Thoughts turn to Fantasy

“It’s grim up north.” I don’t know which wise old sage coined the phrase, but he or she seems to be spot on right now. Rain, drizzle, snow and sleet – the past week at The Riverside has seen it all. Whereas us in the squad, all we have seen is the indoor school, every inch of it. Every bloody inch.

The friendly against Durham UCCE was ruined by rain, so too were three separate friendlies against Yorkshire seconds which were supposed to be held somewhere in the region. Unfortunately a dry patch could not be found for even one of these fixtures. The outdoor nets have seen some action thankfully, and the glee at actually getting outside far outweighed the fact that they were spicy as hell! All good fun and all good practice I assure you.

All seriousness aside, I have been asked to pick a Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket side for this season’s Championship. I fully expect my team to flop, and any success will be greeted with great surprise. Here, then, is my motley crew:

Joe Denly – Kent – 95000 Francois du Plessis – Lancashire – 65000 Mark Ramprakash (trump card) – Surrey – 130000 Dale Benkenstein – Durham – 110000 Peter Trego – Somerset – 85000 Richard Pyrah – Yorkshire – 75000 Craig Kieswetter (wk) – Somerset – 95000 Chris Jordan – Surrey – 75000 Shane Bond – Hampshire – 130000 Mark Davies – Durham – 50000 Steven Finn – Middlesex – 75000

Certain names pick themselves (Ramprakash, Benkenstein and Bond). As for the rest, I have plumped for a number of youngsters who are more than capable of raising a few eyebrows this coming summer. Two dark horses (du Plessis – a class act, and Durham’s very own Mark Davies) will score heavily. Mark my words. Feel free to aim ridicule my way when I perform transfer after transfer. And I apologise now if by selecting any player in my team acts only as some kind of hex!