T20I MVP takes centre stage for England Women

The PCA’s England Women Most Valuable Player Rankings will return for the first time in over a month in the early hours of Friday morning as Heather Knight’s side take on India in Canberra.

The fixture, which will be held at the Australian capital’s Manuka Oval, is the first of four that lie in wait for England as part of a tri-series between the Three Lions, Friday’s opposition and Australia.

England will play both sides twice, before the teams that finish first and second in the table will meet once again to contest the final. The series represents a valuable opportunity for each of the three teams to get some playing time on the field and finalise their XIs before the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins on 21 February in Sydney.

As ever, the PCA will be keeping track of England’s top performers throughout both the tri-series and the World Cup via its purpose-built MVP Rankings algorithm.

The metric, which was designed by the Association in conjunction with the players, recognises outstanding individual contributions in any given fixture. On top of traditional batting and bowling averages, bonus points are awarded for captaining the winning side, scoring runs quickly and taking top order wickets, amongst other important disciplines.

At international level, MVPs are named twice per year – at the end of both of England Women’s summer and winter schedules. Awards are given to the best ODI and T20I players, as well as an Overall category which spans both formats, meaning a total of six MVPs per calendar year.

England Women have already competed in three T20I fixtures this winter, all of which came against Pakistan on the side’s tour of Malaysia in December, meaning the T20I MVP table for 2019/20 is already beginning to take shape.

Amy Jones currently leads the way with 42 MVP points, including 11 for her efforts behind the stumps. The wicketkeeper-batter was in fine form in Kuala Lumpur, averaging just under 60 with the bat with a high score of 89, whilst also claiming three dismissals across the three fixtures.

Whilst Jones is England’s top T20I batter so far this winter with 28 points in that discipline, second placed Sophie Ecclestone has been the team’s most effective bowler in the same format.

The off-spinner, who was named the 2019 NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer at the annual NatWest PCA Awards in October, claimed six wickets in the same series at an average of just 6.33.

Jones’ fellow opener Danni Wyatt and young leg-spinner Sarah Glenn are almost level on points with 19.43 and 19.41 respectively, whilst all-rounder Natalie Sciver currently completes the top five with 19.27. Sciver does, however, average three more MVP points-per-game than the pair above her having appeared in one fewer T20I fixture so far this winter.

Skipper Heather Knight, who is currently seventh in the T20I MVP with 15.35 points, will be looking to earn some bonus points for her captaincy as she attempts to inspire England to simultaneous ODI and T20 world titles.

The incoming Georgia Elwiss will also be looking to make a good impression as she is the only member of the squad not to have appeared in a T20I fixture so far this winter, although every player will be under the microscope as the World Cup represents new Head Coach Lisa Keightley’s first major tournament in charge.

As previously mentioned, the Overall MVP will run simultaneously with the T20I MVP throughout both the tri-series and the World Cup. 

The cross-format table is currently topped by the aforementioned Glenn, who impressed on her first tour in Malaysia, with 55 points. Jones (51 points), Sciver (44), Knight (42) and Wyatt (42) occupy the other positions in the top five going into Friday’s fixture in Canberra.

View the England Women MVP Rankings here.

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