PCA PRESS RELEASE
Six limited overs fixtures in Malaysia kick off England’s winter schedule.
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The PCA’s England Women Most Valuable Player Rankings will be reset ahead of their ODI against Pakistan on Monday morning, marking the beginning of the 2019/20 winter schedule.
Heather Knight’s side are set for three ODIs and three T20Is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia throughout December, as they are unable to visit Pakistan due to security concerns. The series is the side’s last before preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup officially begins in late January.
As usual, the PCA will be keeping track of the top performers across the winter via its purpose-built MVP Ranking system, which will name an Overall MVP as well as one MVP per format upon the conclusion of England’s T20 World Cup campaign in March.
The formula, which was designed by the Association in conjunction with the players, takes into account match-defining contributions such as scoring a high proportion of your side’s runs, claiming top-order wickets or taking catches in the field. It therefore gives a more accurate reflection of the key players than traditional batting or bowling averages are able to.
Sophie Ecclestone, who was voted NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer at the 50th NatWest PCA Awards in October, was the most recent recipient of the women’s Overall MVP award. The off-spinner accumulated 89 MVP points for her performances against West Indies and Australia throughout the summer, 12 clear of teammate Nat Sciver in second.
The most recent winner of the winter Overall MVP was wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones, after she rounded off the 2018/19 season in style with four fifties in her final six appearances.
Both Jones and Ecclestone will be looking to make it two Overall MVP awards in 12 months as they are included in the squad of 15 for the tour of Malaysia.
Going into the series against Pakistan, skipper Knight has spoken of moving forward into a new era, as her squad is made up of a mixture of younger faces and proven talent.
There has been a first call-up for young leg-spinner Sarah Glenn – the 21-year-old claimed 11 wickets at 18.72 for Kia Super League side Loughborough Lightning over the summer.
Young seamer Freya Davies has also been recalled, whilst experienced all-round duo Laura Marsh and Georgia Elwiss miss out.
The series, which includes England’s final fixtures in the ICC Women’s Championship, is also the first since head coach Mark Robinson stepped down after a four-year stint following the Women’s Ashes in July. Interim coach Ali Maiden will oversee the tour before the incoming Lisa Keightley takes over in January.
View the England Women MVP Rankings here.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news by following the @pcaMVP on Twitter.
