County MVP Rankings hots up

Matt Henry continues to lead the Overall and County Championship Most Valuable Player Rankings, despite missing out on the latest round of red-ball fixtures.

It gave a chance for others to start closing the gap with Ben Raine taking five wickets for Leicestershire to nudge him within 30 points of the Kent bowler in the Championship standings.

However, it was another Kent player who took home the biggest haul of MVP points from the round, as Grant Stewart put on a remarkable display with career best bowling figures of six wickets for 22 runs and hitting a maiden hundred, batting at number ten.

It earnt him 73.10 MVP points and proved the depth that Kent have in their team as they continue to lead the way in their bid for promotion to Division One of the County Championship.

Ravi Bopara put on another Man of the Match performance for Essex and in the process climbed into the top ten of the overall MVP Rankings. The all-rounder smashed over 150 runs against Somerset and picked up 37 points in the process. With the Vitality Blast starting next Wednesday, he is in a good position to carry on climbing the table.

Amongst the list of MVPs from the latest round of County Championship fixtures, Joe Clarke impressed once again with the bat, hitting a match-saving 177 not out, a knock that once again showcased the talent he has at 22-year-old.

Surrey cemented their position at the top of Division One, with victory over Yorkshire in Scarborough. South African pace bowler Morne Morkel claimed the MVP award thanks to a brilliant five-for.

However, props must be given to Rory Burns who continues to move up the County Championship MVP Rankings, as the opener continues to accumulate runs and points. Following three short of a much deserved century in the winning run-chase, he is the first batsman in the league to pass 700 runs for the season.

Following a purple patch, it was Jonathan Trott who shone for Warwickshire, rather than Ian Bell. The evergreen Trott hit 170 not out in the first dig and followed it up with 53 in the second as the team claimed victory over Durham in Division Two.

All eyes on the county game now switch to the Royal London One-Day Cup final which takes place at Lord’s on Saturday. It will give the perfect chance for the three Kent players at the top of the overall MVP Rankings to break away from the pack.

Matt Henry, Joe Denly and Heino Kuhn have dominated the MVP Rankings to-date, however, it is Denly and Kuhn that lead the way in the One-Day Cup MVP Rankings with Hampshire’s James Vince directly behind.

It adds another interesting sub-plot to the Lord’s showpiece, with Vince having one more crack at closing the 40-point margin on the Kent duo and snatching the overall One-Day Cup MVP crown away.