Stevens’ savage knock takes him up to fourth in FTI MVPs

Kent all-rounder continues his brilliant form to help chase down mammoth total

Darren Stevens has charged up to fourth in the FTI Most Valuable Player rankings following the fastest hundred of the season.

The Kent all-rounder, who is in a rich vein of form, helped himself to another 39.70 points after blasting 118 off 53 balls, returning 2-48 with the ball, and taking a catch.

He is now just eight points behind MVP leader Chris Jordan of Sussex and has so far scored more ranking points than any other player on the circuit during the month of June.

In total he hit 10 fours and six sixes to equal Mark Ealham’s 44-ball century record for Kent against Derbyshire in 1995, as well as throwing down the gauntlet in the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest century of the season.

Team-mate Sam Northeast picked up 25.91 points for his 115 from 102 balls as he bagged his maiden one day century and helped his side chase down 337 under the lights at Canterbury.

The FTI MVPs, which feature a £10,000 purse for the cricketer who scoops the top prize at the end of the season, award points for every run scored, wicket taken and catch held.

Bowlers receive higher marks for good economy rates, bowling maidens and for dismissing the top order, whilst batsmen are rewarded for high run rates and the percentage of the team’s runs they hit.

There are now more points across all formats for those notching 40 and 50 per cent of a team’s total, for top order batsmen, in recognition of their greater challenge against the new ball, and for those who hit big hundreds.

It is also harder to receive a strike rate bonus in Yorkshire Bank 40 cricket, reflecting an overall increase in scoring rates for this format, and dot balls in FL20 cricket will also become more valuable.

OVERALL FTI MVP POINTS 2013

Player	County	Batting	Bowling	Field	Capt	Wins	Plyd	Pts	Ave
Chris Jordan	Sussex	43.22	192.03	16	0	5.0	12	256	21.35
Trent Copeland	Northants	28.95	212.46	8	0	7.0	12	256	21.33
Peter Trego	Somerset	143.56	101.41	6	0	5.0	16	256	16.00
Darren Stevens	Kent	137.02	95.87	10	0	5.0	15	248	16.54
Samit Patel	Notts	141.94	77.45	17	0	9.0	14	245	17.53
Graham Onions	Durham	19.01	214.37	4	0	6.0	11	243	22.13
Steven Crook	Northants	80.14	149.17	4	0	7.0	12	241	20.04
Graham Napier	Essex	111.25	113.95	3	0	6.0	15	235	15.64
Ben Stokes	Durham	95.13	118.53	9	0	8.0	15	231	15.38
Adil Rashid	Yorks	137.59	80.08	4	0	5.0	14	227	16.19

For more information on the FTI MVP ranking system please visit www.thepca.co.uk.