Fantasy League: The primary unifying force in cricket

•      [Andre Russell](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/west-indies/squad/177/Andre-Russell/). He’s a hero straight out of Gotham. Nobody saw him coming - he didn’t go bang-bang the way Southee and McCullum had at the top, but out of nowhere, he scored a big chunk of Fantasy League points. He came in with 17 balls left, was the first-change bowler after [Jerome Taylor](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/west-indies/squad/1841/Jerome-Taylor/) and [Jason Holder](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/west-indies/squad/1075/Jason-Holder/) had ripped through the top order, but still scored big in batting and bowling. For those fortunate enough to have made him their Power Player – cough, nudge, wink (yes, I did) – the metaphorical clinking of points was sweeter than the timing Russell achieved on some of his sixes.  
  

•      [Shikhar Dhawan](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/india/squad/41/Shikhar-Dhawan/) and [Moeen Ali](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/england/squad/1735/Moeen-Ali/).The tattooed superstar and the man whose strokes flowed as elegantly as his beard. I had neither one in my team. A few unshed tears were wiped away, and the smile Russell had wrought evaporated. In a word – learn from errors. Dhawan had shown good form against [Pakistan](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/teams/pakistan). Moeen has all-round skills and was always likely to hit it out of the park when confronted with a relatively more benign surface and bowling attack.  
  

•      If you are playing catch-up in your inter-office private league after a rocky start, worry not. The Fantasy League is a marathon not a sprint. That is important to bear in mind for those who use up all their substitutions in a tearing hurry. Sure, that will get you to the top – but it won’t keep you there. Your private league standings can start a steady climb if you plan well, aided by breaks such as the ones Southee, McCullum or Russell provide – where you don’t overdo your substitutions and pick players who are likely to do well, you will end up with a few matches of bonanza points. The private and public leagues are popular, and for good reason. It’s a competition within a competition, and it’s made up of friends and acquaintances, which doubles the fun element.  
  

•      If you must be spendthrift with your substitutions, go the whole hog in the ICC Fantasy Leagues ‘[Match Mode](https://fantasy.icc-cricket.com/dailychallenge/teaminfo)’ – where each day is a fresh start and each competition lasts for that day itself. The ‘[Tournament Mode](https://fantasy.icc-cricket.com/homepage/homepage)’ requires long-term thinking, but you can go slam-bang in the ‘Match Mode’, packing your team with the stars of the day. It’s like being given the opportunity to earn bonus points via a Super Over even as a Test match is on.  
  

•      If you’ve fallen behind in the early Fantasy League running, you may be ruminating on management-speak such as ‘early-mover advantage’. Worry not though, because this particular Fantasy League is unlike any other. The league stage has been split in two and with the first one ending in February, you have a chance to get back in the game after the [India v UAE](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/match/cwc-2015/21) match on February 28. In that short window between the last match of February and the first one of March – [England v Sri Lanka](http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/match/cwc-2015/22) – you have infinite substitutions and can reform your team, this time with the added advantage of having watched two weeks of the tournament and a fair idea of who is in form and who isn’t. [This is a vital inflexion point in the Fantasy League – miss it and you’ll be wishing you had a time machine.](https://fantasy.icc-cricket.com)  
  

Team meetings before a big match are generally kept short, because a) players don’t need to expend mental energy more than necessary before the big day and b) a long meeting would mean the coach and captain need to bring in snooze buttons with them.

In the fitness of things then, it’s time to wrap this up and wish every participant a Man of the Match for their Power Player, a strike-rate of 200 for their batsmen, and a couple of five-wicket hauls for their bowlers. It’s mathematically impossible of course to have this come true for every team, which is why it remains a wish. To turn it into your reality, get cracking with your Fantasy teams – and remember: Don’t miss that March beginning deadline.

Saurabh Somani is Assistant Editor at Wisden India. You can follow him on twitter@saurabh_42