Finally some decent weather & finally 3 completed games of cricket! 193 points scored on average, while my Master Batters picked up 451 points to leapfrog Hit 6 & Chill, and The Hazey Hitters to climb to the top of the table. 21 of the 35 teams are now beyond the 1000 point mark, while The Kings XI are stuck at the bottom of the table on 538.
Kevin Mays' (£2m) 44 runs on return saw him top of the batsmen's list. While Tom Wheeler (£3.6m - 63); Barry Mays (£4.1m - 103) and James Pook (£7.6m - 98) all scored 50 plus points and got a price rise. There were minus points and subsequent price falls for Dan Quartermaine (£5.9m); Ben Ridge (£5.9m); Dan Allen (£4.9m) and Nick Smith (£0.8m), as they all got ducks.
The 1s face Springfield at Bull Meadow this week and are in desperate need of a win to lift them off the foot of the table. Skipper Rob Hewer will want big performances from experienced campaigners Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m) and Tom Hawkridge (£5m). Meanwhile the 2s travel to Great Waltham - expect Barry Mays (£4.1m) to control the game again, and can Nick Phillips (£4.5m) continue the good form which sees him at the top of the wicket-keeping list? Sam Yeates leads the 3s at Braxted against Rainham, both sides likely to be at the top of the table come Gameweek 18. Danny Kennedy (£4.5m) returns to lead the bowling lineup for the first time in 2021 and Jacob Slater (£3.6m) returns from his holiday. Sunday's fixture against Rettendon is just a friendly and will not count towards fantasy points.
Here are my thoughts on the players you should Buy, Sell and Captain in Gameweek 6.
BUY
Kevin Mays (£2m) returned to Bull Meadow after a 4-year hiatus and picked up right where he left off, underpinning the 2s 116 with a solid 44. While I'm not sure how many games he will be available for at just £2m he could prove an extremely valuable option in the short run, only 1 person so far has him in their team. Tom Hawkridge (£5m) scored an imperious 30* against Maldon on Tuesday, and 33 in his last outing against Little Baddow. Surely it will only be a matter of time before one of these starts is converted into a biggie? Tom is also in just 15% of teams so far, and now could well be a good time to bring him in. Top of the bowling charts, yet still sitting under 25% ownership, perhaps it is Ollie Cheeseman's £7.1m price tag that is putting people off. He's taken 6 wickets so far, joint third in the club, those above him however all have higher averages. With Harry Cooper & Joe Davis still unavailable, Cheesey offers the best potential of all the Premium options available right now.
BUY: Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m)
SELL
A Ridge has featured in the sell column every week so far, however, Jack will be pleased to learn I've not picked him for a fifth week in a row. Instead, it is Ben Ridge (£5.9m) who makes the chopping block after a duck in Gameweek 5 and just 40 points scored so far. He takes up an all-rounder spot, one of the most valuable spots in the game, and with 7 other all-rounders out-scoring him at the moment, I would be looking to move to one of those. Rob Hewer (£5.6m) and James Pook (£7.6m) are currently in 71% & 24% of teams, but both are carrying small knocks. How much this will affect them at the weekend is unknowable, but Managers may want to bear this in mind when making transfers.
Dan Quartnermaine (£5.9m) and Owen McCausland (£5.5m) are not officially on my sell list this weekend, but I've got my eye on them both after failing to return over 65 points so far this season.
SELL: Ben Ridge (£5.9m)
CAPTAIN
All three games are crucial this weekend, with each side wanting a win for different reasons. As I hinted at last week, I like to pick my captain from the team I think is most likely to win & that 3s side looks far too good for anything Division 10 can throw at them. Grinding out a total will be their most difficult challenge, but the bowling line-up of Danny Kennedy (£4.5m), Jess Pugh (£2m), Tommy Wheeler (£3.6m) & Sam Yeates (£5.1m) is filled with wickets. My safest best would be for Captain Yeates to lead from the front again with bat & ball, but Tommy Wheeler could be a darkhorse as he is currently 3 wickets clear at the top of the club leaderboard.
Another potential is Barry Mays (£4.1m) who by all accounts run rings around the opposition in the 2nd XI match last week. There is no reason why that won't continue & the 2s batting line-up appears to be much stronger this week, hopefully giving Badger a few more runs to play with in the 2nd innings. For this reason, I'm struggling to look past picking Badger as my captain.
CAPTAIN: Barry Mays (£4.1m)
