Unbelievably we're a month into the season already, and what a month it has been! Without delving into the history books too deeply I am pretty confident this May has been one of the most successful in the club's history. The 1st & 2nd XIs remain unbeaten, and the 3rd XI have won three of their four fixtures, an unbelievable turnaround following the double relegation of last year, and it's been a pleasure to be a part of. But anyway, it's time for what we're all here for - a review of how things are going in Fantasy Land.
Top of the Points
Both myself & Joe Davis have had fantastic starts to the season and clocked up nearly 450 points. If you went for just one of us, it didn't matter which of us you picked, but the real winners were those who picked both players, with all of the top 5 sides doing so. If you don't have us both, would I look to bring the other in - yes, but will you have the funds or transfers available to do so? I wouldn't take a hit to bring one of us in (100 points is a lot to make up). Would I use my wildcard now to get us both in? Probably no, but if you also don't have Sam Yeates (£5.4m), I would be starting to consider it.
Sam has been a real surprise, to the extent he went unmentioned in my season preview. But through his 14 wickets he has also scored over 400 points keeping pace with Joe & me. The three of us have nearly double the points of fourth place (Max Clarke - £5.1m). Sam is almost certainly still underpriced, and playing for a third XI he is far too good for. I would suggest you need to urgently find a way to get him into your side. He will continue to take wickets & there are minimal questions about availability. But who makes way? I'd be looking at moving on from the 2nd XI skipper Jack Ridge (£5.5m). A solid start to the season and not disappointing by any means, but nothing substantial yet and I just feel Sam's points ceiling is higher. Given the similarity in price of the two I would be looking to make that switch.
It is probably no surprise then that six of the top 10 sides have Sam Yeates in their team, and all but 1 of the top 5 do. But lets dig a little deeper and look at who else is doing well, who we should look to bring in & who to avoid.
Batters
Paul Marks (£5.1m) leads the way with the bat on 208 mostly thanks to his 85* against Rettendon in Week 3, narrowly trailed by Rob Hewer (£6.1m) on 187 points and one 50 against South Weald in Week 2. The punters who opted for Simon Tabb (£2m) were vindicated with a rapid 70 in Week 4, but did lose out after the 2nd XI Week 1 wash out. Jamie Potter has the most runs for the third XI, but the 3s are yet to score more than 116 suggesting it will be their bowling that will be most productive points wise. Liam Jones also scored a 50 in Week 2, but will miss 3 of the next 4 games.
Not much left to report on Josh Chadwick (£4.5m) appears to have good availability moving forwards and is one to watch.
Bowlers
In general, a lot more points have been scored by bowlers rather than batters. Four batters have more than 100 total points, but nine bowlers are above that mark with five above the 200 mark. Bowlers generally always score more than batters (everyone generally bats, but not everyone bowls) therefore I would suggest having a side with 4 or 5 bowlers, 3 all rounders, 1 keeper & 3 or 2 batters is going to be the best strategy for success. You can have a maximum of 5 batters; 5 bowlers, 3 all-rounders, and must select one keeper.
We've already spoken about Sam Yeates - but the other four bowlers above 200 points are Max Clarke (245 - £5.1m); James Wheeler (240 - £4.1m), Jim Gregory (219 - £6.1m) and Tom Wheeler (£5.1m - 215). Best value here looks then to be James Wheeler. Brother Tom is tied for 2nd in the wickets chart.
All Rounders
My early season suggestions for Issey Croft (£4.1m) and James Murphy (£3.6m) have both had near-identical good starts. I suspect this trend continues, so if you're searching for extra money downgrading one to the other may help. As far as I know, their availability is fairly similar - perhaps with Murphy slightly more available. It's been a better start though for Chris Pearson (£6m) who has chalked up 215 points thanks to returns with the bat & ball, but availability for him & his brother will be limited throughout June so pause before bringing him in would be my advice. John Chadwick (£5.5m) has started slowly in comparison to last year with bowling opportunities limited due to Sam Yeates' performance. Expect John to feature more prominently in the points if Sam receives a call up to the 2nd XI.
Keepers
So far my call for Neil Quilter has been right, and downgrading your keeper to him is another move I would be considering if you're searching for funds for Joe or me - Neil has the best "Points per Million" return of the keepers, although no keeper is yet to break 100 points. Ted Shorney (£3m) however has looked very promising with the bat, with a debut 50 for the Sundays & a couple not outs in the 3rd XI. I would not be surprised to see him add to his 50 count again this season. Tim Logue has the most points for the keepers, but some dominant 1st XI performances have meant batting opportunities have been limited. May get an opportunity up the order in June, given the predicted unavailability from others.
Unavailability
Period's of June are looking very tough for availability - you will have already seen DOCs messages pleading for more players on certain weekends. This makes it more important for our teams to select those players who you'll see regularly week in week out - to avoid having weeks with half your squad not playing! With that in mind, here's a list of those who will have longer periods of unavailability who you may want to think about moving on from your team, after Gameweek 6: Beth Harvey; Chris Henderson; Mayur Gami; Rob Mutton; George Baron and Stuart & Chris Pearson are those that I know at the moment for one reason or another will be playing less in the next block of 6 matches. Check back to my season preview for a list of those who we expect to be involved in the majority of games this year.
Remember, if you've had a tough start you can always use your wildcard to start your team again! There are 14 game weeks left in the season, so a long way to go and there will be changes in the table between now and then. If you do find yourself stuck at the bottom, remember to keep pushing as finishing 15th will see your entry fee returned to you. I'll see you back in fantasy land in a months time. In the meantime, let's keep the Good Times rolling! #GTCC
