Captain 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. 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.)

A few furrowed brows and 3 transfers down the line: The simple realisation dawns that to play the game properly one must have a good grasp of the rules. Or else, one ends up wasting a whole lot of buying and selling for nothing.

Transfer 3, first Test: Flintoff is expected to return for the second Test. Right. (There goes another transfer.) That means 3 transfers down before the second Test has commenced.

Transfer 4, first Test: Why didn't I have Sidebottom in my original team? I need him for the second Test. Let's buy Sidebottom. He's definitely worth his transfer price in gold.

Flashback to 2 minutes after buying Sidebottom: Sidebottom is likely to be ruled out of the second Test. And that means another transfer, my fourth, wasted. Of course, I could have saved myself the 'Sidebottom transfer' by waiting till 35 minutes before the commencement of the second Test. And of course I didn't.

Transfer 5: Somewhere along the rocky road my team currently finds itself in, I lost Stuart Broad, picked up Hoggard and left myself with a solitary transfer and a handful of straws to clutch at. Only to have the England selectors bring Pattinson in out of nowehere. Like I said, this fantasy campaign has gone down the tubes. Very quickly. (To think it started so promisingly.)

Moral of the story: 6 transfers are far from adequate for such an important and uncertain series. Especially, if you happen to be a bit of a 'trigger hippie'. Must launch a 'comment campaign' to redress this anomaly.