Malan on top of IT20 MVP again

Dawid Malan sits on top of the PCA England IT20 Rankings after his side claimed an impressive 3-0 series win over South Africa following their crushing victory by nine wickets in Cape Town on Tuesday evening.

The ICC’s number one-ranked IT20 batsman scored 31.2 MVP points across the three fixtures in South Africa, including 16 in a man-of-the-match performance as a result of his blistering 99 not out from just 47 balls at Six Gun Grill Newlands.

It means that Malan, 33, leads the IT20 MVP once again just under three months after claiming the award for summer 2020 with 51.3 MVP points following England’s series victories against Pakistan and Australia.

As England await confirmation of their full schedule for winter 2020/21, there is a chance that Malan has already won back-to-back IT20 MVP awards. However, with a T20 World Cup in India on the horizon, in all likelihood they will return to the 20-over arena in the coming months meaning the winner of the award is not yet finalised.

Malan looks to be on course to play the anchor role for England in that tournament, and will be one of the first names on the team sheet if he can replicate the IT20 form he has shown in South Africa and during the summer.

A settled England were unchanged throughout the series in South Africa, and the established names rose to the fore as the current IT20 MVP top five consists of Malan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Chris Jordan and Jonny Bairstow.

Buttler’s excellent 67 not out on Tuesday flew under the radar as a result of Malan’s heroics, but the wicketkeeper-batsman is currently the left-hander’s closest challenger with 26 MVP points to his name from the series.

Stokes has continued his outstanding all-round form in all formats to occupy third position with 22 points, whilst Jordan moves up to fourth after he surpassed Stuart Broad to become England’s all-time leading wicket-taker in IT20s.

The fast bowler claimed his 66th IT20 scalp with the key wicket of Quinton de Kock on Tuesday in what was his 55th appearance in international T20 cricket, posting an impressive bowling average of just 25 in the format.

Of active players, Adil Rashid is next on the list with 51 wickets to his name – the leg-spinner is eighth in the IT20 MVP despite some excellent bowling performances throughout the series which saw him give away just 70 runs from his 12 cumulative overs.

🔝 There it is – Chris Jordan overtakes @StuartBroad8 to become England’s leading IT20 wicket-taker!

🧢 55 appearances
☝️ 66 wickets
📊 25 average

A moment to remember for one of England’s greatest T20 performers! 🙌#SAvENG pic.twitter.com/tPWGp03MkD

— PCA (@PCA) December 1, 2020

It will be a quick turnaround for England as they immediately turn their attention to a three-match ODI series against the same opposition, beginning at the same venue on Friday.

A number of the IT20 squad, including Malan, as well as Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran will not appear in the ODI series, lending the opportunity to the likes of Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood to make their mark on the MVP Rankings for the first time this winter.

David Willey is the current holder of the ODI MVP after his performances against Ireland in the summer earned him 92.2 MVP points. However the all-rounder was not selected for the tour of South Africa, meaning there is likely to be a different name on the award come the end of this winter.

The PCA MVP Rankings were developed by the Association in conjunction with the players to identify the match-winning performers in any given fixture. On top of traditional batting and bowling averages, bonus points are awarded for key disciplines such as scoring quickly, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.

The Rankings therefore give the most accurate reflection of the top performers in the game.

View the England MVP Rankings.

Find out more about the PCA MVP Rankings.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news by following the @pcaMVP on Twitter.