Notts Outlaws batsman Alex Hales has been shortlisted for the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) Player of the Month Award after a stellar July.
Joe Denly, of Kent, David Willey, of Yorkshire, and Wayne Madsen, of Derbyshire, are the other players to have been nominated.
The quartet earned most points in the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings during the month and will now go into a fans’ poll to decide the winner.
Opener Hales topped and tailed the month with centuries, beginning with an unbeaten 187 – the highest List A score at Lord’s – in the Royal London One Day Cup final victory over Surrey.
The right-hander also hit 101 – his first T20 century for the Outlaws – from just 47 balls in Sunday’s NatWest T20 Blast victory over Yorkshire at Trent Bridge.
Hales earned 41 PCA MVP points for his century at Lord’s – his highest List A score – and 35 for his knock against Yorkshire in a monthly haul of 139 rankings points.
Kent batsman Denly ended July with 145 PCA MVP points, 40 of them from a productive Specsavers County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Beckenham where he made 182 in the first innings and 78 in the second of a high-scoring draw.
He followed up with 116 not out from 63 balls – his highest T20 score - to take Kent to victory over Surrey at the Kia Oval two weeks later and has also topped 40 in his last two T20 innings.
Yorkshire all-rounder Willey’s July aggregate of 135 PCA MVP points all came in T20 cricket, including a career-best 118 from 55 balls in the victory over Worcestershire at Headingley.
He also made 70 against Warwickshire and twice topped 40 in a productive month, which also saw him take seven wickets and earn 29 bowling points.
Madsen topped July’s points table in the PCA MVP Rankings with 158, scoring consistently throughout the Blast with five scores over 40 in eight innings in the competition, including a top score of 86 in the defeat by the Outlaws at Trent Bridge.
Derbyshire have also used his off-spin to open the bowling, where he has taken eight wickets so far with an economy rate of between five and six in half of the eight matches.
To vote for the PCA Player of the Month for June click here. You have until midday tomorrow to cast your vote.
The winner will follow Gloucestershire’s Liam Norwell (April), Surrey’s Kumar Sangakkara (May) and Essex’s Simon Harmer (June) as the latest PCA Player of the Month.
The PCA MVP Rankings system, which was introduced in 2007, identifies the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic season.
The player who tops the overall PCA MVP Rankings at the end of the season receiving a £10,000 prize and a trophy.
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