PATEL NOMINATED FOR JULY PCA PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Outlaws and Trent Rockets all-rounder Samit Patel is up for the PCA Player Of The Month for July.

The 36-year-old has been an integral part of both white-ball sides as the Outlaws topped the North Group in the Vitality Blast and the Rockets sit atop The Hundred table after four matches.

The all-rounder earned 117.3 MVP points across both competitions throughout July. Vote for Samit Patel to win the July PCA Player Of The Month Award.

He will go up against Rob Yates, Tom Hartley and Scott Borthwick for the men’s award whilst Emma Lamb, Jemimah Rodrigues, Eve Jones and Danielle Gibson are nominated for the women’s award this month.

Patel has stood firm atop the Blast MVP since late June, thanks to performances including his 63 not out and 1-24 against Leicestershire on 1 July, followed up by 41 and 2-8 against Birmingham Bears just a day later.

The right-hander and slow left-armer was named MVP of the Match for both of those fixtures, and earned a further award against Yorkshire Vikings on 9 July.

No player earned more MVP points during July than Warwickshire’s rising star Yates. The batter secured 139.8 MVP points throughout the month at an average of 15.5 points-per-game.

Yates has been ever-present for the Bears in the Blast, County Championship and Royal London Cup, appearing in nine fixtures throughout the month. He has made tons across two formats, including a maiden List A century against Nottinghamshire on 25 July, after which he was named MVP of the Match with 29 points.

Lancashire and Manchester Originals youngster Hartley has been one of the breakout stars of both the Blast and the Hundred this season, scoring 116 MVP points in July including 100.1 for his bowling - the most of any player.

Hartley has bowled with great consistency to pick up 11 wickets at 15.5 runs apiece in the shortest format during the last month. His performances also extended to the First-Class arena as he took 4-42 against Kent in a rain-affected County Championship fixture at Emirates Old Trafford.

Durham veteran captain Borthwick has shown his enduring class in the 20-over, 50-over and First-Class formats throughout July, earning 114.9 MVP points from his eight appearances during the month.

Borthwick has been boosted by an excellent Royal London Cup performance against Middlesex on 27 July. His 76 with the bat and economical spell of 1-28 made the difference as Durham snuck home by just two runs at Radlett, Borthwick the MVP of the Match with 21.9 points.

As always, the four nominees for each award have been identified by the PCA MVP Rankings, and the winners will be decided via a public vote, with two polls running until midday on Thursday 5 August for the men’s and women’s awards.

The shortest format has been the focus of women’s domestic cricket this month, with two rounds of the Charlotte Edwards Cup as well as the beginning of The Hundred taking place, including an historic opening fixture between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals on Wednesday 21 July.

For the second month in succession, youngster Emma Lamb has proved her credentials by scoring more MVP points than any other domestic women’s player with 81.8.

The all-rounder’s points have been almost evenly split between batting (41.9) and bowling (30.9) with an additional seven points for fielding. Lamb’s best form came in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, where she is the current MVP leader, including an amazing performance against Sunrisers on 9 July which saw her make 111 not out and claim 3-16 to score a huge 54.2 MVP points.

India youngster Rodrigues has undoubtedly been the star of the women’s Hundred so far - she has scored 74.2 MVP points in her three outings with all of her points coming for batting.

Match-winning innings of 92 not out and 60 against Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets respectively secured a winning start for the Superchargers in the new competition, and Rodrigues duly leads the Hundred MVP at the time of writing by a margin of five MVP points.

Jones continues her excellent season by earning a nomination for July Player of the Month after accumulating 73 MVP points throughout the month.

The 28-year-old has shown consistency by making scores of 49, 27 not out, 47 and 33 across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and The Hundred, and has also chipped in with 17.8 bowling MVP points on the back of figures of 3-14 against Lightning on 10 July.

At just 20 years of age, Gibson has earned her first PCA Player of the Month nomination with 71.9 MVP points.

Like Lamb, Gibson has earned almost equal points for batting (25.6) and bowling (27.3), as well as a huge 17 points for her work in the field. Gibson secured one MVP of the Match award in July, after an economical spell of 2-23 and three catches in the field earned her 18.6 points during Western Storm’s nine-wicket win over Thunder in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.