Bell-Drummond tops Blast MVP at halfway stage

Daniel Bell-Drummond is top of the PCA Vitality Blast Most Valuable Player Rankings with half of the 2020 tournament still to play, however only 15 MVP points separate him from Danny Briggs in tenth position.

Bell-Drummond has been the outstanding performer so far in this year’s 20-over competition, scoring 59.5 MVP points for his batting as well as captaining Kent Spitfires to three group stage victories.

He has been a model of consistency throughout this year’s tournament, with a lowest score of 22 at the top of the order and individual highlights of 72 and 81 coming against Middlesex and Essex Eagles respectively.

The latter performance earned Bell-Drummond the Player of the Match award for the fixture on 5 September – the 26 MVP points he earned on that day saw him leapfrog Keaton Jennings atop the Rankings, and he has not been deposed since.

However, only five MVP points currently separate Bell-Drummond in first from Luke Wright, who smashed 83 in a man-of-the-match performance on Thursday night, in second. 

The Sussex Sharks man has also enjoyed a campaign to remember so far, making two scores of over 80 and being the competition’s joint highest run-scorer alongside Middlesex’s Stevie Eskinazi.

The form of both Bell-Drummond and Wright has inspired their respective sides to considerable success in the group stage to date. Bell-Drummond’s Spitfires currently top the South Group with eight points, whilst Wright’s Sharks sit just below with seven.

The close battle between the top two is indicative of a well-balanced race for this year’s Vitality Blast MVP. Only 15 points separate the top 10 and there have already been four different leaders of the Rankings since 27 August.

One of those players was Lancashire Lightning’s Jennings, who has previously topped the table for six non-consecutive days since 27 August. Jennings is currently third in the Blast MVP, with only Eskinazi having accrued more MVP points in the batting discipline.

Behind him sits the Middlesex man, whilst Eskinazi’s teammate Max Holden, who joined Jennings in making a maiden T20 century on the opening day of the tournament, occupies fifth spot.

The batsmen are currently dominating proceedings, with only the top bowler in the competition, Lancashire’s Tom Bailey (eighth with 54.5 points) and Sussex’s Briggs (tenth with 54) featuring in the top 10 amongst the bowlers.

The PCA’s purpose-built MVP algorithm was designed by the Association in conjunction with the players to identify the match-winners in any given fixture. 

On top of traditional batting and bowling averages, bonus points are awarded for key disciplines in the game such as scoring quickly and taking top-order wickets, meaning the Rankings give the truest reflection of the best players in the game.

At the end of the summer, each player’s cumulative MVP points will be calculated, and one MVP will be named for each of Vitality Blast and Bob Willis Trophy, as well as a cross-format Overall MVP.

View the Vitality Blast MVP Rankings.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news by following the @pcaMVP on Twitter.