The 29-year-old secured 555.82 MVP points after a fruitful summer which yielded 43wickets and 1,615 runs, including four centuries. Scoring 922 runs in the Rothesay County Championship, it’s the most he has achieved in one season, beating his previous tally of 895 in 2022.
Overall MVP award after a standout season across formats to top the PCA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rankings, powered by OFX.
The 29-year-old secured 555.82 MVP points after a fruitful summer which yielded 43wickets and 1,615 runs, including four centuries. Scoring 922 runs in the Rothesay County Championship, it’s the most he has achieved in one season, beating his previous tally of 895 in 2022.
Barnard has won a bespoke gold MVP trophy produced by Mappin & Webb to go along with a cash prize worth £10,000 after topping the MVP table.
The right-handed all-rounder has amazingly improved his position on the MVP Rankings every season since finishing 16th in 2021, with his previous best points tally of 480.85 claiming a third-place finish in 2024. The Warwickshire One Day Cup captain scored 273 runs more compared to last year which saw him earn 83.57 more batting points than his tally from 2024.
Barnard registered his highest First-Class score of an unbeaten 177 against Surrey at Edgbaston in a season where he averaged 54.23. He forged an unbeaten 225-run partnership in that game with Zen Malik who himself scored his maiden century in red-ball cricket.
The former Worcestershire man also excelled in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, a tournament where he won the Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024. Barnard scored 358 runs at an average of 51.14 and took nine wickets. He also picked up two Match MVPs in the competition.His first came against Kent where he secured 24.55 MVP points for scoring 60 whilst opening the batting and taking two wickets to help Warwickshire to a 79-run victory.
Barnard’s second Match MVP in the 50-over competition came against Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside Stadium. He scored an unbeaten 141 as his side chased down 301 to win the game. He also took 2-48 to collect 39.40 points.
He also earned one Match MVP playing in the Vitality Blast as the Bears reached the quarter-finals. He secured 31.05 points against Yorkshire after hitting a 40-ball 67 to win the game by a margin of 32 runs.
After being named the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP winner, Ed Barnard, said, “I am very proud to have won the Overall MVP award. It has been a long season, but I am pleased to have contributed across the formats which is what you set out to do at the start of the season and it’s pleasing to know things have gone well.
“You don’t really think about winning the trophy when you play because all you want is to try and win games of cricket for your team, but it’s still a nice cherry on top of the cake at the end of the season to come out with an award like this.
“Our first win of the season against Durham was a standout moment this summer. We chased a big score up there and I managed to score a hundred in the chase so that was pleasing both on an individual point of view but also to get our first win and kickstart the season.
“The PCA MVP is a great tool for the professional game. It’s nice to check and see how you are doing especially across formats.”
The PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP winner is based on the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings, powered by OFX, the PCA’s Official FX Partner. The formula takes into account expected performance on every ball according to CricViz’s extensive database. The algorithm also considers the historic performances of the venue each fixture is being played at, therefore giving a more accurate reflection of the top performers in the game than traditional batting and bowling averages do.
Barnard finished the season ahead of Sussex all-rounder James Coles and Worcestershire’s Ethan Brookes who earned 548.86 and 502.60 MVP points respectively.
