Fantasy Post
Rough landing for India
The first match of India's tour of Sri Lanka against the Board XI has not gone well for the visitors
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The first match of India's tour of Sri Lanka against the Board XI has not gone well for the visitors. And they can't even blame jet lag. Sri Lanka is not that far away from India.
In fact, the lusciously Caribbeanesque South Asian island of Sri Lanka is just a hop, skip and short flight away from one of India's most important cities, Chennai. (Not China.) But when it comes to conditions, it's a world apart. Which perhaps explains why it tends to take Indian batsmen more than one might expect to get used to. Often, a trip to Sri Lanka has a lot of matches being played on wickets and under conditions that feel remarkably different from those in India, which I still, after all these years of cricket watching, find odd. Because Sri Lanka from the other side of the Palk Straits is just next door. And yet, when it comes to pitches, quite far removed from the kind you find in India.
Put differently, when playing in Bangladesh, you encounter surfaces that are a lot similar to those back home in India. But not in Sri Lanka. To think both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are only a handshake away from India.
A small part of me also sees in Sri Lanka a bit of England, Australia and a lot so of the Caribbean. Which might be the reason you find a lot of English and Australian people owning properties in Sri Lanka and using them as long-stay getaways. Conditions in the Caribbean though, especially in the last 5 to 10 years have turned unusually batsmen friendly. Thankfully not so in Sri Lanka.
Full postSWESAW update #1
The Shane Watson of the England v South Africa Award (SWESAW) is a prestigious honour bestowed upon a player who maximises his or her 'performance to cost ratio'
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The Shane Watson of the England v South Africa Award (SWESAW) is a prestigious honour bestowed upon a player who maximises his or her 'performance to cost ratio'. Instituted to celebrate the startling performance of Shane Watson in the paradigm shifting IPL tournament, it trains the spotlight on performers who deliver more than what their price-tag demands of them. It gives us great privilege and pleasure to bring you this prestigious, ever changing name of an award in every series.
As you may not recall, the SWACAW for the not-so-memorable Asia Cup held in Bangladesh was won by the unforgettable Ajantha Mendis, who staved off stiff competition from Suresh Raina and Sanath Jayasuriya to bag the said honour. This post, we take a look at the front runners for the SWESAW in the ongoing England v South Africa series.
At the end of the first Test at Lords, Ian Bell was the clear leader in the SWESAW standngs. One and a half innings later and halfway into the second Test at Headingly, he retains the top spot. But only just.
The SWESAW leaderboard as at 20th July, 1 pm (IST):
Ian Bell: 396/90000_FMs (0.0044)
Mornie Morkel: 339/85000_FMs (0.0039)
Ashwell Prince: 324/85000_FMs (0.0038)
KP: 287/100000_FMs (0.0027)
James Anderson: 258/95000_FMs (0.0028)
Full postCaptain Fantasy's Diary #1
1.45 pm, July 19th: More than 75% of the series to go and only 1 transfer left in my bag to play around with
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
1.45 pm, July 19th: More than 75% of the series to go and only 1 transfer left in my bag to play around with. Obviously, this isn't the best way to play fantasy cricket. How did things come to such a sorry pass?
1.47 pm, July 19th: At the beginning of the series, in fact, at the end of day 1 of the first Test between these two intensely competitive sides, a certain gent we know was at the top of the standings of the fantasy league organised in his office. From then on, things have been all downhill.
Transfer 1: What on earth possessed me to sell Pieterson on th second day of the first Test? An erroneous belief that the Trump player could be changed for every day of the Test match. And an irrational conclusion that KP was not likely to do much for the rest of the series.
Transfer 2: It's a good thing players can be bought and sold rather easily. On second thoughts, it's not. It only means I ended up wasting one transfer to sell and buy back KP. Along the way, I also bought Smith. But the whole maneuver cost me two precious transfers for nothing. (People like me should be shackled.)
Full postEng v SA, 2nd Test match - Talking Trumps #2
First of all, I don't agree
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
First of all, I don't agree. I am appalled. I am upset. I am in trouble. 3 more Tests to go. 5 ODI and I'm down to my last transfer. How unfortunate is that? Very. Guess I'm just going to have to employ my shrewd upper stroey to carve out a fairy tale win for The Harry Potters purely on the back of the most precise Trump Picking (TP) ever seen in the short history of fantasy cricket. Watch this space. History is about to be made. You're about to get a sneak preview into how the best Trump Pickers* (TP*) in the world do their thang. Prepare to be wowed.
The Artificial Intelligents by RTP (6 transfers pending)
AN Cook
IR Bell
KP Pietersen
GC Smith (TP)
SCJ Broad
JH Kallis
MV Boucher
CT Tremlett
MJ Hoggard
DW Steyn
M Morkel
Thanks to a Test's headstart, currently The Harry Potters lead The Artificial Intelligents by 1704 points. But for the purposes of ratcheting up the interest in this little gig of ours, let's turn the meter down to zero for The Harry Potters and see how they end up in a race they start at the same time as the AIs.
The Score: (HPs) (0); (AIs) (0)
Full postSri Lanka v India 2008 series - TLU
The XI Downing Streets
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The XI Downing Streets
LPC Silva
TM Dilshan
RG Sharma
DPMD Jayawardene
SR Tendulkar
V Sehwag (TP)
KC Sangakkara
BAW Mendis
Z Khan
I Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
What do you think of the name of the team, the team and the sad fact that a 3-Test and 5 ODI match series has only 6 transfers?! I think after all that hard work, I need a drink. And a second opinion on team selection from the new, improved, Random Team Picker (RTP).
Full post'Eng v SA - 2008' and 'The Harry Potters v The Artificial Intelligents'
The last time I tried The Random Team Picker (RTP), I lost my mind
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The last time I tried The Random Team Picker (RTP), I lost my mind. This time, I'm losing no time in recommending it to those of you who still don't have fantasy teams. The industrious 'elves' working behind the scenes - also known as 'Tech' - have drilled some sense into the RTP and now, it throws up teams that don't try to do a 'Rajasthan Royals' on you and actually use upto 99.5% of the stipulated FM_s sensibly. Here's what RTP came up with for me.
The Artificial Intelligents (6 transfers pending)
AN Cook
IR Bell
KP Pietersen
GC Smith (TP)
SCJ Broad
JH Kallis
MV Boucher
CT Tremlett
MJ Hoggard
DW Steyn
M Morkel
Thanks to a day's headstart and KP's heroics, currently The Harry Potters lead The Artificial Intelligents by 573 points. Though I suspect not for very long.
The Harry Potters (4 transfers left)
Full postEng v South Africa - TLU
The Harry Potters AJ Strauss IR Bell HM Amla AB de Villiers KP Pietersen (TP) SCJ Broad MV Boucher M Ntini MS Panesar DW Steyn M Morkel
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The Harry Potters
AJ Strauss
IR Bell
HM Amla
AB de Villiers
KP Pietersen (TP)
SCJ Broad
MV Boucher
M Ntini
MS Panesar
DW Steyn
M Morkel
This time, I decided not to go with the option of picking two fantasy teams. I realised the last few times I hedged my bets I ended up weakening both my teams. For this series, I'm putting all my eggs in one team. Keep an eye out for The Harry Potters Trumped by KP.
Shane Watson of the Eng v South Africa Series Award (SWESAW) of the series:
Hashim Amla - 85000_FMs
ACRONYM Helper (AH): The 'Shane Watson Followed By The Name Of The Series Award' (SWFBTNOTSAW) is a prestigious honour instituted in the name of the legendary IPL Star Shane Watson for profoundly impacting the Price/Rewards equation in the sphere of fantasy cricket; suggested reading for those who'd like to acquaint themselves with the Shane Watson Effect (SWE).
Full postFTR - 1
I would like to request you to update the stats and records of Nepalese Cricket player, Such an M
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
I would like to request you to update the stats and records of Nepalese Cricket player, Such an M. Alam, having perfect 10.
I hope you will update soon.
Sincierly
Chandramani kalfe
Your regular reader...
Full postThe Shane Watson Effect (SWE)
The IPL edition of Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket (CFC) was the biggest game in the history - in terms of sheer numbers - of CFC
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The IPL edition of Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket (CFC) was the biggest game in the history - in terms of sheer numbers - of CFC. After 'Modi's Maxtravaganza', the rules of the games changed. Forever. It's not good enough to be a star. You have to be a Maximum Value Star. (MVS)
An MVS is a star who surprises you with Maxi Performances (MP). An MP is not a Member of Parliament who wastes everybody's time but an outstanding cricket player who makes a series of emphatic statements on the big stage - with bat and ball. only - at no extra cost. In other words, returns. No, Big Returns (BR). BRs and MPs maketh an MVS. Shane Watson was the world's first MVS. Because until then, people really didn't think all that much about the cost of players in such an ... shall we say obvious manner. Except in fantasy cricket.
Fantasy cricket managers can, off and not on, afford to take their eye off the ball but they can never lose sight of the numbers. That's the why the sharpest ones know which player is going to end up MVS of the Series. Bought for a pittance, as we all know, Shane Watson was the MVS of the IPL. Going for less than 80001 FM_s, Suresh Raina (726 points) is the MVS and winner of the first Shane Watson of the Asia Cup Award (SWACAW).
Why Shane Watson Award (SWAW) and why not just MVS? Shane Watson dominated the IPL. The IPL was very important to CFC. We already have MVP. And the world can always do with another ACRONYM.
Full postAustralia v West Indies 2008: Meet The VVinners
The winner of the Australia v West Indies Series 2008 Edition of Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket is Dinsh_rangarrajan and Gunners who blast their way out of nowehere to grab the top spot in this topsy-turvy fantasy edition that saw the lead change hands
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The winner of the Australia v West Indies Series 2008 Edition of Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket is Dinsh_rangarrajan and Gunners who blast their way out of nowehere to grab the top spot in this topsy-turvy fantasy edition that saw the lead change hands with metronomic regularity.
In second and third place are Marksmen and Marksmen and slayer11 and sLayER. One after another. Clearly, there aren't too many women playing fantasy. Note To Self (NTS): Must redress the fantasy cricket boy/girl balance. Must get Ms. Noodle Straps phone number. Must discuss work with her.
One Un-important Observation (OUiO): The loss of Gilchrist hurt Australia. Everyone said it would, and it did. Shane Warne may not care much for Gilchrist's skills, but Haddin (404/85000_) would need to double his contributions to make up for the absence of his illustrious predecessor. In this series, when it came to picking wicket-keepers, it came down to 'wish we didn't have to'.
The winner of the Shane Watson of the Australia v West Indies Series Award (SWAWISAW) - in which we don't just look at which cricketer scored the maximum points for their fantasy teams, we also look at what cost - is not Simon Katich (510/80000_), not Sarwan (565/105000_), not even Shivnaraine Chanderpaul (849/105000_), close but not bravo Dwayne Bravo (909/95000), not Symonds (834/105000_), not even the partly-eponymous Shane Watson (584/90000_). It's the Golden Boy of Australian cricket: The brilliant Brett Lee with a gorgeous PFM return of (1261/110000_).
Full post