Wood leads Test MVP after Ashes

Mark Wood is the leader of the PCA Test Most Valuable Player Rankings following the conclusion of England’s 2021-22 Ashes campaign.

Wood, who was England’s top wicket-taker in the series after returning 17 wickets from his four appearances, sits atop the statistical rankings with 82.7 MVP points to his name at an average of 20.7 points-per-game.

The 32-year-old earned 64.8 MVP points for his bowling alone – also the highest figure of any England player – thanks in no small part to his career best figures of 6-37 during the final Test at Hobart, which helped to remove Australia for just 155 in the second innings.

Wood also contributed 14.9 MVP points with the bat on the back of 86 series runs, including an exhilarating 39 at Sydney which saw the lower-order batter dispatch Australia skipper Pat Cummins for three sixes.

As a result, Wood is in pole position in the MVP Rankings going into England’s three-match Test series in the West Indies in March, where he will hope to play another key role for his side with his extra pace.

The MVP Rankings were designed by the PCA in conjunction with CricViz and the players to identify the top performers in the game from a statistical standpoint.

The red-ball algorithm combines traditional batting and bowling averages with key variables including scoring a large proportion of your team’s runs, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.

At the end of England’s 2021-22 winter schedule, an MVP will be named in each of the Test, ODI and IT20 formats, as well as an aggregated Overall MVP which rewards the best player across all formats.

England captain Joe Root, who won the Overall MVP in both the summer of 2021 and winter 2020/21, is currently Wood’s closest competitor for the Test MVP lead.

Root scored 71.5 MVP points during an Ashes series where he finished as his side’s top run-scorer – and the third-highest run-scorer overall – with 322 at an average of 32.2.

The 31-year-old is flying the flag for England’s batters, with members of the bowling attack currently making up the rest of the Test MVP top five.

Stuart Broad is just two points behind Root in third position on 69.5 MVP points, after he was the only player other than Wood to take a five-fer in this Ashes with 5-101 at Sydney.

Ollie Robinson (65 MVP points) and James Anderson (50.5) complete the remainder of the top five after they took 11 and eight Ashes wickets respectively.

Jonny Bairstow, who scored England’s only century of the series with a majestic 113 at Sydney, sits in tenth position with 38.7 MVP points after making two appearances during the series. His average of 19.3 points-per-game was bettered only by Broad’s 23.2 and Wood’s 20.7.

Find out more about the PCA MVP Rankings and view the England tables.

Follow @pcaMVP on Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the latest MVP news.