Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has gone top of the all-time Professional Cricketers Association Most Valuable Player Rankings in the Specsavers County Championship.
Stevens, who began his county cricket career with Leicestershire in 1997, has been in outstanding form this season and overtook Middlesex seamer Tim Murtagh at the top of the all-time County Championship list after he took 46 points from Kent’s victory over Derbyshire at Canterbury.
Stevens made 90 in Kent’s second innings – his third half century in as many matches – and took six for 47 in Derbyshire’s first innings which took his wickets haul for the season to 22.
Stevens, who will be 41 on April 30, now leads Murtagh by 11 points at the top of the all-time PCA MVP for the County Championship and is only 34 points behind Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel at the top of the rankings for all competitions since the PCA MVP Rankings were introduced in 2007.
The PCA MVP Rankings system identifies the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic season.
It takes into account conditions, quality of opposition, captaincy and strike-rates as well as runs scored and wickets taken.
As well as topping the all-time County Championship rankings, Stevens is the new leader of this season’s PCA MVP having overtaken Yorkshire pace bowler Ben Coad, who led the table after two rounds of matches.
Stevens has 127 points with Coad now nine points behind him. Gary Ballance, Coad’s county captain, and Hampshire’s South Africa fast bowler Kyle Abbott have also gone past 100 points for the season.
Ballance continued his prolific start to the season by making a first innings century followed by a match-saving 203 not out to secure a draw for Yorkshire against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.
Ballance contributed 50% of Yorkshire’s second innings runs which earned him 44 PCA MVP points, the 31st best single innings haul in the County Championship in PCA MVP history.
Abbott took 25 points from the draw with Yorkshire, battling hard in the second innings and taking three for 65 at an economy rate of 2.32.
Abbott is 20 points clear of Nottinghamshire’s Australia paceman James Pattinson in the rankings table after three rounds of championship matches but the table could have a very different complexion next week as the emphasis switches to white ball cricket and the start of the Royal London One Day Cup.
The full PCA MVP Rankings table can be viewed here