Steve Smith - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Weekly

1. Steve Smith - 130 - The first time he has been Cricketer of the Week since November 2020. That two years have seen Smith underwhelm on our List....and in the real world too. A classy 80 in the first ODI between Australia and England also puts him up a place to 18th overall.

2. David Warner - 126 - Always at his combative best against the old enemy (TM). 86 runs at an adequate lick sees him into second place. Still 2 more to play for him so could be one to watch if he's in good form.

3. Ben Stokes - 122 - Sometimes a performance feels like it should be worth Cricketer of the Week and Stokes' definitely felt like that...but instead he only reaches a 'paltry' third place. Sure he'll be cut up.

4. Travis Head - 109 - We don't get Head often but can sometimes be worth waiting for. His 19 active weeks this year is joint second lowest alongside Rajapaksa but he turns it on when he's in yellow. Interesting to see how he progresses as an opener. Has become the List's highest One Day point scorer this week.

5. Pat Cummins - 80 - A good start to his spell as Australian ODI captain and his first appearance in the Top 5 since mid-June. Is a long way adrift of Top Ten but could force an Antipodean Summer onslaught.

Overall

1. Simon Harmer - 5193 - Harmer's return to First Class cricket did not yield huge point this week but still keeps the very distant wolf from the door.

2. Mohammad Rizwan - 4620 - A disappointing performance in the final capped off a mixed bag of a World Cup for Rizwan. Is a huge 852 points off third place.

3. Babar Azam - 3768 - Would have hoped for more from himself across the World Cup and he failed to make any significant movement up the List. Holds third for the third week.

4. Moeen Ali - 3460 - A less impactful player to have played all the games of a World Cup would be hard to muster.... still manages to keep his 4th place spot for a third week in a row.

5. Quinton De Kock - 3493 - Inactive this week but, with absolutely zero pressure below him and a gap of 258 points, he can probably put his feet up for a bit.

Ones To Watch

The biggest tussle between active players over the next 7 days is between KL Rahul and David Warner. There is just two points between them and they both have two games (albeit in different formats) over the week. Who will score more?

Weekly

Steve Smith 130
David Warner 126
Ben Stokes 122
Travis Head 109
Pat Cummins 80
Simon Harmer 60
Babar Azam 52
Mohammad Rizwan 25
Moeen Ali 19
Marnus Labuschagne 4

Kyle Jamieson dnp
Jonny Bairstow dnp
Joe Root dnp
Matt Critchley dnp
Glenn Maxwell dnp
Hasan Ali dnp
KL Rahul dnp
Kane Williamson dnp
Bhanuka Rajapaksa dnp
Quinton De Kock dnp
Risabh Pant dnp

Overall

1 Simon Harmer 5193
2 Mohammad Rizwan 4620
3 Babar Azam 3768
4 Moeen Ali 3640
5 Quinton De Kock 3493
6 Glenn Maxwell 3248
7 Rishabh Pant 3235
8 Ben Stokes 3234
9 Marnus Labuschagne 2801
10 Joe Root 2648
11 Jonny Bairstow 2593
12 Hasan Ali 2548
13 Matt Critchley 2473
14 KL Rahul 2460
15 David Warner 2458
16 Pat Cummins 2304
17 Travis Head 1788
18 Steve Smith 1664
19 Kyle Jamieson 1547
20 Kane Williamson 1357
21 Bhanuka Rajapaksa 1308


Top Three Averages

1. Simon Harmer = 185.46 (Down from 190.11)
2. Ben Stokes = 124.86 (Down from 135.3)
3. Babar Azam = 129.93 (Down from 132.7)

Harmer's average continues to descend. He has leaked 10 points over the last fortnight. Steve Smith's average improves the most - up 2.99 to 83.2.

Top Players By Format

*=New Name


Long Form - Simon Harmer = 4123
One Day - *Travis Head = 1005
Short Form - Moeen Ali = 3244

Highest Points by Discipline


Runs - Mohammad Rizwan - 2660
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam = 530
Strike Rate - Moeen Ali = 770

Wickets - Simon Harmer = 2460
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 410
Economy - Simon Harmer = 1130

Fielding - Quinton De Kock = 720
Fielding Bonus - Rishabh Pant = 110`