Tuesday 3 October 2017 09:42, UK
Somerset slow left-armer Jack Leach has been voted the Professional Cricketers’ Association Player of the Month for September.
Leach was shortlisted, along with Warwickshire off-spinner Jeetan Patel, Northamptonshire all-rounder Rory Kleinveldt and Essex seamer Jamie Porter, as the leading points earners in the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings during the month.
The four then went into a fans' poll on the PCA and Sky Sports websites and Leach came out top with almost 50 per cent of the vote.
Leach, who topped the PCA MVP points table during September with 129 across all formats, played a key role in helping Somerset avoid relegation in the Specsavers County Championship.
He began September with 40 PCA MVP points in the victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston and followed up with 52 points against Lancashire at Taunton.
He ended the season by taking five second-innings wickets - and nine in the match - against Middlesex at Taunton last week which brought him 26 PCA MVP points towards a match haul of 49 points.
Leach's haul against Middlesex took him to ninth place in the final County Championship PCA MVP with 286 points. He finished 53rd in the overall PCA MVP, a personal best, following his 64th place last season
The PCA MVP Rankings system was introduced in 2007, an innovation which provides a more rigorous analysis of player performances than traditional batting and bowling averages.
The rankings were designed by the players to identify the match-winners and key influencers of matches throughout the domestic season.
Leach was the sixth and final winner of the PCA Player of the Month Award following Gloucestershire seamer Liam Norwell (April), Surrey's former Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara (May) Essex's former South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer (June), Derbyshire batsman Wayne Madsen (July) and Porter (August).
Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel won the overall PCA MVP Award having finished the season with 535 points in the three domestic competitions, 54 more than Jeetan Patel.
Hampshire's former South Africa pace bowler Kyle Abbott finished fourth with 474 points and Leach's county team-mate Craig Overton fourth with 471 points.
To view the overall MVP rankings click here.
