For the first time in PCA Player of the Month history, one player has won the award for the third time in the same summer and there are still two months to go…
Somerset and Trent Rockets all-rounder Craig Overton has been dominating with a combination of PCA MVP points and the public vote, taking the trophy home in three of the four months so far in 2026.
For this month’s MVP in Focus, Beyond the Boundaries sat Overton down with his Somerset and Rockets teammate Tom Banton to discuss what exactly has been making the all-rounder tick in 2026.
The obvious place to start for performances was that incredible game against Yorkshire, where Overton earned 49.59 MVP points chasing down 161 for victory by two wickets at Headingley. Coming in at 59-7 off 11.5 overs, the 32-year-old smashed 79 off 30 balls including five sixes, whilst taking figures of 2-36, to take Somerset to Vitality Blast Finals Day.
”It was about trying to get in and then hitting a few boundaries to see if we could take it close but then I just tried to slog a few and it was great to get across the line.
Craig OvertonSomerset & Trent Rockets
Having only ever hit one century prior to this summer, Overton’s batting has been exceptional this year with 548 First-Class runs, including three hundreds, to go alongside 33 wickets at an average of 19.54, and he admits his red-ball form has helped improve his T20 cricket.
“We probably didn’t quite get it right in the T20 with a few niggles and snuck our way into Finals Day, but for me I’ve done a lot of red-ball work and it’s transferred into white-ball cricket and I’ve had a few opportunities to bat this year and some of them have come off, which is nice.”
To go alongside his three Player of the Month wins, Overton has also been selected in all four PCA Teams of the Month in 2026.
“It’s been great and these are nice milestones to have but for me, it’s all about putting these performances in to help win games of cricket.”
The Player of the Month metric uses the PCA MVP Rankings, powered by OFX to choose the top four players, those players’ points are then taken into consideration alongside a public vote to determine the winner.
“It’s nice to have that recognition from fans, and from people that watch cricket and it’s nice to be seen as someone that is contributing this year.”
Having amassed 173.25 MVP batting points and 271.46 MVP bowling points (the most bowling points of any player), it’s no surprise that Overton sits at the top of the MVP Rankings in the race for the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP award. Overton currently holds a lead of 146 points from Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone.
”It’s great being so far ahead and if winning games for Somerset means that I win the PCA trophy at the end of the year then happy days.
Craig OvertonSomerset & Trent Rockets
