PCA PRESS RELEASE
Limited overs skipper tops the table after stunning performance in Centurion.
To see more articles, click here
England’s limited overs captain Eoin Morgan has been named England’s Most Valuable Player in T20Is for the 2019/20 season, after his side’s tour of South Africa ended with a remarkable five-wicket victory in Centurion on Sunday.
Morgan, who is England’s all-time leading run-scorer in both 20-over and 50-over cricket, led his side to a 2-1 series win in South Africa to go alongside a 3-2 victory in New Zealand back in November.
The 33-year-old led the way in every sense of the word as he equalled the fastest fifty by an England player in T20s (21 balls) in a high-scoring fixture on Sunday, finishing on 57 not out in his side’s incredible total of 226-5 from just 19.1 overs.
In eight fixtures this winter, Morgan has accumulated 81 MVP points at an average of 10.11 points-per-game, including five bonus points for captaining the winning side on the same number of occasions.
That means he finishes 16 points clear of Dawid Malan in second, although Malan has averaged the most MVP points-per-game of any English player in T20Is this winter with 13 per fixture.
T20 specialist Chris Jordan has enjoyed a fruitful return to the England side, completing the top three with 63 MVP points for the winter.
The trio of Morgan, Malan and Jordan have been England’s standout performers in 20-over cricket this winter, with a six-MVP point gap between them and Jonny Bairstow (56 points) in fourth position, with bowling all-rounder Tom Curran (46 points) completing the top five.
The PCA’s Most Valuable Player formula was developed by the Association in conjunction with the players to recognise the key influencers and match-winning performers in any given fixture.
The algorithm takes into account traditional batting and bowling averages, but also awards bonus points for key disciplines in the T20 format including scoring quickly, bowling with a good economy and taking catches in the field.
Morgan has enjoyed a stellar winter with the bat in T20Is, scoring 192 runs at 48 in New Zealand and 136 at 68 in South Africa. He joins teammate Joe Denly in claiming a limited overs MVP award this winter, with only the Test and cross-format Overall MVPs yet to be decided in Sri Lanka next month.
Malan, meanwhile, is unfortunate not to be a shoo-in in England’s middle order, only being kept out by the wealth of batting talent available at head coach Chris Silverwood’s disposal.
The Middlesex man is ranked fifth in the ICC’s T20I batting rankings, and was the only England batsman to hit a century this winter, striking 103 not out in Napier in November. His batting average of 69 in New Zealand equated to 61 batting MVP points for the winter, after he made just 11 in his only appearance in South Africa.
The ever-reliable Jordan has again proved his worth in this England T20 side ahead of the World Cup in October, and will be happy with his work for the winter with bowling places in the side up for grabs.
Jordan’s 11 wickets across the tours of New Zealand and South Africa have helped him to 40 bowling MVP points – comfortably the most of any England player. The aforementioned Tom Curran is a distant second with 33 bowling points to his name.
England’s preparations for the World Cup will continue with a combined six T20I fixtures against Australia and Pakistan scheduled for their 2020 domestic summer. The side moves forward in safe hands with 2019/20 T20I MVP Morgan setting the example with both the bat and his captaincy.
View the England T20I MVP Rankings here.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news by following the @pcaMVP on Twitter.
