Simon Harmer has had a season to remember. Shortly after being crowned as a Specsavers County Championship title winner, Harmy claimed the £10,000 cash prize given to the PCA’s Overall Most Valuable Player.
The 2019 season saw the Overall MVP lead change hands multiple times. Liam Dawson made early inroads before missing much of the domestic summer after being called up to England’s successful ICC Cricket World Cup.
Somerset duo Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton then swapped the lead twice, before Jeetan Patel established himself at the summit of the table, at one stage leading for a 37-day period. However, a late surge from Harmer saw him take the lead just at the right time on 18 September, and he has not relinquished it since.
Harmer eventually accumulated a massive 609 MVP points, surpassing Joe Denly’s haul of 579 last year and Samit Patel’s 535 in 2017. Appearing in 34 fixtures across all formats this season, he averaged an incredible 17.91 points-per-game, well clear of second placed Kyle Abbott’s 15.06 and third placed Patel’s 15.25.
The 30-year-old’s red-ball form has been instrumental to his side’s second County Championship triumph in the space of three seasons. He has taken 83 wickets at 18.28 runs apiece to help the Chelmsford-based side secure the trophy at the expense of Somerset.
Harmer is the man for every occasion and was also instrumental in his side’s maiden Vitality Blast win. On a turning pitch at Edgbaston, the finger spinner took 7-35 across the semi-final and final of the competition – the best ever combined figures returned on the day.
With the Eagles wobbling at 129-6 in pursuit of 149 in the final against Worcestershire, Harmer then came to the crease to smash 18 off just seven balls – including a boundary from the final delivery – to secure the first half of a memorable 2019 double for Essex.
On top of his double team honours with Essex and his Overall MVP victory, Harmer could be on the way to further success as it was revealed he has been nominated for the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year.
The Reg Hayter Cup is one of three major prizes in English cricket that is voted for by the professionals themselves, the others being the PCA Young Player of the Year and the NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer.
Harmer is nominated alongside Gloucestershire’s Ryan Higgins, Warwickshire’s Dom Sibley and England all-rounder Ben Stokes, with the winner collecting the prize at the 50th annual NatWest PCA Awards ceremony on Wednesday 2 October.
