Plunkett tops England MVP Test rankings

Liam Plunkett’s impressive display for England in their recent Investec Series defeat to Sri Lanka has seen him head straight to the top of the Test FTI MVP rankings.

The 29-year-old, who returned to the Test side for the first time since 2007, took 11 wickets in the two-match series, including match figures of 9-176 in the 100-run loss at Headingley, and that has been enough for the Yorkshire bowler to surge to the summit.

Newcomer Moeen Ali has made a splash and sits third in the rankings after his impressive 108 not out came so close to saving the game in Leeds on Tuesday.

The all-rounder enjoyed a successful overall series against the Sri Lankans, scoring 162 runs and taking three wickets, with his 281-ball vigil the crowning moment.

Sandwiched between Plunkett and Moeen in the Test FTI MVP is James Anderson.

The Lancashire bowler, whose 55-ball duck in the second innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka took England to within two balls of a heroic draw, snared 12 wickets in the series, which included a brilliant spell in the first Test at Lords.

ENGLAND TEST FTI MVP

With a draw looming, Anderson produced a fine spell after tea on the final day which ripped the backbone of the tourists’ batting order away and almost gave his side a memorable win.

Anderson may sit second in the Test rankings but he is joint-top of the overall FTI MVP with Chris Jordan.

Jordan’s displays in the Royal London one-day internationals and the Investec Test series put him alongside Anderson at the summit with 106 points.

Joe Root, thanks mainly to his double hundred at Lord’s, is third while Jos Buttler and Gary Ballance complete the top five.

Lancashire’s Tom Smith is in pole position to top the County FVI MVP rankings, but faces tough competition from some heavyweight competition.

The all-rounder is enjoying a fine campaign across the formats and was helped by a productive display in the Red Rose’s emphatic LV= County Championship win over Northamptonshire, where he scored 79 and returned figures of 4-26 and 3-56.

Smith, leading with 294 points, has a 33-point gap over Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel with Kent’s Darren Stevens a further 11 points back.

OVERALL FTI MVP