Not much to report from Gameweek 3 as all games were abandoned. The 1s were the only side to get going before being rained off at tea. As a result, the average score was just 54, with 7 teams actually posting minus figures! If you took my advice to captain Harry Cooper - I can only apologise as his duck registered you -40 points. The Hazey Hitters still lead the way on 1110 points, however, three other teams have now passed the 1000 point mark with Jug Alert, Seagers Stiffs & Hit 6 & Chill all in close pursuit.
I left posting my preview this week late, as it looks like it's going to be another wet weekend. Normally on a Friday night I'd look at my team to see how many players are due to play. This week for me I have 8 players due to play and, under normal circumstances, I'd be looking to swap out the 3 players not playing for two point "hits". However, with conditions being better for swimming than cricket, I definitely won't be doing that this week, as I don't want to pay 40 points for someone whose game gets called off!
Given that I can't see any cricket being played at all this weekend, my advice feels a bit pointless! But, I shall give it anyway.
BUY
Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m) is the highest scoring bowler so far this season and he's sitting in just 26% of teams. With conditions this weekend likely to be highly suited for Cheesy's style of bowling, I would be looking to bring him into my side gambling that the 1s game goes ahead. Indeed over the last two weeks, the 1s have been the only side on a Saturday to have any cricket played. Is that the benefit of covers, or do the umpires just really not want to give up their match fee? Who knows? An added bonus to selecting Cheesy is the almost guaranteed Not Out points he will score you. He's 1 away from bringing his hundred up, and has the best ratio of not outs to innings played in the club at just under 50%.
Another potential buy this week is Sam Yeates (£5.1m). Left with the captaincy duties this weekend, Sam will have a lot to do to ensure the 3s continue to push for promotion this year. Expect him to bowl his full allocation & bat up the order in a youthful 3s side this weekend, assuming the rain stays away. Sam is also 1 of only 5 players to have passed the 100 points mark this season so far.
BUY: Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m)
SELL
If you've still got Jack Ridge (£5.5m) in your team, I'd reiterate that I think it's time to move him on. Still no big performances from him yet this season (What's that? You were rained off last week? Why does that make a difference?). Additionally, Jack has also earned his debut in the 1st XI this weekend, I believe we all wish him the best of luck in his debut, but as he is untested in the Premier Division, alternatives may be preferred!
Harry Cooper has fallen in value following his duck last week to £8.4m. However, he is not available over the next two weekends and really I don't think it's a good strategy to commit such a significant proportion of your budget to a player who will not be playing. Providing your team selection allows, a straight swap between Cooper & Cheeseman may be a great option for the next two weekends. If you need a batsman to bring in, Rob Hewer (£5.6m) leads the pack in the batsmen player standings.
SELL: Harry Cooper (£8.4m)
CAPTAIN
After a shocking choice last weekend, I'll do my best to make up for it this weekend. With only 1 round of fixtures and the chance of all games being abandoned, I started to feel like the best way to do this was going to be pulling names out of a hat. So that's exactly what I did. Every player was given a number & then I generated a random number on my calculator. This gave me my top 5 captain picks:
1) Tommy Hawkridge - Scored an excellent 34 last weekend on a tough wet deck.
2) Ryan Kennedy - will be needed to bowl & bat in the 3s this week. Something to prove too after two seasons of no bowling.
3) Ed Vale - Growing from 4ft nothing to 6ft6 has definitely helped Ed's bowling - good pace & bounce in the nets at training, matchday wickets surely to follow?
4) Rob Mutton - A chanceless 100 with every scoring shot driven along the floor through cover, followed up by 10 full-length diving catches at fine leg to win the Stock game - we can dream right?
5) Pete Quartermaine - By far the best Quartermaine, but criminally overpriced at £2m.
Best of luck to all this weekend, lets pray for some dry weather soon!
If you'd like to get involved in the competition, you can still sign up! There's still plenty of Gameweeks left to go, and loads of points on offer. Follow this link here, and click create team. Once you've done that, please pay your entry fee to Rob Hewer. If you're struggling with who to pick, read my season preview!
