CLT20 2014: Fantasy Guru unveils the minnow-trick

Guru’s team after the KXIP fixture

I wouldn’t judge you if you have a look at the squads of Cape Cobras, Barbados Tridents and Dolphins and think how they managed to earn a qualification to what is billed as the clash of the best Twenty20 clubs around the world.

Put in a bit more research, and you would find out how. The Cobras have lost out on Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis, both to Kolkata Knight Riders, and JP Duminy and Beuran Hendricks, who succumbed to injuries. The Tridents are missing out on Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik, to Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Hobart Hurricanes, respectively. The case of Dolphins ain’t this bad; they enter the tournament without the services of only one of their first 11 players: David Miller.

The minnow trick

With these big names missing from the roster, there are really no standout options for fantasy teams from any of these sides. To exacerbate the issues, they are never far away from a no-show, meaning that even their best available players would be deprived of any chances to return points that they are ideally capable of. It is, therefore, advisable to not overload your fantasy teams with players from any of these teams.

Consider a team like Dolphins been set a target of 180. The usually consistent Morne van Wyk is under pressure straightaway coupled with the fall of wickets at the other end and tries to play a game that would bring him out of his comfort zone, resulting in his dismissal. Similarly, when one of these teams bat first and get dismissed for a below-par score, an otherwise effective bowler will be negated with ease. So, you need to be prudent when it comes to picking players from these teams.

Make sure, either way, the players you pick from these three sides stand a decent chance for returns.

Cape Cobras v Northern Knights

Transfers used – 1; Transfers remaining – 39

Suresh Raina out – Dane Vilas in

COB v NK

With the number of substitutions in the qualifiers, we would have been used to picking a bunch of players from Northern Knights. Given how the team performed in the first stage of the tournament, they gave back a lot of points, as well. It shouldn’t be the case anymore, though.

Ideally, I would be content to have one batsman and one bowler from the team. It doesn’t make sense to have more than two players from a team in a 10-team tournament.

I already have Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, part of the unit assembled ahead of the main stage. Picking Williamson ahead of any other Knights’ batsmen is clear as a bell: opens the innings, solid technique, reasonable aggression and is adept at playing spin. Boult will continue to get the nod ahead of Tim Southee match in, match out into my team for three reasons: a 200,000 cushion in budget, which is gold, for the natural angle of a left-armer and for being the more incisive of the two.

While the Cobras have a susceptible batting line-up, a bowling unit consisting of Robin Peterson, Charl Langeveldt, Dane Piedt, Vernon Philander and Justin Kemp and Justin Ontong to complete the 5th bowler quota is no pushover; therefore, expect the likes of Daniel Harris, Anton Devcich and Daniel Flynn, all reasonable picks, to be challenged out in the middle.

And you don’t expect Scott Styris to get you 3 wickets everytime.

When it comes to the Cobras’ batting unit, Hashim Amla is easily the best pick; I have him, too. Given his recent T20 form and that the Cobras play two matches in a 4-match round, getting him in is hard to resist. Ontong and Kemp bat way too down the order, and hence there is no certainty. For all the hitting abilities of Levi, he will have a horror time upfront against quality swing bowling: both in this match and against Hobart Hurricanes in the next fixture. That rules him out, as well. Stiaan Van Zyl is, at best, steady.

It leaves us with Dane Vilas, the wicket-keeper batsman. If not for the rise of Quinton de Kock, the right-hander, who made his international debut, against India, in 2012, would have got a decent run at the highest level, with De Villiers finding it difficult to manage his workload. To average 36.21 in 52 T20 innings and strike at a rate of 123.73 is no mean feat. Since the Schedule Mantra makes a case for him here and that he would bat during the safest of periods, I get him in despite the minnow trick working against him.

Remember, Schedule Mantra > any fantasy trick in the world. For those who are new to the series, read this to know what the mantra is all about.

Captain: Trent Boult

Dolphins v Perth Scorchers

Dolphins v SCO

Transfers used – 2; Transfers remaining – 37

Sunil Narine out – Mitchell Marsh

Pat Cummins out – Yasir Arafat

Deprived of some of their first choice players, to injuries and to their competitors, Perth Scorchers had a forgettable last year in the tournament. They would be fancying their chances this time around, though, possessing some top class limited-overs stars in Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Yasir Arafat and Adam Voges. Also, don’t play down the rest. If these 4 are at the top of their game, their support cast that has the likes of Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff and the highly-rated Sam Whiteman could give any opposition a run for their money.

If I will have to pick one out of Voges and Marsh, I would have the latter: game-breaker, in-form, strike-rate boost and could chip in with a few, as well. It is a tough choice between Coulter Nile and Arafat. While Arafat is a better bet when it comes to bowling, with his experience and death bowling abilities, the Australian is handy with the bat, as well. I am a sucker for specialists, and hence Arafat gets the nod ahead. Also, the Pakistan pacer comes in at 100,000 less.

With the exception of Van Wyk, there are hardly any proven T20 performers in the Dolphins unit. Jonathan Vandiar and Kyle Abbott aren’t what you call as the ideal T20 players; while the former plays at a strike-rate of around 100, the latter relies primarily on swing. The next best option seems to be Cameron Delport, the other opener. I haven’t seen him play and couldn’t find any videos, too, but his stats are impressive: 1041 runs in 41 innings at an average of 26.02 and a strike-rate of 140.86.

Can he achieve something of worth against a bowling attack as good as Scorchers’? I doubt, at least not when you consider that this could probably be his first match in India. Also, the minnow-trick is a major factor here.

Van Wyk is listed as a specialist wicket-keeper, and, with one of them already in my side who plays his second game in double-match round, that rules him out.

Captaincy pick: Yasir Arafat

Barbados Tridents v Kings XI Punjab

TRI v KXIP

Transfers used – 1; Transfers remaining – 36

Mitchell Marsh out – Neil Mckenzie in

With Glenn Maxwell and David Miller in my team already, the Kings XI side of it is settled. No, I wouldn’t react to last match by bringing Thisara Perera in, not because I don’t rate him but because to expect him to bat with him coming down at no. 7 and in a fixture that the Punjab-based side are expected to ease through is naive. His bowling isn’t something you would bank on, although he could get a couple of cheap wickets with the combustible nature of the Tridents.

I am tempted to rope in Akshar Patel; however, with Kings XI playing their second game only after 7 matches, he would remain idle for such a long period that my team cannot afford; a tactical mistake.

Neil Mckenzie has come along as one of the best T20 players around. Having seen him play in South African colours, I have no idea how he managed to become this good in the fast-paced format. This would perhaps explain my case better: he stroked at a rate of 69.40 for his national team and now has an SR of 119.83 in 143 T20 matches combined with an average of 34.38, only marginally less than his ODI and Test averages of 37.51 and 37.39 respectively.

The 38-year-old, though, had a nightmarish Caribbean Premier League 2014 campaign, scoring 7, 0, 9, 2 in 4 innings (DNB in his fifth). For a player of his quality, I back him to come good, considering that two months have passed, and get him in. Coming in at no. 4, he could capitalise on the weak death bowling unit of the George Bailey-led franchise.

Captaincy pick: Glenn Maxwell