Fantasy Post
Meet The VVinners (MTVV)
It's a time for congratulations and all that
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
It's a time for congratulations and all that. Announcing the second set of the many prizes to be won during the course of the India v Australia Test and ODI series 2008. The top 3 teams on the India v Australia leader board at the end of the second Test win:
1st Team - Sachin Tendulkar Framed Signed Mini Bat with 3 Photographs
This signed and framed mini bat with 3 photos is a marvellous piece of cricket memorabilia. It features a miniature cricket bat which has illustrations of Tendulkar, a profile photograph, a One-Day action photo and a Test action photo. The bat has even been signed by Tendulkar himself, all of which has been encased in a classic glass framed box.
2nd Team - Indian Summer The Story of the 1983 World Cup DVD
The programme captures the places and personalities of the tournament. It incorporates unforgettable archival footage from BBC and ITN and blends these with exclusive, synchronised reminiscences from stars connected with the tournament. They comprise of Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny,Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Madan Lal and Balwinder Sandhu from the winning side, Sir Vivian Richards and Michael Holding from among the runners-up, DavidGower of England and Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe.
3rd Team - Wisden Cricketer 2009 Calendar
This A4 sized colour calendar features some of the most beautiful grounds in the UK. Each ground has been photographed by one of TWC's regular photographers, it shows a different ground for each month and folds out to A3 so has plenty of space for notes.
Full postHow many people picked Mishra?
What were the odds that Amit Mishra would make his debut in Mohali
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
What were the odds that Amit Mishra would make his debut in Mohali? Even, if you ask me. Next question: Who expected him to take a five-for in his first Test at a venue not known to aid spinners? Honestly, comments down all of you who have Mishra down as their Trump Player.
Full postMeet The VVinners (MTVV)
It's a time for congratulations and all that
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
It's a time for congratulations and all that. Announcing the first set of the many prizes to be won during the course of the India v Australia Test and ODI series 2008. The top 3 teams on the India v Australia leaderboard at the end of the first Test win:
1st Team - Sachin Tendulkar Framed Signed Mini Bat with 3 Photographs
This signed and framed mini bat with 3 photos is a marvellous piece of cricket memorabilia. It features a miniature cricket bat which has illustrations of Tendulkar, a profile photograph, a One-Day action photo and a Test action photo. The bat has even been signed by Tendulkar himself, all of which has been encased in a classic glass framed box.
2nd Team - Indian Summer The Story of the 1983 World Cup DVD
The programme captures the places and personalities of the tournament. It incorporates unforgettable archival footage from BBC and ITN and blends these with exclusive, synchronised reminiscences from stars connected with the tournament. They comprise of Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny,Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Madan Lal and Balwinder Sandhu from the winning side, Sir Vivian Richards and Michael Holding from among the runners-up, DavidGower of England and Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe.
3rd Team - Wisden Cricketer 2009 Calendar
This A4 sized colour calendar features some of the most beautiful grounds in the UK. Each ground has been photographed by one of TWC's regular photographers, it shows a different ground for each month and folds out to A3 so has plenty of space for notes.
Full post3 days to go for Mohali (Update)
It's time to take stock of who in your team was worth their fantasy monies
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
It's time to take stock of who in your team was worth their fantasy monies. Note: Sometimes it makes sense to stick with your existing team and give the members another chance to find their feet. Other times, you may have spotted a trend or a player who isn't in the best of form or someone who is definitely going to be dropped and feel confident enough to do something about it.
That's why we've given you 8 transfers to play around with for the whole duration of the Test series. Now's the time when you should consider using them. Click here for all the help you need to make up your minds.
1 day to go for Mohali: I'm sticking with the team I had for the first Test. Of the players in my side, Dhoni, Michael Clarke and Brett Lee were the only ones who underperformed. The rest looked in decent nick, so it's only fair that I keep the faith in them.
Going back to the under-performers, I think they're all too good to not come good sooner rather than later. In fact, my gut feeling is they'll all make a big impact in the Mohali Test. (But not big enough to make me change my choice of Trump Player, the intensely focussed and very hungry Michael 'Mr. Cricket' Hussey.)
Full postFresh players added to fantasy pool
If you've been following our advise and watching this and this space, you'll know the ins and outs of the squad compositions for the two series being currently played in the Aisan subcontinent
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
If you've been following our advise and watching this and this space, you'll know the ins and outs of the squad compositions for the two series being currently played in the Aisan subcontinent. Which is why now might be a good time to have second thoughts about your original team. Or if you still haven't picked one, pick one. Or two.
Full postI didn't pick Sachin
I didn't pick Rahul Dravid
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
I didn't pick Rahul Dravid. I didn't pick Sourav Ganguly. I didn't pick Anil Kumble. In fact, the only player I picked from the 'Fab 5' (four plus Kumble, not Sehwag) was Laxman. Maybe I should pick Sehwag. I'll be back. What's the hurry? I've got unlimited transfers till October 9. But I still won't pick Sachin. And you?
My team: 'The Community Managers'
MEK Hussey (Trump Player)
VVS Laxman
G Gambhir
MJ Clarke
SC Ganguly
SR Watson
MS Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
B Lee
MG Johnson
I Sharma
Full postNZ, Bangladesh, who?
I have very little idea who, that's who
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
I have very little idea who, that's who? Bangladesh cricket is in a state of flux. Players are coming and going like passing fancies. New Zealand is also losing players to the ICL. The two countries in which cricket needs all the support it can get are hardest hit by the most petty and public fight in world cricket. Not that any of that should concern us.
In the world of fantasy, everything is hunky dory. In order to ensure that you continue to get you daily fix, we've put together a little helper called the 'Random Team Generator'. You'll find it just above the panel containing the players available for your fantasy team. Use it. Just in case you have no idea who should and shouldn't be in your team for this particular fantasy series.
Link love: How other teams picked up the pieces. A poignant piece well worth a read considering the events that preceded this series.
Full postBig series. Big prizes
After a longer-than-normal lull in the proceedings, it's once again time to play cricket
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
After a longer-than-normal lull in the proceedings, it's once again time to play cricket. And fantasy cricket. The big two of world cricket are set to clash on Indian soil and, in keeping with the magnitude of the event, we've got some fantastic prizes lined up for the top fantasy managers.
No Symonds. Yes Greg Chappell. No Sourav Ganguly. (Most probably.) And many more stars lining up to parade their skills. The next few weeks promise to be thrilling and you don't want to miss out on any of the excitement. Let's go!
Full postMeet the VVinners
Congratulations to the VVinners of the the County Championship edition of the fantasy game
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Congratulations to the VVinners of the the County Championship edition of the fantasy game. For the moment, the only prize we can offer you is pride of place in this post and the promise that we'll have some cool prizes in our future editions. (And we do for the upcoming India v Australia edition of the fantasy series.)
Sooner, rather than later, we'll have rewards for all the top performers that go beyond verbal kudos and virtual 'pats on back'. Until then, please put your hands together for the stellar performers in the league and put your heads together to try and unravel what is it about them that makes them better than the rest of us at fantasy cricket.
County Championships (2008) - The top 5 Fantasy managers:
Jamie_M
BOROMAT
ramzy_kahn
Bennyboy27
head_badger
Full postIn praise of Flintoff
Not very often does a player making a comeback after a long layoff do so in such great style.
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Not very often does a player making a comeback after a long layoff do so in such great style.
In his first series after injury, Flintoff topped, both, the bowling and batting averages. Quite an achievement for a guy who wasn't even in the picture at the start of the series. So how many of you had Flintoff as your Trump Player at the start of the ODIs? I had him in my team as a Trump Player as soon as he made a comeback.
It's a different matter that I didn't get the rest of my fantasy team composition right, but at least I didn't run out of transfers during the course of the ODIs. Not that bad an achievement considering I had none left after only two of the four Tests.
All this to say, it makes sense to pack your fantasy teams with all-rounders for the ODIs. As always the Tests are a completely different cup of tea. Something to keep in mind when we meet again for the next fantasy series.
Full post
