Friday 27 September 2019 10:53, UK
Spinner Simon Harmer has been crowned the PCA's Overall Most Valuable Player in the wake of Essex's County Championship title success.
Harmer picked up a £10,000 prize for amassing 609 MVP points, surpassing Joe Denly's haul of 579 last year and Samit Patel's 535 in 2017.
Appearing in 34 fixtures across all formats this season, the South African averaged an incredible 17.91 points-per-game, well clear of second-placed Kyle Abbott's 15.06 and third-placed Patel's 15.25.
Harmer's red-ball form has been instrumental to his side's second County Championship triumph in the space of three seasons. He has taken 83 wickets at 18.28 runs apiece to help the Chelmsford-based side secure the trophy at the expense of Somerset.
As captain, he was at the epicentre of Essex's maiden Vitality Blast win, taking 7-35 across the semi-final and final of the competition - the best-ever combined figures returned on the day.
With the Eagles wobbling at 129-6 in pursuit of 149 in the final against Worcestershire, Harmer then came to the crease to smash 18 off just seven balls - including a boundary from the final delivery - to secure the first half of a memorable 2019 double for Essex.
Harmer could now be on the way to further success as it was revealed he has been nominated for the NatWest PCA Players' Player of the Year.
The Reg Hayter Cup is the one of three major prizes in English cricket that is voted for by the professionals themselves, the others being the PCA Young Player of the Year and the NatWest Women's Player of the Summer.
Harmer is nominated alongside Gloucestershire's Ryan Higgins, Warwickshire's Dom Sibley and England all-rounder Ben Stokes, with the winner collecting the prize at the 50th annual NatWest PCA Awards ceremony on Wednesday October 2.
