For current PCA MVP standings go to http://www.thepca.co.uk/county-mvp.html
Chris Rushworth and John Hastings both delivered telling performances in the Royal London One-Day Cup victory over Derbyshire and both are vying for this season’s prestigious Professional Cricketers’ Association Most Valuable Player award.
Rushworth is currently top of the rankings with Australian Hastings breathing down his neck in second place and it is race which looks likely to go to the wire.
In the current standings Rushworth has 474 points, while Hastings is second with 453. Closing in on the Durham pair are Kent’s Darren Stevens, who is third on 448 and Warwickshire’s Rikki Clarke fourth with 443.
The winner picks up a cheque for £10,000 so there is plenty of incentive for both players to try and become MVP this season, following Jeetan Patel’s success in 2014.
Rushworth scored an invaluable 38 not out in the win over Derbyshire, by a distance his highest ever one-day score and then delivered his trademark accuracy with the ball, bowling nine overs for just 33 runs in the 55-run win.
But it was his batting which stole the show at the Emirates Durham ICG as Rushworth crashed two sixes over the boundary ropes and took part in an unbeaten 65-run ninth wicket partnership with Gordon Muchall, Durham’s highest ever in ‘List A’ matches.
Rushworth told www.durhamccc.co.uk “There were only seven or eight over left when I came out to bat so the idea was to use up our 50 overs and have a few lucky swings. It was nice to get dropped and have a bit of luck go my way but it was really good fun out there.
“I stuck a few over the ropes which doesn’t happen very often. It was great to get a few runs and it meant we had a decent score on the board to bowl at. In the end it proved just enough.
“We haven’t been playing too well lately and we knew we had to win to have any chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages. Everyone came out and knew we had been a bit below par with the bat so when we were bowling the team really tried their hardest and we came away with a comfortable win in the end.”
As for the bowling side of his game, Rushworth could not be happier, especially as he already has 71 wickets in the LV County Championship, just nine short of Otis Gibson’s all-time record for a season for Durham, set in 2007.
“It is coming out of the hand very well at the moment,” said Rushworth. “Taking wickets regularly is nice because it is contributing to the team effort. That is the really important aspect of having a good season.”
As for the PCA MVP award, Rushworth and his Durham team-mate are very much aware that they are in a race for top spot.
“I get the odd tweet now and again from John and without taking it too seriously we are having quite a bit of banter between us. It is definitely something to play for and if you are playing well it can only help the team. It is genuinely a bit of extra motivation. It is always great to win games and do well, but picking up points for the MVP award is a really nice bonus, knowing you are in the running for it.
“There are still quite a few games left, a lot of good players are in contention, so we shall see who finishes out on top when the season ends. Whoever it is will have fully deserved it.”