Simon Harmer - The Best Cricketer of the Week....Again

 

A lot of shifts and changes all over the shop this week. Let's get into it.

Weekly Top 5

1. Simon Harmer - 341 - 2 Cricketers of the Week back to back for Harmer. Interestingly his score this week is his highest of 2024 but not even in his top ten highest scores of all time.

2. James Vince - 159 - Not quite back to his best but certainly back to his most-alright. 88 runs and another 3 catches in the second innings to make him the undisputed king of fielding points. 440 this year puts him 80 more than Phil Salt and 130 above the nearest non-wktkpr

3. Travis Head - 151 - That scorching 59 against England feels like it needs more than the mere 40 Strike Rate points it got but here we are with Head in third place for the week.

4. Babar Azam - 116 - Not really beating the allegations that he can only turn it on when the pressure is off, Azam got his best score in 15 weeks in some friendly knockabout with his mates in the Champions One Day Cup

5. Moeen Ali - 67 - Rather sneaks in to the Top 5 this week. 27 runs at an OK Strike Rate and a wicket against Gloucestershire in the T20 Blast sees him skid onto the Top Table on the week he announced his international retirement.

Overall Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 3753 - Completes a hat trick of weeks at Number One on our list despite another inactive week. Her lead is now very narrow.

2. James Vince - 3702 - Finished second for the week and burst towards top spot. A huge 715 separate him and third spot.

3. Sam Curran - 2987 - Still in third place despite a slightly ignominious showing in the first T20 against Australia. Plenty more white ball cricket in him yet.

4. Travis Head - 2877 - A second week in fourth for Travis Head who is looking in the very finest of touch.

5. Babar Azam - 2827 - Holds fifth place but will be looking over his shoulder at Simon Harmer who is bursting up the rankings. Only 189 points between him and the born again spinner.

Ones To Watch

Shubman Gill may wish to use the Duleep Trophy to reignite his ailing year. He is currently in 14th but could jump as much as four places with as few as 225 points.

Other Movers

Quite a few incidental scores have seen players move up Overall. Brook, Salt and Hardie all move up a place to 15th, 7th and 20th respectively despite barely scrapping over 50.

Top Three Averages

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 187.65
2. Babar Azam - 141.35 (Down from 142.68)
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 132.44

Harry Brook's poor week sees him down by 4.21 to 103.61 whilst Harmer takes a huge boost of 10.43 up to 114.7 a week.

Highest scorer by Format

Long Form = Simon Harmer = 2065
One Day = Chamari Athapaththu = 946
Short Form = Sam Curran - 2899

Highest scorer by Discipline

* = New Name

Runs - James Vince - 2222
Batting Bonus - Travis Head = 340
Strike Rate - James Vince = 690

Wickets - * Simon Harmer = 1120
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 220
Economy - Simon Harmer - 650

Fielding – James Vince = 440
Fielding Bonus - James Vince - 40

Weekly Scores In Full

Simon Harmer 341
James Vince 159
Travis Head 151
Babar Azam 116
Moeen Ali 67
Shubman Gill 66
Mitchell Marsh 63
Aaron Hardie 61
Phil Salt 60
Yashasvi Jaiswal 49
Sam Curran 48
Harry Brook 32

Daryl Mitchell dnp
Jos Buttler dnp
Ravindra Jadeja dnp
Marnus Labuschagne dnp
Steve Smith dnp
Rachin Ravindra dnp
Glenn Maxwell dnp
Virat Kohli dnp
Usman Khawaja dnp
Chamari Athapaththu dnp

Overall List In Full

1 Chamari Athapaththu 3753
2 James Vince 3702
3 Sam Curran 2987
4 Travis Head 2877
5 Babar Azam 2827
6 Simon Harmer 2638
7 Phil Salt 2410
8 Yashasvi Jaiswal 2402
9 Marnus Labuschagne 2384
10 Rachin Ravindra 2178
11 Jos Buttler 2104
12 Moeen Ali 2034
13 Glenn Maxwell 1955
14 Shubman Gill 1953
15 Harry Brook 1865
16 Virat Kohli 1837
17 Ravindra Jadeja 1826
18 Daryl Mitchell 1382
19 Mitchell Marsh 1310
20 Aaron Hardie 1158
21 Steve Smith 1098
22 Usman Khawaja 421

Simon Harmer - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Weekly Top 5

1. Simon Harmer = 276 - Harmer is having a lean year and we have not seen those massive scores that he is capable of. This is only his second Cricketer of the Week Award, for a man who has had 24 over the previous 3 years that is nothing. Here he is though.

2. Sam Curran - 142 - Really has switched on his all-rounder mode over the last few weeks. Did it again to take Surrey to T20 Blast Finals Day with 52 and a wicket.

3. Travis Head - 140 - Up until this afternoon was odds on to be Cricketer of the Week having scored 140 points in a blockbuster innings of 80 off 25 balls in the first T20 against Scotland....he then got 0 in the second one.

4. Harry Brook - 111 - Another grinding couple of innings that characterise Brook's role in the England team. He moves up a place in the Overall list to replace Jadeja in 16th place.

5. Mitchell Marsh - 109 - Up until this week was the second longest inactive player on the list; returns with an OK score of 109. This is even more impressive by the fact that he neither batted nor bowled in the 2nd match against Scotland on Friday.

Overall Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 3753 - Inactive this week. Has a gap of 210 to second place.

2. James Vince - 3543 - A rather limp yield of 15 points for Vince this week means there is no pressure from him on top spot. There is a cushion of 604 points between him and third however so not too much to worry about in the short term.

3. Sam Curran - 2939 - Holds third spot and looks likely to do so for a little while longer with a fair bit of cricket for him to play in the coming weeks and a fair whack of points both above and below him.

4. Travis Head - 2726 - His domineering display against Scotland sees him up a place to 4th. He has never been higher.

5. Babar Azam - 2711 - Just 42 points this week and he drops down a further place into 5th. It is a massive downfall for Azam who has only spent his first week of the year outside the Top 5 and once had twice gave himself a 600+ point gap in first place.

Ones To Watch

The rather unimpressive Aaron Hardie (If selected for some or all of the remaining games in the tour of the UK) might have the ability to overtake Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Daryl Mitchell who he is all within 285 points of.

Top Three Averages

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 187.65
2. Babar Azam - 142.68 (Down from 148.28)
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 132.44

Babar Azam drops the most this week (-5.9) but still holds onto the second highest average overall. Mitchell Marsh's average rises from awful (75.87) to bad (77.94)

Highest scorer by Format

* = New Name

Long Form = Simon Harmer = 1724
One Day = Chamari Athapaththu = 946
Short Form = *Sam Curran - 2851

Highest scorer by Discipline

Runs - James Vince - 2123
Batting Bonus - Travis Head = 320
Strike Rate - James Vince = 690

Wickets - Sam Curran = 980
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 180
Economy - Simon Harmer - 590

Fielding – James Vince = 410
Fielding Bonus - James Vince - 30

Chamari Athapaththu - The Best Cricketer of the Week....again.

 

Our run of very quiet weeks continues. With just 571 points this week, August is by far our lowest scoring month. An average month sees 5643 points scored...this month closes with 4193. Accordingly, we just have the Top 3 this week.

Weekly Top 3

1, Chamari Athapaththu = 284 - A seventh Cricketer of the Week accolade for the Sri Lankan. She now has the joint 13th most overall - alongside Quinton De Kock who took three years to wrack those up and Jeetan Patel who took two. There is no player above her on the All Time List who has scored all their Cricketers of the Week in the single year.

2. Harry Brook - 138 - A comfortable First Test against Sri Lanka saw Brook score 88 runs across both innings and finish in second place. He is eating into the gap on 16th place overall; he is now 104 behind Jadeja.

3. Sam Curran - 88 - Despite me saying last week that he had no cricket on the horizon, he decided he rather fancied a bit of red ball cricket for a change. Score just 88 but in such a lean week that is enough for third.

Overall Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 3753 - Has scored 529 points in the last fortnight and reclaims first place once more. She has not held that spot for longer than a solitary week since January. Could this be her turn?

2. James Vince - 3528 - Chose just the wrong time to pick up a fielding injury and loses his first place berth that he earned back during The Hundred. He has zero pressure from below with third place 731 points behind him.

3. Sam Curran - 2792 - A modest return for his first Red Ball foray of 2024 but a third week in third place for Curran who was also named in the ODI squad for next month's white-ball series against Australia

4. Babar Azam - 2669 - You'd be excused for not noticing that Azam made his return to cricket this week. He scored a paltry 22 points but still keeps fourth place for a third week.

5. Travis Head - 2586 - A sixth week inside the Top 5 and third week in 5th for Travis Head. Will shortly be back in action for his national team and will be looking up rather than down with 202 points between him and sixth placed Labuschagne.

Top Three Averages

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 187.65 (Up from 182.58)
2. Babar Azam - 148.28 (Down from 155.71)
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 132.44

For the second week in a row Athapaththu's average improves the most. She has now improved by 8.54 points since her dip after The Hundred. Babar ends his cricketing exile to see his average decrease the most; down 7.43 points to 148.28.

Highest scorer by Format

* = New Name

Long Form = Simon Harmer = 1448
One Day = Chamari Athapaththu = 946
Short Form = *Chamari Athapaththu = 2807

Highest scorer by Discipline

Runs - James Vince - 2118
Batting Bonus - Travis Head = 300
Strike Rate - James Vince = 690

Wickets - Sam Curran = 960
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 140
Economy - Simon Harmer - 530

Fielding – James Vince = 400
Fielding Bonus - James Vince - 30

Chamari Athapaththu - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

We are right in the middle of a very low scoring period of the year. After 580 last week, 441 were scored this week; the lowest scoring fortnight of the year....some going considering that one week just 55 was scored.

Weekly Round Up

Moeen Ali is a bit of a poster boy for The Hundred but did not set the tournament alight this year. There were a few sparks of decent performances but nothing sustained. He scored 34 this week and moved up a place on the Overall List into 12th.

Sam Curran was the man of the series in The Hundred and improved his total score by 1196 points across the tournament. He scored just the 55 points in the final but lifted the trophy.

James Vince was the second biggest point scorer on our List in The Hundred with 833 points across the tournament and he finished it with two decent scores. 43 runs in the qualifier and 24 in the final. Not enough for the trophy but enough for second this week.

Chamari Athapaththu finishes first for the week again. Her 245 this week sees her top of the pops for the 6th week of 2024, two clear of anyone else. Only Harmer (on 3 occasions) and Labuschagne have finished as the weekly highest score more times in a calendar year.

Overall Top 5

1. James Vince - 3528 - A second week in top spot for Vince....however that is the end of his foray in the short form. He has not done so well in red ball cricket so might be in jeopardy unless he fixes up.

2. Chamari Athapaththu - 3469 - A characteristic burst up the table sees her move towards top spot and away from third; there is an enormous 760 points between her and third at the moment.

3. Sam Curran - 2709 - Started The Hundred in 12th and finishes it in third. A decent contribution...but no regular cricket on the horizon.

4. Babar Azam - 2647 - Is ending his 9 week sabbatical next week. He was 1st last time he played cricket since then he has spent 2 weeks in 2nd, 3 weeks in 3rd and now spends a second week in 4th.

5. Travis Head - 2586 - Inactive for a third week but facing absolutely no pressure from anyone below him. The closest inactive player to him this week was 619 points away.

Top Three Averages

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 182.58 (Up from 179.11)
2. Babar Azam - 155.71
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 132.44

Athapaththu's yo-yos back up again and stretches her lead on Azam. Curran's average dips the most, down by 3.24 points to 123.14.

Highest scorer by Format

* = New Name

Long Form = Simon Harmer = 1409
One Day = Chamari Athapaththu = 946
Short Form = Sam Curran - 2709

Highest scorer by Discipline

Runs - James Vince - 2118
Batting Bonus - Travis Head = 300
Strike Rate - James Vince = 690

Wickets - Sam Curran = 940
Wicket Bonus - Simon Harmer = 140
Economy - Simon Harmer - 510

Fielding – James Vince = 400
Fielding Bonus - James Vince - 30

Weekly Points In Full

Chamari Athapaththu 245
James Vince 107
Sam Curran 55
Moeen Ali 34

Daryl Mitchell dnp
Babar Azam dnp
Jos Buttler dnp
Mitchell Marsh dnp
Ravindra Jadeja dnp
Marnus Labuschagne dnp
Simon Harmer dnp
Yashasvi Jaiswal dnp
Steve Smith dnp
Rachin Ravindra dnp
Glenn Maxwell dnp
Aaron Hardie dnp
Travis Head dnp
Virat Kohli dnp
Shubman Gill dnp
Usman Khawaja dnp
Phil Salt dnp
Harry Brook dnp

Overall Points In Full

1 James Vince 3528
2 Chamari Athapaththu 3469
3 Sam Curran 2709
4 Babar Azam 2647
5 Travis Head 2586
6 Marnus Labuschagne 2384
7 Yashasvi Jaiswal 2353
8 Phil Salt 2350
9 Rachin Ravindra 2178
10 Jos Buttler 2104
11 Simon Harmer 1979
13 Moeen Ali 1967
12 Glenn Maxwell 1955
14 Shubman Gill 1887
15 Virat Kohli 1837
16 Ravindra Jadeja 1826
17 Harry Brook 1584
18 Daryl Mitchell 1382
19 Mitchell Marsh 1138
20 Steve Smith 1098
21 Aaron Hardie 1067
22 Usman Khawaja 421