ed barnard’s outstanding season was reflected in his high placing in the professional cricketers’ association overall county most valuable player rankings this summer.
the worcestershire all-rounder finished third in the ladder encompassing the specsavers county championship and the rapids royal london one-day cup and vitality blast campaigns in 2018.
barnard, 22, amassed 477.56 points at an average of 12.57 points per game.
it was a figure only surpassed by kent’s joe denly (579.36 at 15.25) and surrey’s rikki clarke (500.66 at 14.30).
barnard also picked up four awards at worcestershire’s annual awards night on friday evening
but equally impressive in the pca mvp rankings was the achievement of his county colleague moeen ali.
he secured a top 10 spot in the overall county mvp despite making less than half of the appearances of most of the other leading candidates.
the england star accumulated 405.84 points from just 17 appearances for worcestershire – an average of 23.87 points per match.
that enabled him to finish in eighth position – an outstanding effort considering the amount of time moeen was away from New Road while on international duty.
the mvp formula was designed to identify the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic and international season.
an innovation which provides a more rigorous analysis of player performances than traditional batting and bowling averages, the mvp formula gives full credit to those players whose performances improve their team’s chances of winning.
points are accrued for all runs scored and wickets taken, these are then adjusted within the context of the match to take into account strike rates and economy rates.
runs gain more points if they are scored quickly or in low-scoring contests. top order wickets are judged more valuable than those that fall later. catches, run-outs and stumpings are also accounted for as well as bonus points for captains and players who are on the victorious side.
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pca overall county most valuable player rankings
1 – joe denly (kent) – 579.36 points at average of 15.25
2 – rikki clarke (surrey) – 500.66 at 14.30
3 – ed barnard (worcestershire) – 477.56 at 12.57
4 – lewis gregory (somerset) – 474.66 at 14.38
5 – simon harmer (essex) – 421.94 at 12.06
6 – james hildreth (somerset) – 410.73 at 10.81
7) – ben raine (leicestershire) – 410.45 at 15.68
8) – moeen ali (worcestershire) – 405.84 at 23.87
9) – alex davies (lancashire) – 390.41 at 10.55
10) – steven mullaney (nottinghamshire) – 390.18 at 11.48
