Sussex batsman wins PCA Player of the Month award

Haines and and fellow winner Emily Arlott were shortlisted for the first version of 2025’s Player of the Month awards through the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings, powered by OFX.

The unique algorithm selected the top four men’s and women’s players before they faced a public vote, with the winners decided by a 50:50 split between the two.

In the men’s result, Haines came out on top and secured 39% of the poll. The left-handed opener was closely followed by Nottinghamshire’s overseas bowler Fergus O’Neill who secured 31% of the vote. Surrey’s Dom Sibley and O’Neill’s captain Haseeb Hameed finished third and fourth respectively.

In the women’s category, Arlott claimed the women’s award holding 38% of the total public vote, ahead of Durham’s Phoebe Turner who was close second with 32% of the vote.

Haines was Sussex’s key performer with the bat in the first month, having scored 513 runs from the opening four Rothesay County Championship games.

Averaging 73.28, that left the 26-year-old the leading run-scorer in Division One and earned him the most MVP points with 122.21.

Having picked up the most MVP points in April, the Sussex batter also captained the PCA’s Team of the Month which also featured his club captain John Simpson.

The left-handed opener has scored two centuries in the County Championship so far. His first came against Somerset where he scored 141 in the second innings, helping Sussex secure a 260-run victory at The 1st Central County Ground, Hove.

Haines’ second century was scored at the same venue against defending champions Surrey. He scored 174 in the first innings and an unbeaten 69 in the second to claim the Match MVP, picking up 67.66 points. The game, however, ended in a draw.

After winning the April Player of the Month award, Haines said: “It feels good to win the PCA’s Player of the Month for April. It has been a great start to the season which makes me incredibly happy.

“I would say that the hundred against Somerset was more important because we won the game, whilst the Surrey match ended in a draw. But I am pleased with both of the hundreds and hopefully I can perform like that in the next few games.

“We want to put as many wins as we can on the board in this first block of seven games and see where we are. Keeping our bowlers fit would be a big aim for the team because we have not got the depth as some of the bigger teams in Division One. We can definitely be up there and challenging if we keep everyone fit because we have got a very good team.

“It’s a real positive to know I secured the public votes from the fans and hopefully I can keep putting some more big scores on the board.”