After three quick-fire One-Day Cup fixtures, Northamptonshire and Windies all-rounder Jason Holder tops the 50-over Most Valuable Player Rankings.
Featuring in all three matches, Holder scored a total of 176 runs and has only been dismissed twice as well as taking seven wickets with the ball demonstrating his skill and importance to his side across both disciplines.
His latest MVP performance in Northants first victory of the season has propelled the all-rounder to fifth in the Overall MVP Rankings with 93.2 MVP points.
Sitting just below Holder in the One-Day Cup MVP Rankings, Australian Cameron Bancroft has been MVP in both of his One-Day Cup performances for Durham.
Leading from the front, Bancroft has captained his side to two victories from two and has hit unbeaten centuries on both occasions. 151 not out in his first 50-over match helped Durham to a comprehensive victory over Holder’s Northants before the 26-year old hit 118 not out two days later to chase down Leicestershire’s total.
Moving up to ninth in the overall rankings with 79.59 MVP points, the Durham skipper is showing exactly why he was selected to lead the side in both the County Championship and One-Day Cup this summer.
The MVP formula was designed by the players to identify the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic and international season.
The innovation provides a more rigorous analysis of player performances than traditional batting and bowling averages. For example, runs gain more points if they are scored quickly or in low-scoring contests and top order wickets are judged more valuable than those that fall later. Catches, run-outs and stumpings are also accounted for as well as bonus points for captains and players who are on the victorious side.
Each individual tournament has its own individual MVP with the player who tops the Overall County MVP Rankings at the end of the season receiving a £10,000 reward.
Lewis Gregory remains the man to catch at the top of the Overall MVP Rankings, but with matches coming thick and fast his lead has slowly been chipped away at.
Matthew Milnes provides the closest competition to Gregory’s top spot in the rankings after a brilliant List A debut catapulted the seam bowler up both the One-Day Cup rankings and overall rankings.
A maiden five-fer on his List A debut and nine wickets in total across the 50-over competition has the Kent cricketer fifth with 51.92 MVP points and second overall with 98.26 MVP points, just five behind the Somerset man.
Despite the gap at the top shortening Gregory has maintained his early season brilliance and the all-rounder has contributed heavily to his sides 100% record so far.
Somerset had previously won their first two County Championship fixtures with Gregory named MVP in both, before he again contributed to their two victories in the One-Day Cup against Kent and Glamorgan respectively.
The derby against Glamorgan on Easter Sunday provided one of the tournament’s games of the season so far with Somerset winning by two runs after Glamorgan recovered from 41-6 to set up a tense finale.
Josh Davey and Craig Overton proving invaluable with both bat and ball after their lower-order runs were vital in Somerset’s total of 261. The pair then took seven wickets between them in Glamorgan’s chase with Overton moving up to third in the One-Day Cup MVP Rankings and fourth overall.
Nail biting fixtures were seen with regularity across the Easter weekend after Yorkshire dramatically fought back to earn a draw against Warwickshire on Good Friday before desperately missing out by one-run in the Roses match on Easter Sunday.
Tim Bresnan’s hard-fought 89 made him the MVP in the Good Friday fixture with Tom Kohler-Cadmore hitting 97 runs in a chase that saw Yorkshire fall one run short on the final delivery in the match against rivals Lancashire.
Leicestershire’s Colin Ackerman recorded the best individual performance over the three One-Day Cup fixtures after earning 41.44 MVP points in the Foxes Easter Sunday victory against Worcestershire.
The South-African born cricketer hit a stunning 152 not out in Leicestershire’s total of 377 that also saw a devastating quick-fire century from Lewis Hill. Ackermann followed up his performance with the bat, taking three crucial wickets in the Pears reply to take the highest individual score and move up to seventh in the One-Day Cup MVP Rankings.
One-Day Cup action returns tomorrow where we will have six continuous days of 50-over cricket and plenty of MVP points up for grabs.
To view more information about the MVP Rankings visit the ‘About the MVP’ page.
Keep up-to-date with daily MVP news by following the @pcaMVP on Twitter.
