Beaumont the ODI MVP after NZ series win

Tammy Beaumont has been named the PCA England Women ODI MVP for winter 2020/21 after her side claimed a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand in the 50-over format.

Opener Beaumont has been in inspired form with the bat throughout the three fixtures in Christchurch and Dunedin, earning 34.7 MVP points with the bat alone and 38.7 overall at an average of 12.9 points-per-game.

The 29-year-old passed 50 during every game, making scores of 71, 72 not out and 88 not out and averaging 231 in the process.

Beaumont’s runs accounted for a huge 39% of her team’s cumulative total throughout the series, highlighting her importance to the side and earning her bonus MVP points, as the MVP algorithm takes into account important contributions such as scoring a high proportion of your team’s runs.

As Sunday’s game marked England Women’s last 50-over fixture of their 2020/21 schedule, it means that Beaumont is officially the ODI MVP, and the first since Sarah Glenn won the award following England’s tour of Malaysia in December 2019.

Beaumont edged out teammate Nat Sciver to the award, the all-rounder finishing with 38.5 MVP points, just 0.3 behind the eventual winner after another typically excellent series from an individual perspective.

Sciver’s performance during the second ODI in Dunedin stood out in particular as she claimed 3-26 with the ball – removing three of New Zealand’s top seven – before going on to lead England’s chase of 193 with 63 at more than a run a ball.

Sciver duly claimed the MVP of the Match award with a huge 22.3 MVP points after helping her side to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. She was also England’s top performer with the ball in ODI’s this winter, claiming 20.9 points across the three fixtures in that discipline alone.

Sciver’s second placed finish backs up her excellent individual campaign last winter, when she did the double in winning both the Overall and IT20 MVPs following the conclusion of England’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign.

Beaumont and Sciver end the winter as comfortably the top two in the ODI MVP, as Heather Knight finishes in third position with 28.4 points an average of 9.5 per game.

Knight was the only other English player to claim an MVP of the Match award during the series, earning 15.9 points after spearheading England’s eight-wicket victory in the first fixture with 1-14 followed by 67 not out.

Katherine Brunt (17.3 MVP points) ends the winter in fourth position whilst Amy Jones (14.2) completes the top five as England build towards retaining their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title in New Zealand early next year.

Next on England’s schedule is three more limited overs fixtures as the side prepare for an IT20 against the same opposition during the coming week.

The same squad of 16 will take part in the fixtures in Wellington and Tauranga, which will give the players a chance to impress ahead of a domestic summer which includes an inaugural women’s regional 20-over competition as well as the first edition of the Hundred.

Leg-spinner Glenn was the last winner of the IT20 MVP award after claiming 44.75 MVP points at an average of 8.95 points-per-game following England’s 5-0 whitewash of West Indies late last summer.

Following the conclusion of England’s last winter fixture in Tauranga next Sunday, Glenn will be hoping to make it two IT20 MVP wins in two ahead of the side’s return to the UK to prepare for a huge summer of women’s cricket in England and Wales.

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.