The May Teams of the month in the men’s and women’s domestic game have been selected by the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings.
Using the MVP’s unique algorithm, powered by Argentex, the sides have been picked by choosing the game’s top performers across domestic cricket in May.
In the women’s game, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy continued before the Charlotte Edwards Cup got underway. The Blaze all-rounder Kirstie Gordon skippers the team having scored a phenomenal 134.9 MVP points in May with her 17 wickets worth exactly 70 MVP bowling points, the most of any other bowler.
Central Sparks captain Eve Jones scored 307 runs resulting in the most batting MVP points (93.87) in May. Western Storm’s Australian leg-spinning all-rounder Amanda-Jade Wellington secures a place for the second month in a row, amassing the second most amount of points in the month (119.29), thanks to her 10 wickets and 139 runs.
In the men’s game a further four rounds of the Vitality County Championship were completed before the start of the Vitality Blast. Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson captains the side having picked up an incredible 142.96 MVP points in May finishing with 16 wickets and the most bowling points (79.02) during the month.
There’s also a brace of players that maintain their positions from last month’s side with Durham’s David Bedingham scoring the most batting MVP points in May (113.37) and Surrey’s Dan Worrall who secured the most bowling MVP points of a pace bowler (67.89).
The PCA’s MVP system works by comparing a player’s accomplishments against the expected performance for that game. Runs and wickets achieved at each ground are also considered and compared to the average. Enabling players to score or lose MVP points on every ball through CricViz’s extensive historical database, the rankings are a true reflection of performance.
The teams have been selected using a traditional, balanced side. This means that a player such as Lancashire’s wicketkeeper-batter Matty Hurst is unfortunate to miss out on selection due the performance of fellow keeper James Bracey who earned an incredible 29 fielding points, 10 more than Hurst despite the Lancashire man finishing seventh on the MVP table for May.
Likewise, The Blaze’s Lucy Higham enjoyed a strong month but couldn’t quite compete with the points of fellow spinning all-rounders in Charli Knott, Kirstie Gordon and Amanda-Jade Wellington.
May's MVP Team of the Month
Eve Jones
Central Sparks
- 92.87 Batting Points
- 109.87 Overall Points
Sophia Dunkley
South East Stars
- 71.47 Batting Points
- 85.67 Overall Points
Sophie Luff
Western Storm
- 73.73 Batting Points
- 79.73 Overall Points
Abbey Freeborn (wk)
Central Sparks
- 80.33 Batting Points
- 99.33 Overall Points
Kathryn Bryce
The Blaze
- 63.23 Batting Points
- 79.72 Overall Points
Amanda-Jade Wellington
Western Storm
- 59.81 Batting Points
- 46.46 Bowling Points
- 119.29 Overall Points
Charli Knott
Southern Vipers
- 40.02 Batting Points
- 37.25 Bowling Points
- 97.27 Overall Points
Kirstie Gordon (c)
The Blaze
- 70.00 Bowling Points
- 38.89 Batting Points
- 134.90 Overall Points
Fi Morris
Thunder
- 42.94 Bowling Points
- 35.60 Batting Points
- 101.54 Overall Points
Tara Norris
Thunder
- 36.81 Bowling Points
- 39.65 Overall Points
Freya Davies
Southern Vipers
- 46.78 Bowling Points
- 53.38 Overall Points
Keaton Jennings
Lancashire
- 102.68 Batting Points
- 113.68 Overall Points
Haseeb Hameed
Nottinghamshire
- 87.37 Batting Points
- 93.37 Overall Points
Adam Lyth
Yorkshire
- 70.07 Batting Points
- 97.06 Overall Points
David Bedingham
Durham
- 113.37 Batting Points
- 115.37 Overall Points
Jordan Cox
Essex
- 109.27 Batting Points
- 118.27 Overall Points
James Bracey (wk)
Gloucestershire
- 60.18 Batting Points
- 29.20 Fielding Points
- 90.38 Overall Points
Liam Dawson (c)
Hampshire
- 56.93 Batting Points
- 79.02 Bowling Points
- 142.96 Overall Points
Matt Critchley
Essex
- 42.16 Bowling Points
- 29.74 Batting Points
- 81.89 Overall Points
George Balderson
Lancashire
- 57.81 Bowling Points
- 81.11 Overall Points
Dan Worrall
Surrey
- 67.89 Bowling Points
- 82.61 Overall Points
Dillon Pennington
Nottinghamshire
- 59.42 Bowling Points
- 63.58 Overall Points
Find out more about the MVP Rankings and view the domestic men’s and women’s tables.