HARMER SPINS WAY INTO PCA MVP TOP THREE Simon Harmer’s sensational form over the past two weeks has seen the Essex off-spinner surge into the top three of the Professional Cricketers’ Association Most Valuable Player Rankings. The former South Africa Test player has taken 28 wickets and accumulated 125 PCA MVP points in successive victories over Warwickshire and Middlesex and he is now on 294 points for the season, just 36 behind leader Kumar Sangakkara and 29 adrift of second-placed Darren Stevens. Harmer’s performances over the past two weeks have seen him shortlisted for the PCA Player of the Month Award for June alongside Nottinghamshire pair Samit Patel and Steven Mullaney and Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory. Having out-performed Warwickshire off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who won the PCA MVP for the second time in three seasons last year, by taking 14 for 128 – Essex’s best match figures in 22 years – Harmer took 14 more against defending champions Middlesex this week. His second innings nine for 95 bettered Harmer’s previous career-best of eight for 36 a week earlier and were the best by an Essex bowler since Mark Ilott took nine for 19 against Northamptonshire at Luton in 1995. The PCA MVP Rankings system identifies the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic season. The formula takes into account conditions, quality of opposition, captaincy and strike-rates as well as runs scored and wickets taken. Harmer’s stunning performances against Warwickshire and Middlesex have seen him overtake his county team-mate Alastair Cook in the overall PCA MVP Rankings. Cook, who stepped down as England’s Test captain earlier this year, has also been in superb form this season and continued his preparations for the forthcoming series with South Africa by making 193 against Middlesex. That was Cook’s third championship century of the season and his sixth for Essex in all cricket. He shared a county record opening partnership of 373 with Nick Browne and contributed almost 36 per cent of Essex’s total which earned him 35 batting points towards a match haul of 40. Sangakkara became the first batsman to 1,000 first-class runs this season during his innings on his way to 180, his sixth championship century of the campaign, against Yorkshire at Headingley. The Sri Lankan great earned another 35 rankings points to keep him ahead of Stevens who had an unusually quiet match in Kent’s draw against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge where he earned only nine points and ended the third day in hospital after he was struck on the helmet by a delivery from Harry Gurney. Derbyshire off-spinner Hamidullah Qadri wasted no time in making his mark in the PCA MVP Rankings after becoming the first player born this century to play in the championship. The 16-year-old, who was born in Afghanistan, took five for 60 in the second innings against Glamorgan in Cardiff to help Derbyshire to their first championship win in almost two years and make his first appearance in the PCA MVP with 25 points. The PCA MVP Rankings can be viewed here. Voting details for the PCA Player of the Month Award for June can be found here.
