Overton and Adams are MVPs

Craig Overton and Georgia Adams are the PCA MVPs for the Bob Willis Trophy and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy respectively, after both one-off competitions drew to a close late on Sunday afternoon.

Somerset paceman Overton has been the lynchpin of his side’s bowling attack throughout the one-off Bob Willis Trophy, earning 202.5 MVP points at an average of 33.76 points-per-game on the back of his 30 wickets in the tournament.

The MVP algorithm has recognised Overton’s all-round contribution as he has chipped in with 40.4 MVP points with the bat, his 248 runs in the competition coming at an impressive average of 31 for the genuine all-rounder.

The PCA August Player of the Month for 2020 has also earned seven MVP points in the field, his contributions in all facets in the game coming together to nudge him ahead of rival Simon Harmer to win the race for the £2,500 cash prize on Sunday afternoon and be named the best first-class performer in English domestic cricket this season.

Overton and Harmer have been head and shoulders above the rest in the format-specific Bob Willis Trophy MVP this season, the lead changing hands three times during the five-day final alone.

However, it was Overton who had the last laugh from an individual perspective after one of the closest MVP races in recent years, moving ahead of Harmer on the final day despite his side conceding the trophy to Harmer’s Essex by virtue of their first innings lead in the drawn fixture.

The Essex off-spinner finishes in second place in the BWT MVP with 195.7 MVP points, with the evergreen Darren Stevens finishing third with 166.86 points.

Despite losing out on the BWT MVP, Harmer is very much in pole position in the race for the cross-format Overall MVP, for which there is a £5,000 cash prize.

However, having played his last game of the season, Harmer cannot build on his current points haul of 268.2, and the door is open for a Vitality Blast quarter finalist to make ground on the leader. Gloucestershire’s Ryan Higgins is currently the best placed player to do just that – he’s in third position 78 points behind Harmer.

From one domestic final to another, Southern Vipers skipper Georgia Adams has won the race for the £1,000 RHFT MVP cash prize after inspiring her team to a perfect campaign in the tournament. 

Her side won all seven of their fixtures in the competition, including a 38-run victory over Northern Diamonds on Sunday which secured the side’s status as the first and only winners of the RHFT.

Vipers captain Adams has led from the front throughout, earning 110.2 MVP points at an average of 15.74 points-per-game from her seven RHFT appearances – both of which are the highest figure for any player in the tournament.

Unsurprisingly the competition’s highest run-scorer earned the most batting MVP points of any player. Adams’ 500 tournament runs (no other player scored more than 400) translated to 76.42 batting MVP points – 14 more than any other player.

The slow bowler has also chipped in with the ball, however, her seven wickets – including the final scalp of the tournament – at 22 in the RHFT translating to a more-than-handy 14.78 MVP points in that discipline.

The MVP algorithm also recognises the importance of good captaincy, allowing Adams to pick up seven bonus points for a perfect seven wins as captain, all of which contributed to her winning total at the tournament’s end.

Adams finishes a huge 22 points clear of Lightning’s Kathryn Bryce in (88.3 MVP points) in second place, with Western Storm’s Georgia Hennessy (80.5) in third.

Two of Adams’ Vipers teammates, namely Sunday’s Player of the Match Charlotte Taylor and Charlie Dean, join their captain in finishing inside the final top 10.

The MVP algorithm was developed by the PCA in conjunction with the players to recognise the match-winning performers in any given fixture. On top of traditional batting and bowling average, bonus points are awarded for key disciplines such as scoring quick runs, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.

There will be four domestic MVPs come next Saturday: one for each of this year’s major tournaments as well as a cross-format Overall MVP in the men’s game, with the latter claiming a £5,000 cash prize. In the women’s game, there will also be T20I MVP following the conclusion of England’s 20-over series against the West Indies on Saturday.

View the domestic men’s and women’s MVP Rankings.

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