Root wins third consecutive Test MVP

Joe Root has been named England’s Test Most Valuable Player for the 2021/22 season following England’s red-ball tours of Australia and the West Indies.

The Test skipper scored 138 MVP points in his eight appearances in the format this winter at an average of 17.3 points-per-game. As a result, Root finished 14 points clear of all-rounder Ben Stokes, who came second in the Test MVP with 124 MVP points. Jack Leach (104 MVP points), Mark Wood (87.9) and Jonny Bairstow (87.2) complete the top five.

Root has been England’s most consistent performer throughout a difficult winter for the tourists, passing 50 on five occasions during the two Test series. His individual highlights came with scores of 109 and 153 in consecutive innings in Antigua and Barbados.

The part-time off-spinner also earned almost 13 MVP points for his efforts with the ball this winter – claiming seven Test wickets against Australia and the West Indies at an average of 43 runs apiece – whilst Root also earned a squad-high 20 MVP points for his fielding in the slips.

Root’s red-ball performances over the last 18 months have confirmed his status as an all-time England great, and this is reflected in the fact that he has claimed the last three available men’s Test MVP awards.

He beat seamer Ollie Robinson to the Test MVP after scoring 152 MVP points against New Zealand and India last summer, and won the same award the previous winter after amassing 163 points during six Test Matches against Sri Lanka and India.

It goes to show that Root has statistically been England’s best performer in red-ball cricket on a consistent basis, as reflected by the PCA’s bespoke MVP algorithm.

The MVP Rankings were designed by the PCA in conjunction with CricViz and the players to identify the top performers in the game from a statistical standpoint.

The red-ball algorithm combines traditional batting and bowling averages with key variables including scoring a large proportion of your team’s runs, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.

At the end of England’s 2021-22 winter schedule, the PCA has named an MVP in each of the Test and IT20 formats, with all-rounder Moeen Ali picking up the latter award in late January, as well as an aggregated Overall MVP which rewards the best player across all formats.

Chris Woakes has picked up the England men’s Overall MVP for 2021/22 after contributing with bat and ball across both formats the Three Lions have played this winter.

No player has made more international men’s appearances than Woakes’ 12 in Test and IT20 cricket in 2021/22, which shows the all-rounder’s importance to England across all formats and also gives him the opportunity to score more MVP points. In total, Woakes scored 138.4 MVP points which sees him pip Root to the award by a tiny margin of 0.2 MVP points.

Woakes was one of England’s key performers during their run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals late last year, setting the tone with the new ball as he picked up seven wickets with an economy rate of 7.36. He also picked up 12 wickets and chipped in with 286 runs down the order in Test cricket, which contributed to his 44.9 batting MVP points this winter.

Woakes and Root finished clear of Jos Buttler (133 MVP points), Ben Stokes (124) and Moeen Ali (113) in the Overall MVP for 2021/22.

Find out more about the PCA MVP Rankings and view the England tables.

Follow @pcaMVP on Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news.