Cricket365’s Fantasy Review – Week Five
Plenty of people up and down the country, and even worldwide, choose to enhance their experience of the English domestic game by participating in various fantasy cricket leagues. What else are you going to do to pass the time in the office?
It can be quite hard to keep track of everything though, especially since popular fantasy providers (like Telegraph Fantasy Cricket, which is who we will be using as our resource) include both divisions of the County Championship as well as the One-Day Cup.
So we’ve decided to launch a weekly service to help you keep up to date with all the goings on, starting with a look back at the first two rounds of action in the four-day format.
Oh, and of course you need to know how points are scored in the first place, so read up on that here, and you can see who the top performers were in week four here.
Hampshire have continued to be the form team in the One-Day Cup, winning seven of their eight games, while Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Lancashire and Middlesex have all amassed 10 points or more.
Batsmen
Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent)
Bell-Drummond had a handy knock of 41 on Tuesday as the Spitfires swept aside Surrey by eight wickets, but the opener’s real contribution came on Sunday when he racked up 120 not-out as Kent chased down 272 with six wickets in hand. He also chipped in with two wickets in each of the two games. A real double threat.
Watching Daniel Bell-Drummond no-fuss NAIL two boundaries in front of point with nothing more than a flick of the wrists, it’s hard to believe he isn’t an England player yet. Glorious. pic.twitter.com/IzQVG0n5WL
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) May 2, 2019
Sam Robson (Middlesex)
Robson’s week started in perfect fashion with an impressive run-a-ball 106 against Somerset as Middlesex racked up 364-6, and he followed that up with a score of 79 against Glamorgan, even taking a wicket with the ball to add to his points score.
Zak Crawley (Kent)
The second Kent player on the list is Zak Crawley, who amassed a score of 11 against Surrey, but helped build an incredible opening stand of 188 with Bell-Drummond against Essex – scoring 94 before being removed by Ravi Bopara.
Charlie Hemphrey (Glamorgan)
Most teams only played two games last week, and Charlie Hemphrey cracks the top five batsmen despite only having one innings. His 87 off 81 balls against Middlesex plus a couple of catches against Gloucestershire is enough to get him over the 100 point mark.
Nick Gubbins (Middlesex)
Just like his team-mate Sam Robson, Gubbins piled on the runs in the thrashing of Somerset to start the week, scoring 90 off 59 balls including 15 fours. He then built a partnership of 147 with Robson against Glamorgan on Sunday, scoring 92 in the process to cap off an impressive week.
Wicket-keeper
Ben Cox (Worcestershire)
Cox didn’t even play in Worcestershire’s first game of the week, with Riki Wessels instead keeping wicket for the Pears, but his score of 87 and the three catches he took against Yorkshire on Saturday make him the top performer with the gloves.
All-rounder
Rob Keogh (Northants)
Keogh’s week didn’t start in ideal fashion as he was dismissed for a duck against Yorkshire, but he did take a wicket. However, it’s his score of 102 against Leicestershire on Saturday that gets him onto the list – a superb knock off just 85 balls in a winning effort.
48.1 | Rob Keogh take a bow! 💯👏👏
An outstanding innings from @RobKeogh91, his century comes up off just 83 deliveries. pic.twitter.com/DzHR7yOaFL
— NCCC (@NorthantsCCC) May 4, 2019
Bowlers
Wayne Parnell (Worcestershire)
Nottinghamshire had been the in-form team in the north group heading into their game against Worcestershire, but 5-24 from Parnell helped restrict them to a paltry 121-9. He then staggeringly followed that up with a spell of 5-25 against Yorkshire on Saturday, capping off an outstanding week in which he took 10-49.
Nathan Sowter (Middlesex)
The third Middlesex player to make the list, but this time for his work with the ball. Sowter ripped through Somerset’s middle order to take three wickets on Wednesday, before going one better and taking 4-58 against Glamorgan.
🌪 Nathan Sowter does it again 🌪
🤙 10-0-58-4
👆 15 wickets in 4 games 👆
🔝 Into top 10 in #RLODC MVP
🏆 @NSowter keeping Middlesex in with a shout! pic.twitter.com/wD6ybgHYcn
— PCA MVP Rankings (@pcaMVP) May 5, 2019
Steve Patterson (Yorkshire)
The White Rose have been eliminated from the competition after a poor showing, but captain Steve Patterson has led by example. He took two wickets in a win over Northants via the Duckworth-Lewis method, and then took 4-45 against Worcestershire in what ended up being a 150-run defeat.
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Lancashire are one of the few sides to have played three games in the past week, and Jimmy only played in one of the opening two games, taking a wicket against *. He then took 3-21 against Warwickshire on Saturday, and he doesn’t even open the bowling any more…
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