You can now vote for your DeVines Player of the Month for May with four contenders nominated for the award. May saw the Eagles Royal London One-Day Cup campaign come to an end and a return to red-ball cricket, with two County Championship fixtures against Nottinghamshire and Kent.
Varun Chopra:
Varun Chopra won the DeVines Player of the Month award for April after some outstanding batting performances, and carried that form on into May. He scored 156 from 167 balls in the Eagles final Royal London One-Day Cup game of the season, the highest score of any Eagles player in the competition. This also meant he averaged an unbelievable 84.20 in the One-Day Cup.
Alastair Cook:
Alastair Cook showed his class with the bat and put in a memorable performance against Kent during the month of May. The former England captain batted for over five hours in the first innings, scoring 125 from 242 balls. His second innings was equally impressive, and he almost made it back to back centuries, but was eventually out for 90 after an excellent catch in the field. His performance was vital to Essex’s 113-run victory.
Simon Harmer:
Simon Harmer showed why he’s viewed as the best spinner in the country during May, taking 19 Championship wickets across 2 matches. First up, against Nottinghamshire, the South African took 8 wickets and was instrumental as Essex won by 8 wickets. Against Kent the following week, he was even better with the ball, and took 11 wickets in the match, with 8 of them coming in the second innings. In that second innings, Harmy bowled 32.5 overs and recorded 8 maidens, whilst going at a notable economy of 2.99.
Jamie Porter:
Like Simon Harmer, Jamie Porter was also in good form with the ball during May. The opening bowler took 9 wickets in the two Championship matches of the month, 7 of which can against Nottinghamshire and helped Essex to victory. During the block of Championship games before the Vitality Blast begins, Porter will be looking to add more wickets to his tally and catch Harmer in the Essex wicket leaderboard.
Voting closes at 5PM on Friday 14 June with the presentation taking place on Sunday 16 June during the County Championship fixture with Hampshire at The Cloudfm County Ground.
