Gibson picks up PCA's Most Valuable Player award

Ottis Gibson with his Players' Player-of-the-Year award © Getty Images

Ottis Gibson, the former West Indies bowler who has enjoyed such a prolific season for Durham, has won the Professional Cricketers' Association inaugural Most Valuable Player award.

Gibson picked up 80 Championship wickets and became only the 79th bowler in history to take 10 wickets in an innings when he grabbed 10 for 47 against Hampshire. He also won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 3 for 24 - also against Hampshire - in the Friends Provident Trophy final.

"Certainly for me, the last couple of years spent coaching has made a difference to my approach to the way I play now," Gibson told the BBC. "Sometimes you may search a lifetime for what you might consider is perfection. If I look back, this year has certainly been that way. It has probably been a perfect season for me.

"I've bowled well without any pressure, and when I go on the field I always try to make a massive contribution to the team. It's a team effort and I've led the bowling attack this year, which is what was required."

Gibson finished top of the PCA rankings on 735.97 points, comfortably ahead of second-placed Mushtaq Ahmed (600.18) and Danish Kaneria who was third on 557.48. Mark Ramprakash, the highest-scoring batsman on the list, was fourth with 525.04.

The Most-Valuable-Player award was launched by the PCA this year to provide a more reliable and accurate means of assessing a player's performance, rewarding each run, wicket and catch.

Yorkshire legspinner Adil Rashid, 19, was named Young Player of the Year at the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. An ECB special award was given to Peter Baxter, who retired as producer of the BBC's Test Match Special this summer.

Player of the Year
Ottis Gibson (Durham)
Runners up
Mushtaq Ahmed (Sussex)
Andy Caddick (Somerset)
Mark Ramprakash (Surrey)

Young Player of the Year
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Runners up
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Stuart Broad (Leicestershire)
Luke Wright (Sussex)

MCC Spirit of Cricket Award
Yorkshire

Special Merit Award
Sir Ian Botham

Umpire of the Year
Ian Gould