to have contributed across the formats which is what you set out to do at the start of the season and it’s pleasing to know things have gone well.
“You don’t really think about winning the trophy when you play because all you want is to try and win games of cricket for your team, but it’s still a nice cherry on top of the cake at the end of the season to come out with an award like this.
“Our first win of the season against Durham was a standout moment this summer. We chased a big score up there and I managed to score a hundred in the chase so that was pleasing both on an individual point of view but also to get our first win and kickstart the season.
“The PCA MVP is a great tool for the professional game. It’s nice to check and see how you are doing especially across formats.”
The PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP winner is based on the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings, powered by OFX, the PCA’s Official FX Partner. The formula takes into account expected performance on every ball according to CricViz’s extensive database. The algorithm also considers the historic performances of the venue each fixture is being played at, therefore giving a more accurate reflection of the top performers in the game than traditional batting and bowling averages do.
Barnard finished the season ahead of Sussex all-rounder James Coles and Worcestershire’s Ethan Brookes who earned 548.86 and 502.60 MVP points respectively.
Coles scored 1,553 runs, including 1,032 in the County Championship to go along with 35 wickets. The right-hander scored four hundreds in the competition with his best score being 150 against Warwickshire in July.
In this campaign, the 21-year-old also took his maiden five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket against Surrey at Hove.
Brookes, meanwhile, made a tremendous rise from 49th in the Overall MVP standings last season to third this time around. The Worcestershire all-rounder scored 1,414 runs and took 32 wickets across the season, including scoring 57 off 34 balls in the One Day Cup final to help the Pears secure their first List A trophy since 2007.
Kyle Abbott wins Rothesay County Championship Player of the Year
Hampshire bowler Kyle Abbott has secured the Rothesay County Championship Player of the Year award after earning the most MVP points with 339.52. The former South Africa international becomes the first seamer to win the County Championship accolade since fellow Hampshire player Keith Barker in 2022.
Abbott receives a bespoke trophy made by Mappin & Webb and £2,500 worth of prize money.
The right-armer ended the red-ball season averaging 20.69 for his 56 wickets, the second most in Division One which saw him achieve 260.15 bowling points. He took four five-wicket hauls in the competition with best figures of 5-26 against Essex at Chelmsford.
During the course of this season, the 38-year-old also won the PCA Player of the Month accolade in May. The fast bowler took 20 wickets in four games to achieve 132.94 MVP points to see him claim the monthly award. He also earned a place in the PCA Team of the Month for May.
Over the course of the red-ball season, Abbott won two Match MVPs. His first award came against eventual County Championship winners Nottinghamshire where he achieved 59.88 points. He took 5-57 in the first innings and three more wickets in the second whilst also scoring 67 from 51 balls.
The experienced seamer’s second Match MVP came a week later against Warwickshire as he helped Hampshire record an 89-run victory. Abbott took eight wickets in the game, including 5-47 in the first innings which added a further 50.70 points to his total haul.
At the end of one of the closest run-ins for the County Championship MVP honour, Sussex’s Coles came home in second place with 332.64 points while Yorkshire all-rounder George Hill finished third with 326.86 points.
Hill had a breakout season for the White Rose county with 51 wickets at an outstanding average of 16.72 in what was his maiden season in Division One. The 24-year-old took three five-wicket hauls, including his best figures of the summer of 6-51 against Essex.
Upon winning the Rothesay County Championship Player of the Year, Kyle Abbott, said: “I’m delighted to be named the MVP for the County Championship by the PCA. I always strive to put in performances to win games for Hampshire, and hopefully I can continue to do so next season.”
View the final County Championship and Men’s Domestic MVP Rankings here.
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