Ed Barnard has won the Metro Bank One Day Cup Player of the Year in a second consecutive season after dominating the MVP charts with bat and ball.
The Warwickshire all-rounder went the entire season unchallenged at the top of the MVP table, finishing with 180.06 MVP points. Once again, proving his genuine all-round abilities with 65.51 batting points and 98.56 points with the ball.
The right-hander ended the Metro Bank One Day Cup with a tally of 433 runs at an average of 61.85 and an excellent strike-rate of 100.93. He was also exceptional with the ball, taking 19 wickets at an economy rate of just under 4.30, making him the joint leading wicket-taker in this year’s competition.
Barnard has had some memorable performances in the Metro Bank One Day Cup this season which saw him win two Match MVPs. The Bears captain, in the 50-over format, scored an unbeaten 173, his career best score in List A cricket, and took 2-37 as they recorded a seven-wicket win over Essex. He secured 47.75 points for his efforts.
The 28-year-old’s second match MVP came in the game against Gloucestershire at Bristol where he once again scored an unbeaten ton. He contributed 152 runs and took three wickets to end the game with 50.37 points, helping Warwickshire to a six-wicket victory.
Barnard’s best effort with the ball came against Leicestershire where he picked up four wickets and conceded just 21 runs from seven overs.
The Warwickshire man was the very definition of leading from the front. His all-round contribution saw them reach the semi-finals of the One Day Cup, winning six games in the process.
The seam bowling all-rounder has now won back-to-back Metro Bank One Day Cup Player of the Year awards. Last summer he amassed 180.55 points in the competition.
Meanwhile, Somerset’s Lewis Goldsworthy finished second in the standings with 127.49 points thanks to scoring 427 runs in the competition alongside taking 11 wickets, as the west country side lost the final against Glamorgan by 15 runs. Worcestershire batter Jake Libby finished third on 115.78 points thanks to scoring 526 runs in the competition.
After winning the 2024 Metro Bank One Day Cup Player of the Year, Barnard said: “It is a nice honour to win this award again. It is a competition I have really enjoyed over the last two years, and it is just a shame that we didn’t manage to win the big trophy at the end of it.
“To get off to a win in the first game as captain and to be there at the end not out at Essex, that was a very pleasing way to start the competition and set the tone.
“The format of cricket is one I have always enjoyed whenever the competition is being held. The members love it as well.
“It’s a nice part of the summer, it’s the school holidays so you tend to get good crowds wherever you are, so it is really good fun to play in.
“I really enjoyed the captaincy. It was something a bit different which I have not done for a while. We had a great group and a good blend of experienced players who helped me out and some really talented youngsters coming through as we saw. It didn’t feel too difficult of a job but obviously it would have been nice to get one step further.”
The Metro Bank One Day Cup The Player of the Year is selected by the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings. The formula enables players to score or lose MVP points on every ball based on their expected performance for that ball in comparison to CricViz’s extensive historical database of fixtures, with the venue being played at also taken into account.
Barnard joins David Payne and Sam Curran as domestic men’s MVP winners this summer. The Gloucestershire seamer won the Vitality Blast Player of the Year after guiding Gloucestershire to their first T20 title, whilst the Oval Invincibles all-rounder picked up the MVP trophy in The Hundred.
With the County Championship nearing its end, Hampshire’s Liam Dawson is currently leading the four-day and Overall MVP table. Last year’s winner of both awards leads the Overall Rankings with 611.87 points with just one round of games remaining.
