There’s been some heavy betting for the Baildon Fantasy Cricket League.
44 teams jostling for top position in the world’s biggest cricket competition bar IPL 2022.
Full scores next week, but today let’s see who are the hot picks. Which grizzled balding veteran is going to keep on inexplicably churning out vast quantities of runs and wickets (Darren Stevens/ James Butterfield)? Which mercurial spinner is going to rise like a phoenix after a dodgy last season (Dom Bess/Jamie Abbott)? Which belligerent l
eft-hander can keep his 2021 run-bludgeoning at the same Mt Everest-level this year (David Warner/Dave Hodgson)?
The betting’s all about value. Yorkshire Value. Everyone’s price was based on last year’s performance. So, who’s going to do better this year?
Three players stood out, each chosen by 30 people. 4th place had a distant 17 picks. So, who are these players who everyone thinks are goin
g to have a much better 2022? Step forward Kev McDermott, James Ford and now-double-knee Danny Hunt.
Beyond these three, the picks were much closer. Everyone in the club got picked at least once, and not just by themselves.
Jonny Reynolds is 3rd most popular pick for the firsts, then Aakhash. For the seconds, after Danny, Simon McDermott got picked 12 times, then Louis Turner on 11.
For the thirds, an almighty fight, but won by Mini on 17. Butts, Sam H, DanG, Paul, Harry and Tawseef are close behind, though the 7 punters picking Tom Dixon will be f
eeling pretty happy already.
The fourths, Owen Pickles leads the way. Tim Joy was in 2nd, even though he was top price. Everyone knows he’s gonna take 30+ wickets every year til 2100…
Onto the scores. Two weeks doesn’t say much, especially as Josh hasn’t played yet, so expect the table to turn upside down any time soon. But there’s a front runner: our beloved chairman Ash Free, the only person beyond 1000 points already, as he picked all of Kev, Butts, Sam K, Tom Dixon and James F. The pin-point accuracy of his picks is only equalled by the laser-like steering of his nurdled singles between gully and point.
Right now, the only other thing to say is there are some rivalries to watch. Sam Butterfield’s team has double the points of his dad’s. Claire Heke is beating Dwayne. Dom Kelly is almost beating his sons combined. The battle of the captains ranks Darren just 10 points ahead of Dwayne, with Andy snapping at their heels just 2
00 points away, and Dave seemingly already a crumpled heap in the dust, 400 points further back. And then there’s the Fury vs Wilder match-up: Deano vs Louis. Louis was a higher price. On the field he’s scored more points. And his team has twice as many points…I’m sensing a pattern here.
Finally, I put in a team for Simon H. I thought it was a decent side! But one week in he’s in last place. He can blame me, and his team name, Heggers can’t be Choosers.
Simon Bullock
The Keeper of the Stats
Baildon CC
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