Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel is leading the race for the FTI Most Valuable Player by a solitary point.
Front-runners Patel and Moeen Ali have established a huge lead over the rest of the field. Yet the difference between the two with two games left to go in the LV= County Championship couldn’t be closer.
Patel, who re-took the lead a couple of weeks ago, has 562 points, while Ali has 561 – 53 points more than third placed Darren Stevens of Kent
"The FTI MVP, whose winner will scoop £10,000 at the end of the season, rewards players for every run scored, wicket taken and catch held."
Nottinghamshire’s Patel earned just over 11 points in his side’s draw with Middlesex at Lord’s, after hitting 47 runs and taking a wicket. Ali, meanwhile, returned match figures of 2-46, took three catches, and hit 32 runs to pick up just over 14 points in order to narrow the gap.
The FTI MVP, whose winner will scoop £10,000 at the end of the season, rewards players 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, while batsmen get higher marks for scoring quickly and the percentage of the team’s runs they hit.
With an extra match in the YB40 Final on Saturday to come for Patel, as well twenty per cent more points on offer the Championship’s top flight, he now looks to have the advantage.
But he is sure to be pushed all the way by Ali, who led the table for much of the second half of the season and has a superior match average. The all-rounder finished third last year, while Patel was 31st.
FTI Most Valuable Player Top 10
1. Samit Patel - 562 points
2. Moeen Ali - 561
3. Darren Stevens - 508
4. James Allenby - 498
5. Graham Napier - 489
6. Peter Trego - 483
7. Ben Stokes - 483
8. Michael Klinger - 481
9. Scott Borthwick - 455
10. David Willey - 455