The shortlists for the 2021 cinch PCA Awards have been announced with David Bedingham in contention to be cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year.
The shortlists for the 2021 cinch PCA Awards, including for the first ever cinch PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year award, have been announced with 14 of the season’s outstanding performers across the international and domestic game recognised.
Following the introduction of 41 new female members to the PCA, the cinch PCA Women’s Player of the Year award has been opened up to include domestic players for the very first time. The shortlisted candidates are evenly split between international and domestic cricket, with Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Gibson, Eve Jones and Nat Sciver all in contention for the award.
The first cinch PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year award sees Alice Capsey shortlisted at just 17 years of age, an outstanding achievement in itself given she is yet to sign her first professional contract. Capsey is up for the award alongside Charlie Dean and Dunkley, who is the only player nominated for two of the main cinch PCA awards this season.
England Test captain Joe Root headlines the candidates for the cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year award – he is shortlisted alongside David Bedingham, Luke Fletcher and Simon Harmer, who was also shortlisted in both 2019 and 2020.
As with the women’s award, the cinch PCA Young Men’s Player of the Year sees three individuals shortlisted, with Harry Brook, Sam Cook and Tom Haines up for this season’s award.
In the absence of an in-person event, the cinch PCA Awards are being announced virtually throughout the final stages of the 2021 domestic season, with a number of the competition award winners having already been revealed.
Tuesday 28 September will see the finale of the cinch PCA Awards with the four headline award winners being announced live on Sky Sports during lunch on the opening day of the Bob Willis Trophy final.
cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year – Shortlist
David Bedingham (Durham)
Bedingham has been a run machine for Durham in red-ball cricket throughout the 2021 season. One of only three players to have passed the 1,000-run mark ahead of the final round of LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures, the 27-year-old has made three big hundreds in the competition, also passing 50 on three further occasions. Going into the final round of fixtures, Bedingham was averaging 66.8 in the competition with a high score of 257 – his career best total. The South African has also made an impact in the white-ball arena, his 292 runs at 41.7 helping Durham to reach the Royal London Cup final, whilst he also made 298 runs at 22.9 in the Vitality Blast.
Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire/Welsh Fire)
Fletcher’s outstanding contributions with the ball in First-Class cricket have kept Nottinghamshire in the hunt for both the LV= Insurance County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy titles right into the latter stages of the season.
Statistically speaking, Fletcher has been the outstanding bowler in the Championship so far this year. He is likely to finish top of the charts in terms of wickets taken with 63 already to his name ahead of the final round of fixtures, and only one player – Somerset’s Craig Overton – has taken more than 25 wickets at a better average than Fletcher’s 14 during this year’s competition. Fletcher is also in contention to win the PCA County Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, he leads the standings going into Tuesday’s fixtures with 329 MVP points to his name.
Simon Harmer (Essex)
Harmer’s name is becoming a regular feature on the shortlists for the cinch PCA Awards. Having been shortlisted for both the 2019 and 2020 awards, the off-spinner is now up for the cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year for a third time in succession.
Likely to finish among the top five wicket-takers in the main domestic red-ball competition for a fifth season in a row, Harmer has arguably been as impressive in limited-overs cricket this year. His 18 wickets at 19.6 in the Royal London Cup helped Essex to a semi-final appearance, whilst the South African also claimed 19 Vitality Blast wickets at 18.3 His efforts this season have already been recognised by the fans, Harmer having been voted the PCA Men’s Player of the Month in both May and August.
Joe Root (England/Trent Rockets/Yorkshire)
Test captain Root has led by example for England this summer, and having already been named the LV= Insurance Test Player of the Summer on Monday, he now has the opportunity to add to his tally of individual accolades this season.
Across his six Test appearances this summer, the 30-year-old scored 661 runs at an average of 66.1, racking up three sensational hundreds in consecutive fixtures against India in August. In addition, Root made unbeaten scores of 79 and 68 during England’s ODI series against Sri Lanka the previous month, and he also scored 291 runs in five Championship appearances for Yorkshire, including 101 against Kent in the season’s second round of fixtures.
The cinch PCA Awards traditionally brings the curtain down on the professional season in the biggest awards ceremony in English cricket. It’s where hundreds of current and former players are joined by key members of the industry to champion the best performing individuals of the summer while reflecting on those who have given so much to the game.
Covering the full professional game, players are honoured across international, domestic, men’s and women’s cricket and for 2021 presentations will be awarded on Sky Sports.
Full list of awards to be given out at the cinch PCA Awards:
● cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year
● cinch PCA Women’s Player of the Year
● cinch PCA Young Men’s Player of the Year
● cinch PCA Young Women’s Player of the Year
● IG PCA Men’s Team of the Year
● PCA Women’s Team of the Year
● Royal London Women’s ODI Player of the Summer
● Royal London Men’s ODI Player of the Summer
● Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Player of the Year
● LV= Insurance County Championship Player of the Year
● PCA Umpire of the Year – Men’s Game
● PCA Umpire of the Year – Women’s Game
● Vitality Men’s IT20 Player of the Summer – Liam Livingstone
● Vitality Blast Player of the Year – Samit Patel
● LV= Insurance Test Player of the Summer – Joe Root
● Vitality Women’s IT20 Player of the Summer – Nat Sciver
● Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year – Eve Jones
● Royal London Cup Player of the Year – Scott Borthwick