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Moeen Ali finishes top of the pile in winter Test PCA MVP Rankings.
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England finished their winter Test programme on a high after securing victory in the final Test against the Windies, with Moeen Ali cementing top spot in the Test Most Valuable Player Rankings.
Finishing with 153 MVP Points, Moeen was the stand-out performer across the winter Test schedule as England pitted their wits against the Windies and Sri Lanka.
Taking 32 wickets across the winter (18 wickets in Sri Lanka and 14 against the Windies), Moeen was the highest MVP points scorer in the bowling department racking up 118 MVP Points.
Such was his dominance, Moeen finished with 42 points more than Jack Leach who despite not featuring in the Caribbean was the second highest-placed bowler.
Returning to the side last summer, the Worcestershire cricketer has now taken 44 wickets in eight Test matches, a feat higher than any other bowler in Test cricket across the same period.
Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes finished behind Moeen Ali in second-place with 128 MVP Points and looked back to his best in the final Test against the Windies.
Stokes took 10 wickets in the Caribbean and averaged 52 with the bat after a solid final Test helped the Durham man record scores of 79 and 48*.
51 MVP points with the bat, 57 with the ball and 17 accumulated from fielding, Stokes finished 25 MVP Points ahead of third place, Joe Root.
England captain Root ended the winter Test tour with a stunning century, his second century across the two series.
The Yorkshire-man finished the winter with 103 MVP Points, 82 of which came unsurprisingly from the bat, a total higher than any of his teammates.
Fourth in the Rankings, Jack Leach finished with the highest average (28) MVP points in the top five and a total of 84 MVP points.
Featuring in the final Test in St Lucia, Mark Wood’s total of 31 MVP Points was three above the left-arm spinner’s, with the Durham seam bowler recording his best Test bowling figures in a match finishing with 6/93, including a maiden Test five-fer.
Leach had originally led the MVP Rankings after a sensational tour of Sri Lanka, but could count himself very unfortunate not to feature against the Windies, a decision that made topping the Overall Test Standings impossible for the left-armer.
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, which provides a more rigorous analysis of player performances than traditional batting and bowling averages, the MVP algorithm, gives full credit to those players whose performances improve their team’s chances of winning.
Rounding up the top five, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler continues to find himself at the top of the MVP charts after he was crowned the Overall MVP last summer.
Despite the gloves being switched between Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow, Buttler’s batting earned him enough points to be position within the top five.
Scoring 71 MVP points with the bat, Buttler was just behind Root in the overall batting rankings and completed the winter Test tour with 83 MVP points overall.
To view the Test MVP Rankings click here
