MVP Rankings enters final stages

Matt Henry returned to the top of the County Championship PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings but it is Joe Denly who continues to lead the way in the Overall table – with his stunning season creating an increasing likelihood of an England Test call-up for the winter.

Denly has 586 MVP points over the summer, over 120 more than his nearest challenger Ben Raine, and has started making moves up the County Championship table after a flurry of runs to push Kent in with a good chance of promotion.

His consistency means he is leading the race to win the £10,000 MVP prize and has prompted talk of a call-up to the national side as they get set to shuffle their squad to replace Alastair Cook at the top of the order. However, he is not the only one whose name has been bandied about as a potential replacement for the England legend. 

PCA Chairman Daryl Mitchell knows his game inside-out and at the age of 34 could be the type of experienced head that the team needs as they go through a transitional phase. He has nearly 800 runs in Division One for Worcestershire and 180 MVP points in the County Championship, second only to Rory Burns in the MVP for opening batsmen.

A good test of where he is as a player will come when Worcestershire take on Surrey and their premiere fast bowler, Morne Morkel. The big South African great has 42 wickets at less than 15 apiece, and with 309 Test scalps to his name, a strong showing against him could see Mitchell’s name put to the forefront of England selectors minds. 

It’s possible that England could take Denly, Mitchell and the in-form Surrey captain, Burns, for their tour of Sri Lanka in October. Burns has gone past 1,000 Championship runs for the fifth straight season and is the highest placed batsman in the red-ball MVP table with 220 points.

Burns has gone from strength-to-strength since being awarded the Surrey captaincy this summer and his consistency has propelled his county to a position where they could win the County Championship this week. If Surrey take home six more points that Somerset over the next four days they will win their first title since 2002.

While the Kia Oval outfit may be the team to look out for in 2018, Kent have provided statistically the most consistent individual performers across all formats.

With Heino Kuhn joining Denly and Henry in the Overall top 10, Henry has showed no signs of easing off on his return to Kent, with another ten-wicket haul to mark his arrival. The bowler now has 61 wickets at an average of 14.85 as the county push for promotion to Division One.

Henry also reclaimed the lead in the County Championship MVP Rankings with his phenomenal showing, moving to 301 points, four ahead of James Harris who has led in his absence. 

They are being hounded down by Sussex’s Ollie Robinson with the seamer finding form going into the closing stages of the season, he has 290 points. But Henry will be a tough man to beat when he has proven to be such a dangerous paceman in English conditions.

View the MVP Rankings here.