Jamie Porter has been named as the PCA Young Player of the Year & Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year at the PCA Awards evening this evening. Porter fought off competition from Jofra Archer (Sussex), Ben Coad (Yorkshire) and Craig Overton (Somerset) to win the Young Players’ award.
Simon Harmer joined Jamie in the PCA Team of the Year, after finishing second in the Championship wicket takers rankings this season.
However, after being nominated, Jamie Porter wasn’t triumphant in the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year voting with Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel picking up the accolade.
Patel was presented with the Reg Hayter Cup at the 48th NatWest PCA Awards at the Roundhouse in London, one of 13 awards presented on the night.
Patel faced competition from Surrey’s retiring former Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara, Glamorgan all-rounder Colin Ingram and Essex seamer Jamie Porter for the NatWest PCA Players’ Player Award but Porter did collect two prizes, winning the John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year Award and the Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year.
Patel said, “I’m a little bit surprised actually. To be up there with a world class player like Sanga, with the amount of runs that he scored in a short amount of time, is a privilege in itself.
“Jamie has had a wonderful year. Essex have won Division One and he has been the stand-out bowler in the First Division.
“It’s a great achievement for all four shortlisted nominees so I’m very pleased. I’ve never been up there for Players’ Player before so to win it is unreal really. I’m really happy and chuffed to bits.”
Porter, who faced competition from fellow seamers Jofra Archer (Sussex), Ben Coad (Yorkshire) and Craig Overton (Somerset) for the NatWest PCA Young Player Award, took 75 wickets to help Essex, who were promoted as Second Division champions 12 months ago, win their first Specsavers County Championship title in 25 years.
He returned career-best innings and match best bowling figures – seven for 55 and 12 for 95 – against Somerset at Chelmsford in August and also won the Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year Award.
“For other players around the country to give their seal of approval means a lot to me and makes this award special,” Porter said.
Porter will head to Australia with England Lions next month but it is only three years since his dreams of playing county cricket appeared to be over when he was not picked up by a county after he had finished with the MCC Young Cricketers so he went to work for a recruitment company.
“I spent six months working in recruitment and I thought that’s where I would be for a long time,” he said.
“I enjoyed it but, coming back into cricket, it means that I don’t play with any fear now. There are a lot of guys who are afraid that if cricket doesn’t work out they don’t know where they are going to go.
“If I get injured or have a bad season I would be more than happy in the outside world. I want to play cricket for as a long as I can but I know that I can survive if that fails.”
The PCA’s 50th Anniversary was also celebrated with the presentation of the PCA Lifetime Achievement Award to founder Fred Rumsey.
An organisation to represent the players’ interests was the brainchild of the former England, Worcestershire, Somerset and Derbyshire left-arm paceman and it was Rumsey who was the driving force behind the first meeting of what became the Cricketers’ Association in London on September 4 1967.
The Investec Test and Royal London One Day International Players of the Summer were also presented with Jimmy Anderson ending a memorable summer with the Test award and Joe Root winning the 50-over prize after they finished top of the PCA MVP Rankings in the respective formats.
Patel, Porter, Ingram, Sangakkara and Overton were all included in the PCA Team of the Year, which comprised the top performers in red and white ball domestic cricket according to the PCA MVP Rankings.
“The 2017 NatWest PCA Awards are a fitting finale to what has been an exceptional summer of cricket in the PCA’s 50th Anniversary year. From a team perspective, Essex winning the Specsavers County Championship in the first year back in the top division and Nottinghamshire winning both major one-day trophies, while gaining promotion after relegation last year, have been fantastic achievements,” said David Leatherdale, PCA Chief Executive.
“The international summer proved to be another successful one with Joe Root, in his first year leading the Test side, and Eoin Morgan leading England to impressive victories over South Africa and the West Indies. However, our England Women’s team winning the World Cup in front of a sell-out 27,000 home crowd at Lord’s will live long in the memory as the highlight of the cricketing summer.
“All our individual winners fully deserve the accolades and praise they will receive and there is no higher praise than to be voted for by all your team-mates and your peers. Each winner should rightly be proud of their achievements.
“In our 50th Anniversary year it is only fitting that our Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to one of our founding members, Fred Rumsey. His courage and determination some 50 years ago has enabled the PCA to become the respected organisation it is today.”
The full list of the 2017 NatWest PCA Awards winners
Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year: Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year: Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer: Natalie Sciver
Investec Test Player of the Summer: James Anderson
Royal London One Day International Player of the Summer: Joe Root
PCA Team of the Year:
1. Alex Hales(Nottinghamshire)
2. Mark Stoneman (Surrey)
3. Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
4. Kumar Sangakkara (Surrey)
5. Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
6. Darren Stevens (Kent)
7. Ben Cox (Worcestershire)
8. Kyle Abbott (Hampshire)
9. Craig Overton (Somerset)
10. Simon Harmer (Essex)
11. Jamie Porter (Essex)
Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year: Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year: Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire)
Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year: Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
Greene King PCA England Masters Player of the Year: Owais Shah
PCA Lifetime Achievement Award: Fred Rumsey
ECB Special Award: Heather Knight and Mark Robinson
Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year: Michael Gough
