Worcestershire CCC opener Daryl Mitchell has rocketed into the top 10 of the Professional Cricketers' Association Overall Most Valuable Player ratings for 2017.
Mitchell, who is the new PCA chairman, has earned his elevated spot after achieving SIX successive 50 plus scores in all competitions.
It also secured him a place on the four-strong PCA shortlist for their Player Of The Month Award for May along with Kumar Sangakkara, Colin Ingram and Alastair Cook.
The 33-year-old started off on his fine run with 67 in the Royal London One-Day Cup win over Derbyshire at the 3aaa County Ground which sealed the Rapids place as North Group winners.
But since then the runs have flowed for Mitchell in the Specsavers County Championship – a total of 534 in five innings.
His scores have been 120 versus Derbyshire, 161 and 78 not out against Northamptonshire and 121 and 54 off the Sussex attack – all remarkably achieved away from New Road during a trio of successive away games.
Worcestershire captain Joe Leach remains in the top 10 in eighth spot after taking 29 Championship wickets so far this summer.
The lion-hearted Leach's tally includes three five wicket hauls.
Sangakkara was the runaway winner of the Professional Cricketers' Association Player of the Month Award for May.
The Sri Lankan batsman earned the most points – 167 – in the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings in all county cricket during May.
The four on the shortlist for the award went into an online poll on the PCA and Sky Sports websites which gave fans the chance to decide the winner.
Sangakkara polled almost twice as many votes as the other three shortlisted players combined and follows Gloucestershire seamer Liam Norwell as the second winner of the new PCA monthly awards.
Sangakkara was presented with his award at the Kia Oval on Saturday in between commentary stints during the ICC Champions Trophy game between South Africa and Sri Lanka.
CURRENT PCA MVP OVERALL RANKINGS
1 Darren Stevens (Kent) 272 points
2 Kumar Sangakkara (Surrey) 262
3 Kyle Abbott (Hants) 239
4 Gary Ballance (Yorks) 225
5 Colin Ingram (Glam) 224
6 Alastair Cook (Essex) 201
7 Ben Coad (Yorks) 195
8 JOE LEACH (WORCS) 193
9 Dean Elgar (Somerset) 191
10 DARYL MITCHELL (WORCS) 181
