Plenty of movements in the League Standings as Duck Collectors & JeezThatSwung climb to 4th & 6th respectively. The Master Batters, The Hazey Hitters & Hit Six & Chill remain the three at the top of the pack, but just 274 points separate 1st & 10th. The King is still languishing at the bottom of the pile 150 points adrift. It was a good week to score points with Sam Yeates (£5.3m - looking underpriced yet again!) and Liam Jones (£6.6m) both scoring over 100 points, meanwhile Tom Hawkridge (£5.1m) returned 91 points & Sam Bowen (£6.7m) 84 points. This led to an average of a massive 331 points, the biggest since Gameweek 1. There were also solid returns from value options like Taidgh Kinsella (£1m); Jess Pugh (£2m); Kevin Mays (£2m); and Jacob Slater (£3.5m). All look to be playing regularly & will offer teams great routes into affording the higher priced players. There was disappointment for most owned player, Rob Hewer (£5.5m) who registered his first duck of the season & he's sitting out this weekend recovering from a neck injury, how many teams will he stay in come noon?
After their first victory of 2021 last week, the 1st team travel to Great Baddow, Liam Jones takes over the reigns and no surprises Harry Cooper (£8.4m) makes himself available for the third time this year. The Groom and Best Man partnership will likely be opening up together & looking to go big. However, the highest score at Great Baddow this year is 125, suggesting a track favourable for bowlers. Look out for returns from Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m); Sam Bowen (£6.7m) and Taidgh Kinsella (£1m). The 2s, for the first time this year, is actually looking like a 2s side. Dan Quartermaine (£5.9m) drops down looking to rediscover some form, meanwhile the Mays brothers play for the third week in a row & have been ever so consistent since returning (Barry - £4.1m, Kev £2m). Strength in the 2s, means an even stronger 3s side, already dominating their division. George Baron (£5.5m) - who has opened the bowling for the 1s this year - will surely be far too strong for Division 10, but will he bowl ahead of Jess Pugh (£2m) or George Davis (£5.5m), who could quite easily take 10 between them. Then, Captain Pidgeon still has Tommy Wheeler (£3.6m) and Owen McCausland to use (£5.5m). Plenty of bowling options in an incredibly strong 3s unit.
No Sunday fixture to evaluate this weekend, so here are my thoughts on the players you should Buy, Sell and Captain in Gameweek 7.
BUY
Cailean Kinsella (£5m) scored a faultless 100 against Rettendon on Sunday, and was not out against Springfield on Saturday. Sitting in only 9%, he could prove an excellent differential if you are in need of a batsman to replace Rob Hewer, and don't have the cash for Harry Cooper. Jonny Hewer was about the only saving grace in the 1st XIs nightmare against Rayleigh two weeks back. He's not been picked up by any sides yet, and at just £5m could offer a reasonable points return.
As already mentioned, George Baron (£5.5m) is playing a full game in the 3s this week. And so far this year, nobody has picked him! Incredible. Not only that, George Davis (£5.5m) is in exactly the same situation. A brave manager might look to get both in & cash in on players, who could easily be playing in the 1st or 2nd XI squads. I'll be going for just the 1 due to the makeup of my team, but it will be very difficult to pick between them. If I can figure out a way to get both, I'd be very tempted.
BUY: George Baron/Davis (£5.5m)
SELL
Rob Hewer (£5.5m) and Sam Yeates (£5.3m) both are unavailable this week, which in all honesty makes my sell option pretty easy. With all three teams in with great chances of winning, I wouldn't be having players guaranteed to score 0 in my side & would be looking to replace both with anyone I've mentioned previously. For Sam, Barry Mays (£4.1m) is a great straight swap & frees up a little cash for some premiums you might want to get in, or if you already have the cash, why not look at Liam Jones (£6.6m) in just 12% of teams, and in great form. Liam does take up an allrounder position however, and is probably mislabelled as he has yet to bowl in 2021.
SELL: Rob Hewer (£5.5m)
CAPTAIN
I do see this week being a massive scoring week, which makes captaincy even more vital. Look at last week, captaining Sam Yeates gained you an extra 130 points, whereas the popular pick Barry Mays only gained you an extra 29, and that makes a massive difference when the league is as tight as it is.
This week, while the 3s are probably still the team most likely to win, there are so many match-winners in that side, it is difficult to predict exactly which one will come off on the day. Narrowing it down, I would have to say that George Baron (£5.5m); George Davis (£5.5m) or Tommy Wheeler (£3.6m) will be the top point scorer in that game. Don't be surprised to see Jacob Slater (£3.6m) near the top of that pile either. In the 2s, John Chadwick (£5.4m) is always so effective with bat & ball; and I'm anticipating returns from Barry & Kev Mays again, but these are consistent returns, and what I look for in my captain is the potential for an explosive 100 or 5 wicket haul. While I'm confident of a 2s win this week, their assets appear to be more suited for consistent returns over time. Whenever Harry Cooper plays (£8.4m) he always has to be considered as your captain, he's just so explosive & dangerous, very much like Mo Salah in the Premier League, could easily score big every week. Tom Hawkridge (£5.1m) still looks as classy as ever & will be rueing a missed 100 after his 71 last week. Will it come this weekend?
Given that when I dropped down to the 3s, I said there's no other option than to captain me, I'd look pretty foolish if I didn't say the same for Baron & then he went and took plenty of wickets. Therefore, my decision this week will likely be to captain George Baron.
CAPTAIN: George Baron (£5.5m)
