PCA Player of the Month: Vote for Sophie

With the 2021 season now over, it’s time to choose your final PCA Player of the Month.

Western Storm Captain, Sophie Luff is amongst the shortlisted candidates who have been identified by the PCA’s bespoke Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rankings, developed by the PCA in conjunction with CricViz and the players to identify the best performers in the game from a statistical standpoint.

The final decision lies in the hands of the fans, however, and you have until 1pm on Wednesday 6 October to vote for your September PCA Players of the Month.

The Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy Player of the Year, Lightning skipper Kathryn Bryce, is amongst the nominees for the September women’s PCA Player of the Month, and the winner will join Bryony Smith (June) and Eve Jones (July and August) in having picked up an award during the first season to see a women’s prize has been handed out.

Here are the nominees’ best moments from September:

Hollie Armitage (Northern Diamonds)

Northern Diamonds’ Hollie Armitage has scored the most MVP points of any player this month with 78.9 at an average of 11.3 points-per-game, as her side went all the way to the final of both the CE Cup and the RHF Trophy.

The all-rounder contributed with both bat and ball throughout the month, and made an outstanding individual contribution on CE Cup finals day, scoring 84 runs on the day including 59 not out in the final before Diamonds were eventually edged out by South East Stars.

Kathryn Bryce (Lightning)

A fantastic month for Kathryn Bryce from an individual perspective already saw her pick up the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy Player of the Year award at the cinch PCA Awards, and she is now up for further individual recognition after scoring 77.8 MVP points in September at an average of 25.9 points-per-game.

Bryce has been something of a run machine in the RHF Trophy, where she anchors Lightning’s top-order, the Scotland international’s clear highlight being a mammoth career best 162 made during her final outing of the 2021 season against Central Sparks in Loughborough.

Linsey Smith (Northern Diamonds)

Like Bryce, Linsey Smith gained individual recognition at the 2021 cinch PCA Awards as she was included in the first ever PCA Women’s Team of the Year. This September, the left-arm spinner has scored 76.9 MVP points at an average of 25.9 points-per-game.

Smith claimed 10 wickets at 24.5 runs each across all competitions in September, including a career best 5-34 during Diamonds’ 7-wicket win over Western Storm in the RHF Trophy. She has also chipped in with 14.8 batting MVP points, including 31 runs scored opening up against Vipers in the RHF Trophy final.

Sophie Luff (Western Storm)

Sophie Luff joined Smith in being a part of the PCA Women’s Team of the Year, and she is also up for the September women’s PCA Player of the Month after scoring 72.9 MVP points at an average of 24.3 points-per-game.

Like Bryce, Luff has excelled with the bat in the RHF Trophy, and the Western Storm skipper joined her counterpart in making a career best score during the final round of group stage fixtures in this year’s competition, posting an unbeaten 157 against Sunrisers on 18 September.

Vote for September’s PCA Players of the Month via the PCA website.