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Durham all-rounder wins 2026 Metro Bank One Day Cup Men’s Player of the Year.
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Durham all-rounder Will Rhodes has claimed the Metro Bank One Day Cup Men’s Player of the Year after securing 126.05 points, topping the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings, powered by OFX.
The 31-year-old was a key player in all departments for Durham, with 415 runs at an average of 59.82 and a brisk strike-rate of 93.89, 13 wickets at 21.84 and six catches from his ten games in the competition.
He claimed the trophy and £2,500 prize money after the conclusion of the final at Trent Bridge, which saw Ryan Higgins and Ian Holland star with bat and ball respectively. Higgins’ maiden List A century led Middlesex from 71-5 to their total of 231. He was eventually dismissed by Holland, who took a very skilful 5-36 from his 10 overs.
Leicestershire’s Nick Kelly put together a valiant century as wickets fell around him, but ultimately it was Middlesex who defended their first innings total and won the 2026 Metro Bank One Day Cup.
While Rhodes has not topped the competition in runs or wickets, he has earned his MVP points largely by producing match-winning performances, dragging his side from dire positions into winning ones.
His masterful unbeaten 148 from 122 balls against Glamorgan was integral to Durham’s thrilling chase of 326. Arriving at the crease with Durham 41-3, following the dismissal of former England Test captain Ben Stokes, Rhodes’ innings led Durham to victory with three balls to spare. Rhodes was convincingly named Match MVP with 35.43 points, the second highest match total in the competition.
He was also a threat with the ball, most notably against Sussex at the Banks Home Riverside, where the seamer took 5-51 from 9.5 overs as Durham successfully defended their total of 352. He dismissed both openers, including Charlie Tear for 118, an important wicket in the 38th over of the Sussex chase.
Having already claimed the Rothesay County Championship Division Two title, Durham narrowly missed out on a spot in the One Day Cup final after losing to Middlesex by two wickets in the semi-final at Radlett. Rhodes scored a defiant 80 that game, arriving at the crease in the eighth over and batting until the 42nd.
On winning the Metro Bank One Day Cup Men’s Player of the Year, Rhodes said: “It’s been another great competition to be a part of.
“It feels like the standard of the competition is getting better each year and some of the young players are incredibly talented.
“Congratulations to Middlesex this year, they are deserved winners.”
Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne was second in the MVP Rankings after finishing as the leading run-scorer of the competition with 591 runs at an imperious average of 84.42.
The 29-year-old’s 12 catches and three stumpings also contributed to his 125.52 MVP points that left him just 0.53 of a point behind Rhodes.
The South African’s highest score of 105 came against Yorkshire, as he and Jack Haynes put on 154 in Nottinghamshire’s pursuit of 273. Verreynne was named Match MVP with 25.59 points.
Third in the MVP standings was Middlesex’s Josh de Caires after he helped Middlesex to their first white-ball trophy for 18 years. The all-rounder accumulated 120.47 MVP points in a prolific tournament of 406 runs and six wickets.
De Caires accumulated more points in one game than anyone else in the tournament, a whopping 43.82 points for 75 runs at the top of the order and 6-35 with the ball as Middlesex won by 160 runs.
His second Match MVP accolade came for an emphatic 130 from 147 balls against Worcestershire. With 16 fours and one six, the 24-year-old claimed 27.43 points from the game.
The Men’s Domestic Overall MVP Rankings are led by Somerset captain Craig Overton, whose 668.34 points put him 190.35 points ahead of Yorkshire’s George Hill in second place. Nottinghamshire batter Joe Clarke is in third, behind Hill by just 0.09 of a point.
The final men’s domestic MVP award will be for the Rothesay County Championship Player of the Year, with the winner named on Sunday 27 September. The current standings mirror that of the Domestic Overall table, with Overton ahead of Hill by a near-insurmountable 61.71 points. It will take something incredible in the final red-ball game if Hill is to challenge Overton for the title.
View the Metro Bank One Day Cup and Men’s Domestic MVP Rankings here.
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