Anderson Leads England MVP After NZ Test Series

Andrew Strauss might have been voted man of the series against New Zealand but it is the swing twins, Jimmy Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom, who lead the way in the England MVP.

Anderson was the leading wicket taker in the series with nineteen scalps of which 14 were top six batsmen - that's 74% of his victims. And it was his stunning 7-43 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, which catapulted him to the top of the leader board. That seven-wicket haul earned him 36.60 points and together with his career best 28 with the bat in the first innings he had racked up over forty points at the half way stage of the match.

Sidebottom, England's player of the year, finished two wickets and fifteen points behind the Lancastrian after the three match series, with six (35%) of his victims being top six batsmen. The left-armer never failed to impact an innings and hammered the final nails into the New Zealand coffin on the fourth morning of the final Test to finish with 6-67 and seventeen wickets overall.

Strauss' renaissance which begun with his hundred in Napier in March continued unabated on home soil. Back to his phlegmatic best he was the leading run-scorer in the series. His 266 runs included a hundred at Old Trafford and two fifties and he also contributed five smartly taken catches.

Monty Panesar might have scored just the one run against New Zealand this summer but it was his 6-37 at Old Trafford, which turned the whole series on its head. Without that one performance England might have been looking at a very different scoreline. Panesar is in fourth spot having taken nine wickets.

Stuart Broad is beginning to look like a genuine international all-rounder after major contributions with bat and ball against the black caps. The baby-faced assassin scored a career best 64 in the final Test at his new home Trent Bridge and then took four wickets over the two New Zealand innings forming a key part of England's triumvirate pace attack. He is in fifth place with 119 runs and seven wickets.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, notched exactly 200 runs in the series including a hundred at Lord's and a key contribution of 48 in the run chase at Old Trafford. He led with his usual air of calm authority in the field and currently occupies sixth place two points ahead of Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen is never out of the limelight for long and he saved the best innings of his series to last. After a slow start to the international summer he scored a vital 115 on his old stomping ground Trent Bridge taking his tally for the series to 186 and elevating him to seventh in the England MVP

For more information and to see the full tables and leaders in individual competitions click on the links below.

Overall Rankings - MVP
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NatWest Pro40 Rankings