Shahzad takes early lead in MVP rankings

Early days it might be but Ajmal Shahzad’s winter move to Sussex looks to have been an inspired one.

Shahzad is top of the county MVP Rankings having scored 143 runs and taken 12 wickets from matches against Hampshire and Worcestershire.

The fast bowler’s previous highest position in the LV= County Championship MVP Rankings was 41st back in 2009 and he has finished outside the top 100 in three of the past four years.

Sussex pride themselves on rehabilitating unfulfilled talents – just ask Chris Jordan– and Shahzad could be the latest to benefit from their special diet of TLC.

At the BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground this week he returned only the fourth five-wicket haul of his career– a career-best 5-46 – as he tore through Worcestershire having produced figures of three for 54 and 3-63 at the Ageas Bowl a week earlier.

He has also chipped in with valuable runs: 35, 28, 45 not out and 35.

Shahzad has played 11 one-day internationals and three T20 matches for England either side of his Test appearance against Bangladesh in 2010.

While it might be a touch premature to talk of a return to England colours, a good showing in the MVP Rankings would do him no harm.

Just look at Jordan, whose final year at Surrey saw him finish 290th overall and 205th in the Championship MVP, but then leap to 15th overall and third in the Championship after his first year at Sussex, which prompted his England selection.

Jack Brooks is another fast bowler with international aspirations.

Yorkshire’s headband warrior is county cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 13 scalps after adding four Nottinghamshire wickets to his nine-wicket haul at New Road against Worcestershire.

Brooks finished seventh last year in the Championship MVP with 68 wickets and 96th in 2013 with 34 having moved from Northamptonshire at the end of 2012.

Alex Hales leads the way with the bat.

The Nottinghamshire and England opener, who endured a frustrating World Cup, was run out for a duck in his first innings of the season at Lord’s but bounced back in style at Trent Bridge to post a career-best 236 off 282 balls at a strike-rate of 84.

Hales earned bonus points for his strike-rate and his percentage of Nottinghamshire’s total (55.14%).

Last year Hales scored 1,032 Championship runs at 71 runs per 100 balls including three hundreds and five fifties to finish 48th in the Championship MVP.

His highest placing was in 2011 when he racked up 1,023 runs including three hundreds and seven fifties.

Gareth Andrew and James Tomlinson complete the top five.

Andrew, the Worcestershire all-rounder, followed his impressive opening week salvo of 59 and 5-85 against Yorkshire with 70 and 3-73 at Hove to move to 53 points, fractionally ahead of Tomlinson.

The Hampshire left-arm swinger took 3-53 and two for 56 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston to take his tally to 11 for the season.

Tomlinson took 68 wickets in 2008 including four five-wicket hauls and a best of 8-46 against Somerset to finish fourth in the Championship MVP. 

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