That the IPL started this week is going to be superfluous to this week's post. This is not due to the snobbish high-minded attitude I have seen from many on social media. Instead it is because some of the biggest movers up the list can are found in the T20 Blast this week. The best performance of any player over the last 7 days came not in the sweltering heat of Dubai but instead under the watery sunshine of Manchester. At the start of last Sunday, Leicestershire didn't stand much of a chance of progressing. They needed to beat Lancashire and hope that other results would fall in their favour. Halfway through the Lancashire innings it looked a fait accompli as Alex Davies and Steven Croft were in full control. That was when Ackermann took charge. Ackermann's 2020 campaign will not be as well remembered as last year's where he claimed a record seven wickets against Warwickshire however he has still looked comfortable. In comparison to his fellow All Rounder Simon Harmer he scored 114 more runs at a better average strike rate. With the ball he gained exactly the same points for his economy rate and was only one wicket behind the Essex player. Despite playing two fewer games, the Leicestershire captain scored 65 points more. His effect was never felt more than in the 16th over where he claimed three wickets in four balls to turn the game on it's head. He finished with figures of 3-18 to go alongside his 28 ball 29 with the bat. Ironically it was the team that he humiliated last year, Warwickshire, who Leicestershire pipped to the post for qualification. Ackermann averages 75.57 points per game played and has at least one further game in the competition. If he achieves at least his average score against Nottinghamshire he will move up two places and into the top ten. The issue is that, like Simon Harmer, this is seemingly his last Cricket of the year. The Saffer needs to make hay while the sun shines as the clouds are drawing in.
Joe Root's return was a belated boost for Yorkshire's unsuccessful Blast campaign. The England Test captain has been determined to prove his point to the England selectors that he still has a role in the shortest form of the game. Anyone that has come up against the White Rose whilst he was playing would struggle to disagree. Root has the third highest average for runs in the competition with 69.5 across his five games and has also chipped in with some wickets to boost his score. Whilst he did not help to pull Yorkshire's hopes out the fire he has pushed his agenda for England. As well as this he has also muscled his way to the top of our overall list. Thus ends Ben Stokes 10 week reign at the top of the list. When Stokes signed off from England duty to be with his father who was in ill health, the gap between himself and Root was 774 points. At the time of his departure to New Zealand, Stokes was averaging 200.36 points per active week. At the same time, Root's average was 135.3. Even after this spell of exceptional T20 form, the Yorkshireman's average is only 152.4. In this very unusual year, Root's ascension to the head of the table is even more reliant on the inactivity of others.
Lewis Gregory is our final Englishman to have made positive steps for his County. Much like Root, Gregory was under baked for his national team but returned to Somerset to look the real deal once more. In September, where he has just played for Somerset, Gregory has picked up 724 points. Whilst with England he gained 323 from four intra squad games and three ODIs. There is nothing revelatory here. The standard of batsmen he faces with the ball and bowlers he faces with the bat will be of a lower standard in the Blast than internationally. However the difference is stark. His position in the overall list has hugely improved in this time too. Just over two months ago Gregory reached his lowest overall place of 12th. This week he moves into the top three for the first time. As I have written before, a lot of this can be put down to the fact that Gregory has played the second most Cricket of anyone on our list. This week was his 15th active week out of 37 - however his average scores per week have also markedly improved. As little as a fortnight ago he had the seventh lowest weekly score at 118.31. His run in the Blast and the Bob Willis Trophy has seen him improve by four places - his current score is 124.4 per week. This places him higher than luminaries such as Aaron Finch (118.62) and Babar Azam (114.69). Yes, Gregory's third place position is flattering - but he has made a huge improvement.
Week
Colin Ackermann- 169
Rohit Sharma - 132
Lewis Gregory - 130
Joe Root- 130
Steve Smith - 109
Aaron Finch- 89
Babar Azam - 82
Simon Harmer - 62
Virat Kohli- 35
Glenn Maxwell - 26
Shubman Gill - 7
David Warner - 6
Tom Banton - dnp
Martin Guptill- dnp
Peter Handscomb- dnp
Travis Head- dnp
Jason Holder- dnp
Marnus Labuschagne- dnp
Keshav Maharaj- dnp
Mohammad Nabi- dnp
Ben Stokes - dnp
Overall
Joe Root - 2286
Ben Stokes - 2204
Lewis Gregory - 1866
Babar Azam - 1835
Simon Harmer - 1782
Jason Holder- 1691
Aaron Finch - 1542
Mohammad Nabi - 1437
Glenn Maxwell - 1353
Marnus Labuschagne - 1337
Colin Ackermann - 1282
Steve Smith - 1269
Martin Guptill - 1243
Keshav Maharaj - 1176
David Warner - 1106
Tom Banton - 1048
Travis Head - 901
Virat Kohli - 824
Shubman Gill - 759
Rohit Sharma - 603
Peter Handscomb - 383
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