Vote for May’s PCA Player of the Month

Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings has celebrated his international recall by being shortlisted for the Professional Cricketers’ Association Player of the Month for May along with Sussex all-rounder Ollie Robinson and Kent pair Matt Henry and Joe Denly.

The four topped the  PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings in May and the winner will now be decided by supporters through a poll on the PCA website as well as Sky Sports app and website. Voting is now open and will close at 8pm on Sunday June 3.

The MVP formula was designed by the players to identify the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic and international season.

An innovation which provides a more rigorous analysis of player performances than traditional batting and bowling averages, the MVP formula gives full credit to those players whose performances improve their team’s chances of winning. Points are accrued for all runs scored and wickets taken, these are then adjusted within the context of the match to take into account strike rates and economy rates.

The player who tops the overall PCA County MVP Rankings at the end of the season receives a £10,000 reward.

After a disappointing April by his own standards, Jennings turned his form around in May which resulted in 129.98 MVP points, the third highest of the month according the MVP Rankings.

May started off with Jennings scoring 109 against Somerset in the Specsavers County Championship which was followed by another hundred in Lancashire’s first win of the season against Nottinghamshire.

Jennings then carried on his form in white ball cricket, 136 runs and two wickets against Notts to start the Royal London One-Day Cup which earnt him the MVP Man of the Match. With consecutive fifties against Northants and Durham following, the 25-year-old caught the eye of National Selector Ed Smith.

Ending May with a total of 541 runs and five wickets, Jennings is set to partner Alastair Cook at the top of the order for England and will be looking to recapture his early international career form which saw him hit a century on his debut against India in 2016.

Sussex all-rounder Robinson topped May’s Rankings with an exceptional month with the ball which started in Sussex’s County Championship victory over Middlesex. The 24-year-old took seven wickets for 58 runs whilst scoring a half-century of his own in the first innings before taking a solitary wicket and hitting the winnings runs in the second innings to earn the MVP Man of the Match.

Robinson then dismissed seven Kent batsmen in the narrow defeat before carrying on his consistent performances in the 50-over game. He took three wickets in each of his first two games in the limited overs competition, ending with figures of three for 31 in the win against Kent and three for 57 whilst scoring 16 with the bat against Hampshire.

An economical eight overs which resulted in two wickets against Somerset helped the Sharks to another victory before a frustrating end to the month.

Despite taking the wicket of England captain Eoin Morgan, Robinson couldn’t stop a defeat against Middlesex while trips to Gloucestershire and Surrey were abandoned without a ball being bowled. Even with two washouts, Sussex’s star man ended May with 165.15 MVP points which sees him in fourth position in this season’s overall MVP Rankings.

The most consistent performer of the season has been Kent’s Henry who is nominated for the PCA Player of the Month for the second time this season. The New Zealander is top of the MVP Rankings and was the second best performer throughout the month of May, ending on 132.41 points.

The fast bowler started the month in incredible form, taking 18 wickets in two County Championship fixtures. Henry opened up his month by taking eight wickets across both innings for just 90 runs in Kent’s victory against Glamorgan.

He continued ripping through batting line-ups the following week in their 58 run victory over Sussex, taking his second 10-wicket match haul of the season in the process. His 10 dismissals cost just 122 runs while he also chipped in with a valuable half century to take the Man of the Match award and Kent to second in the County Championship Division Two table.

The Kiwi has also had a productive start to the One-Day Cup, taking 10 wickets in his opening five games to underline his importance to his county.

Henry is joined on the shortlist for the PCA Player of the Month by his team mate Denly after a start to the One-Day Cup which was dominated by a remarkable Man of the Match performance against Glamorgan.

The former England international dismissed four batsmen for 56 runs and then hit a career best 150 not out from 143 balls in an astonishing performance. The all-round display saw him gain 56.84 MVP points, which is 12 points more than anyone else has recorded in a single One-Day Cup fixture in 2018.

Denly then took a brace of wickets and catches to add to 25 runs in the one run victory over Hampshire before another Man of the Match display saw Kent bet Somerset in a rain effected fixture with the 32-year-old scoring 44 not out.

The top order batsman also contributed a combined 121 runs in victories over Glamorgan and Sussex in the County Championship and ended the month with 126.88 points.