#WWC17 Fantasy Preview
Not sure how to go about picking your Fantasy Cricket team? We’ve provided a few tips in each of the categories to help you get off to a powerful start.
BATTERS
It’s really a question of who you can afford! Australia’s captain Meg Lanning is the only player in the entire game valued at 10.0 – and with her record you can see why; in 57 ODIs she’s hit 10 fifties and 10 hundreds and has an average of 52.37. Positioned at No.3 for Australia, she’s likely to get plenty of opportunity. No doubt she’ll end up as Power Player in many teams.
Similar could be said of India’s Mithali Raj (9.0) – who enters her fifth ICC WWC at No.2 in the ICC rankings and who’s likely to do her fair share of batting across the seven Group Stage matches.
Another potential star is India’s Harmanpreet Kaur (8.0); the 28-year-old right-hander is in the form of her life following a stellar winter in the WBBL, where she hit 296 runs at an average of 59.2 in 12 matches to be named Sydney Thunder’s WBBL player of the season. Classified as a batter, she’s also likely to chip in with a few overs of off-spin, so she could earn you a few additional points on the sly.
There’s also good value to be had from England’s opening pair of Lauren Winfield (5.0) and Tammy Beaumont (5.5), who are on home turf and in fine form; in three ODIs against Pakistan last summer, Winfield made 166 runs at 55.33 and Beaumont hit 342 runs at an average of 171, including a career-best 168*.
ALL-ROUNDERS
With so many of the women’s game’s best batters also doing a job with the ball, you might find that best value comes in the all-rounder category.
Obviously you’ll want to make room for your big-ticket Power Player contenders – New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (9.5), West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (9.5) and South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp (9.0). But lower value players could turn up just as many points.
West Indies’ Hayley Mathews for example, will cost you just 5.5, but this is the player who scored 66 to lead her team to victory in the ICC Women’s World T20 final last year, as well as picking up 1-13 with the ball. All-round skills, big-match temperament.
At 5.5, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine looks a highly tempting pick – she hit a fastest-ever WBBL century in December when she smashed 103 off 48 balls for Adelaide Strikers, hitting eight sixes and 10 fours. She’s well at home in English conditions too, having played a starring role with bat and ball for Loughborough Lightning in last summer’s Kia Super League.
England captain Heather Knight is valued at 8.0 and hit a hundred in England’s warm-up match against Sri Lanka. She picks up wickets with her off-spin (11 at 19 since taking over the captaincy last year). Stationed at No.4 in the order, she’s likely to be in the thick of the action throughout.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Sune Luus (6.0) could prove a real handful; as one of a limited but rising number of female leg-spinners she’s bound to cause problems in the World Cup – and at just 20 she’s already made fifties from the top of the order. She’s just one tempting pick from an increasingly exciting South Africa side.
WICKETKEEPERS
England’s Sarah Taylor (7.5) potentially offers you double value as a keeper because she’s also a top-order batter; she’s expected to bat at No.3 for the host. But for a cheaper option (and to help free up picks from the stronger teams) you might plump for West Indies’ Merissa Aguilleira (5.5); her team’s army of spinners mean she’s always in the game and could pick up stumpings. Australia’s Alyssa Healy looks good value at 4.0, but with her batting around No.7 for a team with such a brilliantly strong batting line-up, you may be depending on dismissals for the bulk of her point-scoring.
BOWLERS
Plenty to choose from. Jhulan Goswami (9.0) is the women’s game’s leading ODI wicket-taker, whose height and pace is sure to lead India’s attack, while England’s Katherine Brunt (8.5) is as quick as anyone and New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu (7.5) proved an effective seam option during last summer’s Kia Super League in England. For a bit of extra pace there’s also South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail (8.0), but England’s Anya Shrubsole – who will share the new ball with Brunt and is still the world No.1 T20 bowler – looks excellent value at 6.5.
Lower down the price list you’ll find 16-year-old New Zealand leg-spin sensation Amelia Kerr (4.5), who as recently as March took a four-fer against the world No.1 side Australia, while the Aussies have a leg-spinner of their own in Amanda-Jade Wellington, and if they’re able to get the 20-year-old into their side, she is a superb pick at just 4.0. Leggies are less common in the women’s game and can be very influential against the right-handers. Your only problem might be fitting all the Aussies you want into your final fantasy XI!
