Simon Harmer - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Another low scoring week compared to what might have been expected - even with the antipodean precipitation.

Weekly

1. Simon Harmer - 144 - This is Simon Harmer....in his quiet period.....playing his least favourite format of the game....winning Cricketer of the Week for a record breaking 9th time.

2. Quinton De Kock - 133 - An impressive second placed finish considering the fact that QDK has played a game fewer than most.

3. Glenn Maxwell - 121 - A couple of Strike Rate boosted scores of 28 and 23 bolstered Maxwell's decent-ish week.

4. Ben Stokes - 98 - Mot a stand out week - however his 2-19 vs Afghanistan is worth noting...especially as that match will be more remembered for Sam Curran's exploits. Moves up a place to 7th overall.

5. Moeen Ali - 82 - Here largely off the back of a 12 ball 24 that didn't quite get the job done against Ireland.

Overall

1. Simon Harmer - 5033 - Takes his lead on second place back up to 700+ points and is ticking along rather nicely in the CSA T20 Challenged. You feel he may be the first multiple Cricketer of the Year winner when all is done and dusted.

2. Mohammad Rizwan - 4295 - Just 58 points scored this week - it seems like he is not using this World Cup campaign to push on to challenge for top spot. More a Mordaunt than a Sunak maybe?

3. Moeen Ali - 3615 - Not tearing up any roots in the World Cup but is quietly doing enough to ease his way back into the third place position he lost three weeks ago.

4. Babar Azam - 3544 - A misfiring World Cup campaign has seen Azam slide back down the table after the series against England saw him shoot back up. Hard to see where he will end up.

5. Quinton De Kock - 3226 - Really the only player from the T20 World Cup that can hold his head up in our overall Top 5. A second placed finish for the week and 477 points between him and sixth.

Top Three Averages

1. Simon Harmer = 201.32 (Down from 202.88)
2. Ben Stokes = 142 (Down from 144.2)
3. Babar Azam = 137.62 (Down from 141.76)

Yet again Babar Azam takes a massive slump this week. Has lost 8 points in the last month. Only two players improved their average - De Kock was by the largest margin of 0.88.

Top Players By Format


Long Form - Simon Harmer = 4063
One Day - Babar Azam = 1002
Short Form - Moeen Ali = 3219

Highest Points by Discipline


Runs - Mohammad Rizwan - 2503
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam = 510
Strike Rate - Moeen Ali = 770

Wickets - Simon Harmer = 2380
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 410
Economy - Simon Harmer = 1090

Fielding - Quinton De Kock = 700
Fielding Bonus - Rishabh Pant = 110

Weekly

Simon Harmer 144
Quinton De Kock 133
Glenn Maxwell 121
Ben Stokes 98
Moeen Ali 82
Pat Cummins 71
Mohammad Rizwan 58
Kane Williamson 53
Babar Azam 34
Bhanuka Rajapaksa 27
David Warner 26
KL Rahul 13

Kyle Jamieson dnp
Jonny Bairstow dnp
Joe Root dnp
Matt Critchley dnp
Hasan Ali dnp
Risabh Pant dnp
Travis Head dnp
Marnus Labuschagne dnp
Steve Smith dnp

Overall

1 Simon Harmer 5033
2 Mohammad Rizwan 4295
4 Moeen Ali 3615
3 Babar Azam 3544
5 Quinton De Kock 3459
6 Rishabh Pant 3226
8 Ben Stokes 2982
7 Glenn Maxwell 2930
9 Marnus Labuschagne 2725
10 Joe Root 2648
11 Jonny Bairstow 2593
12 Matt Critchley 2473
13 David Warner 2264
14 KL Rahul 2235
15 Pat Cummins 2154
16 Hasan Ali 2037
17 Travis Head 1572
18 Kyle Jamieson 1547
19 Steve Smith 1530
20 Bhanuka Rajapaksa 1174
21 Kane Williamson 1072

KL Rahul - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 What a weird week. Despite 14 cricketers featuring only 545 points were scored - on 4 occasions in the five year history of this List a single player has scored that in a single week.

This was largely down the World Cup warm-ups but also some pretty anodyne performances.

Weekly Update

1. KL Rahul - 107 - This is the third lowest Cricketer of the Week winning total of all time and an odd way for KLR to win his first accolade.... despite his dominance in the IPL last season. You'd take it with the World Cup on the horizon.

2. Ben Stokes - 96 - Maybe not back to electric form but certainly wind generated form as he claims 36 runs and a wicket in England's final warm up game against Pakistan.

3. Simon Harmer - 91 - You can't keep a good man down. It looked like Friday's game might have been rained off which would have left Harmer on 43 points but a brace against Western Province brings him up into the Top 5....again.

4. Glenn Maxwell - 83 - Was being asked to justify his place in the side and maybe did so with a quickfire 23 and a wicket in the final warm up game against India.

5. Bhanuka Rajapaksa - 64 - Was last seen in the Top 5 for his tournament winning knock in the Asia Cup. This week he scored less points in 3 World Cup qualifying games. Probably doesn't deserve his place but rules is rules.

Overall

1. Simon Harmer - 4869 - Back playing cricket for the Titans and therefore back in the title hunt.... however, all 4 of the rest of the Top 5 will be playing an awful lot over the next three weeks compared to him. His lead is back above 500 points though.

2. Mohammad Rizwan - 4295 - A weird 0 score this week from a man that is likely to score big in the World Cup

3. Babar Azam - 3544 - Did not feature in Pakistan's two World Cup games but you feel this might be the calm before the storm.

4. Moeen Ali - 3533 - One of those anomalous 0 scores - however Moeen holds 4th spot for a second week.

5. Quinton De Kock - 3326 - Inactive this week. Very much more active next week, you'd imagine.

Other Movers

A meagre score in a week of meagre scores, but Travis Head's score of 52 sees him overtake long time absentee Kyle Jamieson and moves him into 17th.

Ones to Watch

All of the Top 5 will be in action next week - but the biggest fight will be between the World Cup pair of Babar Azam and Moeen Ali. With just 11 points between them (the tightest gap in the List) it could be interesting to see who takes the initiative.

Top Three Averages

1. Simon Harmer = 202.88 (Down from 207.74)
2. Ben Stokes = 144.2 (Down from 146.74)
3. Babar Azam = 141.76 (Down from 147.67)

Only one player's average improved last week and that was by the dizzying gulf of 0.47 points; that was KL Rahul who now stands at 96.61 a week. The biggest hit came to Babar Azam who moves down to second once more.

Top Players By Format


Long Form - Simon Harmer = 4063
One Day - Babar Azam = 1002
Short Form - Moeen Ali = 3137

Highest Points by Discipline


Runs - Mohammad Rizwan - 2485
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam = 510
Strike Rate - Moeen Ali = 750

Wickets - Simon Harmer = 2320
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 410
Economy - Simon Harmer = 1040

Fielding - Quinton De Kock = 680
Fielding Bonus - Rishabh Pant = 110

Weekly

KL Rahul 107
Ben Stokes 96
Simon Harmer 91
Glenn Maxwell 83
Bhanuka Rajapaksa 64
Travis Head 52
Marnus Labuschagne 24
Steve Smith 18
Pat Cummins 7
Kane Williamson 3
Babar Azam 0
Mohammad Rizwan 0
David Warner 0
Moeen Ali 0

Kyle Jamieson dnp
Jonny Bairstow dnp
Joe Root dnp
Matt Critchley dnp
Hasan Ali dnp
Quinton De Kock dnp
Risabh Pant dnp

Overall

1 Simon Harmer 4869
2 Mohammad Rizwan 4295
3 Babar Azam 3544
4 Moeen Ali 3533
5 Quinton De Kock 3326
6 Rishabh Pant 3226
7 Glenn Maxwell 2930
8 Ben Stokes 2884
9 Marnus Labuschagne 2725
10 Joe Root 2648
11 Jonny Bairstow 2593
12 Matt Critchley 2473
13 David Warner 2238
14 KL Rahul 2222
15 Pat Cummins 2083
16 Hasan Ali 2037
17 Travis Head 1572
18 Kyle Jamieson 1547
19 Steve Smith 1530
20 Bhanuka Rajapaksa 1147
21 Kane Williamson 1019

Babar Azam - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Weekly List

1. Babar Azam - 270 - Is hitting his straps at just the right time for the T20 World Cup. It is his third Cricketer of the Week award of 2022 and his tenth in the three years on our List - this puts him joint fifth all time with Marnus Labuschagne.

2. Kane Williamson - 236 - Kane Williamson does not do well in these Lists. He is scheduled to finish in the bottom three for the second year in a row and has never been in the Top Ten. This is only the third time he has ever been in a weekly Top 5 in the last 2 years.

3. Mohammad Rizwan - 213 - The Reliant Rizwan still keeps trundling along. Over the last 2 months he has been in the Top 5 highest scores for all but 3 weeks and with the T20 World Cup round the corner I see no reason why that should stop.

4. Marnus Labuschagne - 167 - It is fair to say it has not been a vintage year for Marnus after his Cricketer of the Year accolade in 2022. He can still crack out a big score in the longest form though, as was seen in his century stand in Queensland's mauling of Tasmania.

5. David Warner - 147 - A sniff of a big tournament and David Warner is back to his big scoring ways. He knows when to turn it on and is back in the Top 5 for the second week on the bounce.

Overall

1. Simon Harmer - 4778 - Harmer's lead is plummeting quicker than the pound. Once a mighty 1363, he now has a lead of just 483. Needs to decide if he's playing in South Africa before the lead is gone.

2. Mohammad Rizwan - 4295 - Once upon a time, Rizwan was looking over his shoulder with a cavernous gap ahead of him. Now he is 751 points clear of third spot and dares to dream he could claim the top spot by the end of the T20 World Cup.

3. Babar Azam - 3544 - Cricketer of the Week and up two places to his highest position since mid-April. Everything is coming up Millhouse for Babar. He's even sorting out his Strike Rate issue.

4, Moeen Ali - 3533 - Another underwhelming display from Moeen sees him lose the third-place spot he has held for 6 weeks.

5. Quinton De Kock - 3326 - Last week I said it was famine or feast for the South African wicket-keeper, and he had a lean harvest this time out. After scoring 305 points last week he has scored 31 this. Down a place to 5th.

Other Movers

Two players moved position this week despite not having huge scores. Travis Head got 122 for the week but overtook Steve Smith into 18th whilst KL Rahul got 12 runs more but went up 2 spots to 14th.

Ones to Watch

Two Aussies with very different agendas might be worth keeping an eye on. The domesticated Travis Head is only 8 points clear of Steve Smith who is about to start the carnival of big hitting that will be the T20 World Cup. Who will have the edge?

Top Three Averages

1. Simon Harmer = 207.74
2. Babar Azam 147.67 (Up from 142.35)
3. Ben Stokes = 146.74 (Down from 151.33)


Stokes experienced the now traditional Test-to-T20 transition average dip and also moves down to the third highest average points per week. Kane Williamson's average improved by 11.5 points but his 63.5 points per week is still the worst of everyone's.

Top Players By Format


Long Form - Simon Harmer = 4063
One Day - Babar Azam = 1002
Short Form - Moeen Ali = 3137

Highest Points by Discipline

*=New Name

Runs - Mohammad Rizwan - 2485
Batting Bonus - *Babar Azam = 510
Strike Rate - Moeen Ali = 750

Wickets - Simon Harmer = 2280
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 410
Economy - Simon Harmer = 1020

Fielding - Quinton De Kock = 680
Fielding Bonus - Rishabh Pant = 110

Weekly

Babar Azam 270
Kane Williamson 236
Mohammad Rizwan 213
Marnus Labuschagne 167
David Warner 147
KL Rahul 134
Travis Head 122
Moeen Ali 84
Ben Stokes 64
Pat Cummins 38
Quinton De Kock 31
Risabh Pant 28
Bhanuka Rajapaksa 27
Glenn Maxwell 8

Kyle Jamieson dnp
Jonny Bairstow dnp
Joe Root dnp
Simon Harmer dnp
Matt Critchley dnp
Hasan Ali dnp
Steve Smith dnp

Overall

1 Simon Harmer 4778
2 Mohammad Rizwan 4295
3 Babar Azam 3544
4 Moeen Ali 3533
5 Quinton De Kock 3326
6 Rishabh Pant 3226
7 Glenn Maxwell 2847
8 Ben Stokes 2788
9 Marnus Labuschagne 2701
10 Joe Root 2648
11 Jonny Bairstow 2593
12 Matt Critchley 2473
13 David Warner 2238
14 KL Rahul 2115
15 Pat Cummins 2076
16 Hasan Ali 2037
17 Kyle Jamieson 1547
18 Travis Head 1520
19 Steve Smith 1512
20 Bhanuka Rajapaksa 1083
21 Kane Williamson 1016