The Cricket Thread

Just noticed that the first round of CC fixtures this season coincides with Easter. If the weather is good on Good Friday I'll probably go down to watch day 2 of Hants v Notts.

 

From a dropped catch to a run out.

 

With two picks in the top 7 (2 and 7). Brave will have lots of options and with two overseas slots to be filled, they can fill areas of need with quality. They could do with a spinner for example, so Shakib could well be signed.

 

All three picks need to be batters. If one of them can bowl (or keep), that would be great - but not essential.

If Fire honour Duckett's request to not draft him back, then we have a free run at him. He's the best domestic batter available in my opinion. TKC and Abell would be great options too, however Rockets can use their RTM card on TKC, and Abell's recent injury record isn't good. Meaning that Duckett is clearly my favoured option. But it the rumours are true, we're not particularly interested in him. And if we don't get him, Phoenix are pretty certain to with the very next pick.

Duckett as 2nd pick. Rilee or David as 7th pick. Rilee or David as 15th pick. That I think would be my ideal. But the chances of Rilee/David still being available at the 15th pick are slim. Oval, Phoenix and Rockets wouldn't be a threat, but the other four sides would be. It sounds like Fleming is very keen on recruiting Conway.

 

Rehan Ahmed is our only spinner. We need another spinner 100% IMO. We should get Shakib as one of our overseas signings. The other 2 signings out and out batsmen.

 

Two wildcard signings to come later though. That's how we signed Lintott two years ago.

It would be good if we could sign a batter who could bowl spin (I was keen on Markram until he pulled out earlier this week), but I really don't think it's a massive issue.

 

My issue is that Ahmed is a teenage leggie. I don't trust him enough to be our primary spinner. I rarely disagree with your cricketing opinions but I do here. I appreciate it's not going to be a dustbowl but spin can still play a big part in the short format. Dawson and Crane working in tandem for example.

 

If Shakib was available as our 3rd pick at £75k, I'd be far more open to it. But he's put a £100k reserve on him. We don't have any availability at £100k, meaning that we'd have to sign him as one of our two £125ks. And I don't rate his batting high enough to justify that.

It's why I liked Makram before he pulled out, because he would have been available as our 3rd pick at £75k.

 

I did think Fire might try for David straight away. Force us into using our RTM.

 

Couldn't let him go at any cost.

 

I like Du Plooy. But why the hell would we pick him as a domestic middle-order left hander ahead of Duckett?

 

I'm not at all surprised that Rilee didn't go to anyone during those first two rounds. But it's the next two rounds which are the issue (plus Fire picking ahead of us in round five). I'm expecting someone to get him, whilst we need to wait.

That Phoenix side just looks immense now that Duckett is in it.

 

I've totally missed that Rilee put his reserve up from £75k to £100k. So he's out for us.

Conway I reckon. (Not that I want him. But Fleming likes him.)

 

Du Plooy and Conway are uninspiring signings.

 

Vince
Allen
Conway
Davies
Du Plooy
David
Ahmed/Garton/Fuller/Wildcard
Jordan
Overton
Archer
Mills

 

Nowhere enough variation in that bowling attack IMO. I know we've got the wildcard picks to come but not that impressed with that line up. There's also the added risk that Archer or Mills or both could break down at any minute.

 

I do think Du Plooy is more consistent that Whiteley. And Conway can't do any worse than Stoinis in the top six. So we are arguably stronger than last season. But yeah, neither are exactly exciting. Feels like we could have done a lot better. Both are very much Fleming picks.

 

For the first time, I think Hants T20 line up would trounce the Brave's line up.

 

I'm guessing that Lintott and Parkinson weren't expecting to get this deep into the draft without being picked up yet...

 

Into the wildcard draft they both go. Big wow.