Simon Harmer has picked up the PCA’S Overal MVP award for his performances in the Bob Willis Trophy and Vitality Blast.
After Craig Overton (Bob Willis Trophy) and Will Jacks (Vitality Blast) picked up the individual competition awards, Harmy picked up the combined accolade for the second consecutive year.
He has undoubtedly been the outstanding player in domestic cricket during the last two seasons, and that is reflected in his second consecutive Overall MVP victory.
The off-spinner wins the race for £5k at a canter, earning 268.2 MVP points at an average of 16.76 points-per-game over the course of this season. With by far the best points-per-game average of any player to have appeared in at least ten fixtures, Harmer finishes 30 points clear of nearest challenger and fellow NatWest PCA Men’s Player of the Year nominee Craig Overton.
2019 Overall MVP 🤝 2020 Overall MVP
There's only one @Simon_Harmer_! 🙌
Full story 👉 https://t.co/uhHjCYr7xa#Blast20 #BobWillisTrophy pic.twitter.com/GK9XkVL1S6
— PCA MVP Rankings (@pcaMVP) October 5, 2020
With individual excellence comes team success, and Harmer has had plenty of that in the last two seasons. The 2019 Specsavers County Championship and Vitality Blast champion this year added the one-off Bob Willis Trophy to his trophy cabinet at the end of September.
Harmer was the leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket last year with 83, and followed suit this year claiming 38 tournament scalps at an average of 15.86 on the way to his team’s ultimate success, earning 195.7 BWT MVP points.
He was only denied further MVP recognition by the excellent form of Overton, who edged Harmer out for the format-specific Bob Willis Trophy MVP after one of the closest races in years.
After his Finals Day heroics last year, Harmer has also contributed in the shortest format this time around, his 72.51 Vitality Blast MVP points ranking him amongst the top 50 performers this season.
To underline his dominance across all formats this year, Harmer led the Overall MVP for 43 non-consecutive days throughout the season. That equates to 66% of the season, with none of the three other players who have led the Overall MVP having a figure higher than 14%.
He is therefore a worthy recipient of the £5,000 Overall MVP winner’s cheque, and joins Jacks, Overton and Southern Vipers’ Georgia Adams in claiming a domestic MVP prize this year.
The MVP algorithm was designed by the PCA in conjunction with the players to identify the match-winning performers in any given fixture. On top of traditional batting and bowling averages, bonus points are awarded for key disciplines such as scoring a large percentage of your team’s runs, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.
The Rankings therefore give the most accurate reflection of the top performers in the game, and Harmer and Jacks have been just that for Essex and Surrey this season.
