PCA PRESS RELEASE
Long-awaited West Indies series sees player rankings reset for summer 2020.
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The PCA’s England Women Most Valuable Player Rankings returns ahead of the side’s five-match T20I series against the West Indies beginning in Derby on Monday evening.
The fixture is England’s first of the international summer owing to much of the schedule being wiped out as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
As such, there will be a T20I MVP named for summer 2020, with no ODI or cross-format Overall MVP taking place this season in international women’s cricket.
Nevertheless, Heather Knight’s side will be relishing the opportunity to return to the international stage at the tailend of the summer, and there are plenty of MVP points up for grabs before the conclusion of the series on 30 September.
The 16-strong squad for the series, which entered the bio-secure bubble in Derby on Wednesday, contains many of the regular top performers in the England Women MVP such as Knight, off-spinner Sophie Ecclestone and all-rounder Nat Sciver, who was the last winner of the T20I award after her side were knocked out of the T20 World Cup at the semi-final stage in March.
Indeed, of the 15 who took part in that tournament, only all-rounder Georgia Elwiss is missing this time around with a back injury. Elwiss is replaced by the talented young duo of Sophia Dunkley and Katie George, who have 15 career T20I appearances between them.
Despite the lack of international women’s cricket so far this summer, many of the squad have been able to showcase their ability in the one-off Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, albeit with their involvement limited to the first two rounds of the competition.
Although the RHF Trophy is played in the 50-over format rather than T20, the MVP Rankings for the tournament could give a strong indication as to which players enter the West Indies series in good form.
Skipper Heather Knight is currently the highest ranked England player in the RHF Trophy MVP in 34th place, after scoring 34.69 MVP points from her two appearances in the tournament.
Nat Sciver is not far behind on 31.06 points, whilst Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt all averaged over 10 MVP points-per-game during their short stints in the competition.
Adams into final as MVP leader
With the RHF Trophy final taking place on Sunday before the end of the T20I series, England players will be unable to take part in the fixture between Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds at Edgbaston.
Vipers skipper Georgia Adams, whose form inspired her side to six wins from six during the group stage, is in pole position to win the RHF Trophy MVP and therefore the race for the £1,000 cash prize.
With 94.3 MVP points to her name, Adams is one of three Vipers players currently inside the MVP top 10, with Charlie Dean (65.5 points) and Paige Schofield (59 points) currently occupying seventh and tenth position respectively.
3⃣ of the current RHF Trophy MVP top 🔟 will appear in the competition’s final!
Who are you backing to win the race for 1k? 🏅
👉 https://t.co/9aHXEk46FS pic.twitter.com/NBNDYYlfgp
— PCA MVP Rankings (@pcaMVP) September 19, 2020
World Cup winner Beth Langston is the highest ranked Northern Diamonds player – she sits in 12th place with 54 MVP points. Langston’s former England teammate Jenny Gunn (51 points) is 16th and Hollie Armitage (45 points) 17th, whilst opening batter Alex MacDonald is the only other Diamonds player to appear in the current top 25 with 41 MVP points to her name.
The MVP Rankings were developed by the PCA in conjunction with the players to identify the match-winning performers in any given fixture. On top of traditional batting and bowling averages, bonus points are awarded for key disciplines such as scoring quickly, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.
The Rankings therefore give the most accurate reflection of the top performers in the game.
At the end of the 2020 summer season, two MVPs will be awarded for women’s cricket: one T20I MVP following England’s upcoming series against the West Indies, and one RHF Trophy MVP, with a £1,000 cash prize being awarded to the latter.
View the England Women and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy MVP Rankings.
Follow @pcaMVP on Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news.
