Gameweek 2 was wet. Very wet. The 2s & 3s were cancelled so only limited players scored points last week, and unfortunately, Gameweek 3 is not looking any better. Those who took hits in Gameweek 2 almost definitely lost out, with only two players returning better than 50 points: Ollie Cheeseman, 86 points (£7.1m) & Dan Quartermaine, 55 points (£6m). Every team, in general, scored poorly. The highest scoring team, The Hazey Hitters (292 points) scored less than the lowest scorer from Gameweek 1 (Grip It and Rip It CC - 332).
To add to selection difficulties this week, the Sundays are yet to complete their full XI. Only 9 players have confirmed availability so far, however, 8 of these are also playing on Saturday. I'll be looking to get as many of those 8 into my side as possible in an attempt to maximise my chances of scoring points on what will be another rain-affected weekend. I'll also be making my transfers as late as possible so as not to waste any points on rained-off players!
BUY
As per last week, I'm looking for someone with less than 25% ownership who has the potential to score good points this weekend. I think the games most likely to be paid this week are the 1s & Sundays again. Baddow should have the covers on & usually drains well, and Sunday is looking a little brighter. Sam Yeates has already said that any further heavy rain will see Braxted too wet to play on, and I'm pretty sure the cover we've got on at Bull Meadow has holes in!
There are two players who are due to play in both the 1st XI & Sunday games, myself (£7.5m) & George Baron (£5.5m). Nobody currently has George in their side - a very good differential pick should he pick up points. I'm sitting in 12% of teams, but I'm unlikely to bowl this weekend and have the keeping duties on Sunday. There are other all-rounders who may outperform me & cost less (Owen McCausland £5.6m).
An excellent 25 against tough opposition last Sunday from Jacob Slater (£3.6m) sees him currently at the top of the batters - if you don't have him already, I would certainly be looking to bring him in as a value pick.
BUY: George Baron (£5.5m)
SELL
Last week I called to sell Ollie Cheeseman (£7.1m) due to a potential training injury. He went on to score the most points for the weekend, so hands up that was bad advice, and I apologise to anyone who listened to me! This week, I'd make an argument that Jack Ridge is possibly top of the sell list. At £5.5m he represents a pretty sizeable chunk of your budget, but has yet to make a return scoring just 30 points from 3 games. He does play two games this weekend, and so you can justify keeping him in the mix for now. In the long run, I'd want to see him start scoring bigger points to keep his place in my side. Who knows, he may even end up being the highest point scorer this weekend - prove me wrong Pidge! Jack is the highest selected batter sitting in 65% of teams, moving him on to someone similarly priced such as Rob Hewer (£5.5m) or Cailean Kinsella (£5m) may see you gain significant rank improvements should they outscore him.
Sell: Jack Ridge (£5.5m)
CAPTAIN
Little Baddow is a massive fixture for the 1st XI in their fight to stay up this year. We need the top order to stand up and score some runs. I suspect we may see some batting magic from Harry Cooper this weekend as the 1s push for their first win of the season. Harry will be vital with the ball too and after a handy 3-fer last weekend definitely has all-round potential for points to back up any good performance with the bat.
You do have other options, I have always said I prefer to captain someone on a Double Gameweek. Owen McCausland & DQ offer the potential for both runs & wickets in both games they play in. DQ is also dropping down to the 2s this week, will he rediscover the form from 2019 that saw him be called up to the 1s? Here's hoping. You may even see a few teams punt on me as a captain, certainly Mum will for sure!
Captain: Harry Cooper (£8.5m)
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!
