Telegraph Fantasy Cricket 2008 - Players To Consider
I spent an hour or so yesterday looking at the player lists for Telegraph Fantasy Cricket 2008, so it seems only fair to let you know some of the players I was picking out. Bearing in mind, I still havn’t chosen my final XI, so these won’t necessarily make it into my team. My general strategy though I’ve decided is to go for an all round team, with few high rated players. I’m going to pack the 5 and 6 point players into my team I think, with county proven players who are going to win the LiveCricketUpdates.com mini league for me!
Batsman
After the first week of county games and LV cup games, Ravi Bopara has had a storming time of it. He also bowls, so there could be vital extra points there to be had. Although, being 7 points he isn’t cheap and he could be a risk - if he keeps his form up England will call him up and if he doesn’t, there is little point in having him!
Francois Du Plessis via South Africa to Lancashire is only a 3 point player, but he has a big reputation as a player for the future so things will be expected of him. Hasn’t really had a chance yet to show what he can do, but if you like a risk and need a 3 pointer he could be it.
Another 3 point batsman who has started really well is Usman Afzaal at Surrey. A ton in the county champ game and his experience of the county game make a mockery of his rating, with the only doubt being whether he’ll play every game given the strength of the brown caps batting lineup. Plus, will everyone have him in their team given he is a name people have “heard of” and see his cheap rating?
Mark Pettini has also had a good start to the season, and is only a 4 pointer. I think he plays in all forms of the game so could be someone to put in and forget about for the season! You have to be very careful not just to pick the players scoring tons at this stage of the season though, its tempting but you need to see the bigger picture!
Batsman such as Langer, Tresco, Key, Ramps, Rudoplh are all very much a given in this game. They’ll all score good runs, but you’ll pay in starting rating, and by having to make sacrifices in other areas of the team. Not to mention how similar your starting XI’s wil be!
Wicket Keepers
I tend not to spend too much on a wicket keeper in this form of the game - it seems that as long as you choose a guy who plays regularly and has some decent form with the bat that’s enough for me and I’ll save the points for other parts of the team. With that in mind, Nixon, Batty, Mustard, Foster etc are all out and I’m looking at one of three 5 point keepers; Jones, Sutton or Kieswetter. Jones is the obvious choice again as people have heard of him, but I like my team to be different so I’m looking at one of the other two probably. Kieswetter opened for Somerset yesterday and can hold a bat, whilst I might wait for Lancashire to play a couple of games before I decide on Luke Sutton or not.
All Rounders
Ryan McLaren from Kent could be in with a chance of getting into my team rated at 5 - I saw him bowl pretty sharpish last year, but I can’t remember how good he was with the bat, so I might have to check that out first.
Sean Ervine is only rated as a 5 as well, but I’ve picked him before and he’s infuriated me with his lack of getting involved with a game. He might have to bowl more with Hampshire’s winter troubles with bowlers, so he could be a decent pick for someone though.
The Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate of Essex came close to being in my team - he scored a ton in the opening County champ game and is another one rated at 5, but I don’t know quite enough about him to happily put him in at the moment. Another one worth a look though.
Adil Rashid is a popular choice as well, but I think 6 points is too overrated for him this year. He needs more time in county cricket to deserve those kinds of ratings in my eyes.
Grahame Swann seemed to score a shed load of points last year, and as long as you watch when he gets picked for England in the ODI side he might be worth the 7 points he costs. One you will have to watch as the season goes on though, which isn’t really my style!
Bowlers
I’ve not had much chance to look at the bowlers list and decide where the worthwhile players are - but on early season wickets the seam bowlers are always the ones worth going for. Shreck and Onions are two popular choices, both with a very outside chance of making it into an England squad.
Onions had a poor year by his standards in ‘07 after a brilliant year the year before, and he could do it again. Plunkett is another bowler from Durham who is currently out of favour with the England selectors, but he should get points galore (but he is rated 7). Finally from the North East we have our friend Harmison. If he bowls well he’ll probably be called back into the England team, if he doesn’t then he won’t. Either way, you probably don’t want to pick him despite his decent enough showing in the LV cup yesterday.
Another player who impressed with both bat and ball yesterday was Tim Bresnan from Yorkshire - he is only a 5 pointer and as long as he gets a game every time he will be a popular pick. His bowler partner in crime at the end of the Yorkshire batting innings also showed himself in a good light - Ajmal Shazad. Rated only 3, he had something about him and if he plays regularly he’s a decent shout.
From Somerset Charl Willoughby has caught my eye - with the lack of anything else really standing out from Taunton someone is going to have to take the wickets, and at 6 points I think he could be a decent shout.
Apart from those mentioned i’m struggling to really find the quality in the bowling list - we have other England players in years past in Jones or Mahmood, Hoggard - but my knowledge of the county bowlers is much less than I thought!
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