CLT20 2014: Fantasy Guru unveils the minnow-trick

Dolphins v Perth Scorchers

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

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