Morgan and Stokes close gap on Root in England PCA MVP

Morgan and Stokes close gap on Root in England PCA MVP Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes have closed the gap on Joe Root at the top of the table in this summer’s England Professional Cricketers’ Rankings following their match-winning partnership against Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy on Saturday. The pair helped England recover from 35 for three to complete a 40 runs win under the Duckworth Lewis method with a fourth wicket stand of 159 in 26 overs. The win knocked Australia out of the tournament with England, who had already qualified for the semi-finals now facing either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in Wednesday’s semi-final in Cardiff. Stokes plundered an unbeaten 102 from 109 balls – his second One Day International century of the season – which made up 42 per cent of England’s total and gave him 22 rankings points towards a match haul of 28 points. Morgan’s 87 came from just 81 balls which gave him 20 PCA MVP points and a match haul of 23 points which helped climb one place into second in this season’s rankings on 94 points, 24 behind Root. Stokes is now in third place in the rankings on 87 points with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who took four for 41 and 23 points against Australia, up to fourth. The PCA MVP Rankings system identifies the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic season. The formula takes into account conditions, quality of opposition, captaincy and strike-rates as well as runs scored and wickets taken. Alex Hales, who was second in the table before the Australia match, has dropped to sixth on 70 points, two behind Liam Plunkett. In the all-time England MVP for ODI cricket since the PCA system was introduced in 2007, Morgan now has 1,120 career points and he remains the only man to have reached the 1,000 points landmark. Root is the next highest-ranked of England’s Champions Trophy squad in fifth place in the all-time list on 820 points with Jos Buttler one place 72 points further back. Root is the highest-placed of England’s Champions Trophy squad in the overall all-time England MVP, which covers all formats, in seventh place on 1,760 points. Morgan is eighth on 1,616 points with Stokes up to 14th on 1,186 points, Steven Finn 15th on 1,145, Moeen Ali 16th on 1,107 and Buttler 17th on 1,086. The full England PCA MVP Rankings can be viewed here.