One month into the 2015 season and the fantasy points table is starting to take shape. 1,199 people have taken to the field in cricket matches under the aegis of the LCU. This, of course, does not include the many people playing cricket in non-competitive games or clubs who are only entered into a cup or even club very recently formed.
It is time, once again, for the fantasy table to make a re-appearance and for players who would not trouble the national press to receive exposure and recognition otherwise denied them.
The points system for 2015 remains the same as previous seasons and is shown here.
Appearance in game 10 points
Each run scored 1 point
Each wicket taken 20 points
Each catch held 10 points
Each stumping 15 points
Bonus points are also available.
Each half century 10 points
Each century 20 points
Each 5 wicket haul 10 points
Each ten wicket haul 20 points (and a lifetime of memories!!)
The tables shown here can only include games where full results have been submitted to the OCC and games not submitted are not included. So if you feel that your figures do not match your own calculations, check first on the results page of www.cricketleinster.ie and also with your captain (for home games). There is also now a twitter account for the Fantasy League, (@FantasyTableLCU) although how busy it is will depend.
The statistical tables will tend to vary week by week, as will the length of the articles, but it is hoped that you will enjoy them nevertheless... The tables are designed to be a bit of fun, an added element of competition, or just a way of the LCUOCC seeing who keeps appearing on these lists and who needs to be starred. In all honesty the selectors of the Leinster Lightning probably ignore these and other statistics.
Now onto the bits you actually want to see....
Overall Totals
Number of players 1,199
Total points scored by all players 91,334
995 Batsmen have scored 28,014 runs
752 Bowlers have bowled 7,457 overs
Top 10 points scorers
S Babu Dundrum 453
B Singh Bhathal Merrion 418
A Verma Adamstown 367
Ray Stapleton Bagenalstown 351
V Jacob Leinster 348
Joe Prendergast Pembroke 348
A Varma Merrion 340
N Thambi Dundrum 316
Jinto Mathew Dundrum 308
S Stanton Merrion 301
Dundrum and Merrion dominate the top 10 with three players each. It is also good to see Bagnalstown’s Ray Stapleton continuing to roll back the years and Pembroke’s young Joe Prendergast first Fantasy appearance. All of the top ten have played at least four games. This may not seem as fair as a “points per game” list, part of the Fantasy League’s purpose is to encourage as much play as possible.
In a “points per game” table, there are two players who have managed to score over 200 points per game, and a further 32 who are over 100 points per game...
Top 10 points per game scorers
P Auret Slieve 214
S Sarfraz Long 213
E Conway Rush 190
A Malhan NK 152
M O' Brien Mal 152
M Collier Tarf 143.5
F Babar Civil 137
M Navid Merr 135
Rehan Ali Civil 134
David Carthy Rush 129
Now onto the various points scoring categories...
Top 10 Appearances
E Hart Bagenal 7
V Dhiman Merr 7
B Singh Bhathal Merr 6
A Varma Merr 6
N Thambi Ddrm 6
M Nurulain Boda Castle 6
S Boddu Ddrm 6
K Narang Castle 6
A Abbasi NC 6
C Aramalla Merr 6
There are 9 players who have scored two half centuries so far this season, and a further 82 who have scored one (this would be at least one more, but my own hasn’t yet been submitted on a result card).
Half Centuries
S Grobler Cork
B Parchment NC
M Lewis Merr
W Rolfe Lein
R Wing Mal
B Speake Ter
Paul Ryan NK
A Walia Lucan
S Mehdi Shah Phoe
Centuries have been scored by 12 players, including Stephen Moreton who scored his first Division One century for Clontarf last weekend.
Centurions and Highest Scores
P Auret Slieve 184
S Sarfraz Long 143
David Carthy Rush 126
B Singh Bhathal Merr 120
Stephen Moreton Tarf 119*
N McGovern NC 117*
M O' Brien Mal 112*
A Hashmi Lucan 113
Joe Murphy NC 108*
M Navid Merr 105
H Fernando Castle 100*
M Kilroy Civil 100
Top Batting Averages
P Auret Slieve 184
B Parchment NC 160
S Sarfraz Long 143
N McGovern NC 135
H Fernando Castle 131
Joe Murphy NC 122
Stephen Moreton Tarf 120
Adam Chester Phoe 116
J Murphy Rush 115
M Navid Merr 105
Ryan Hopkins Pemb 100
N Shahzad Phoe 100
By and large it appears that the same clubs and players also appear in the highest run scorers. How many of these early risers will continue to hold their places throughout the season. One-team-club players may not have the same opportunities to play as many games during the season, which is similar to First team players who can not turn out for other sides.
Run Scorers
B Singh Bhathal Merr 248
P Auret Slieve 184
A Walia Lucan 175
B Parchment NC 160
R Wing Mal 157
S Boddu Ddrm 156
M Lewis Merr 148
S Grobler Cork 147
S Sarfraz Long 143
H Ramasetty Merr 142
Bowlers always find the early season can be either painful (as muscles have to be re-trained), frustrating (as injuries come fast and furious) or at the opposite end of the scale, brilliant (as early season batsmen make error after error). Captains quickly discover who they will turn to and which youngsters are making the break-through from late call up to vital first name on the team sheet. 13 players have already thrown down at least 192 legitimate deliveries, whilst the author just feels like he has.
Most Overs bowled
S Streek YMCA 45
M Nurulain Boda Castle 40.3
P Carty Merr 39
A Abbasi NC 39
Jinto Mathew Ddrm 38.5
S Stanton Merr 37
S Babu Ddrm 35.5
N Sharma Merr 35
Joe Prendergast Pemb 34.1
A Verma Adam 32
Manjinder Singh Lucan 32
V Krishna Merr 32
V Kasana Merr 32
21 players have already recorded their first five wicket hauls, but no-one has done so twice. Terenure’s M. Cotter has the provinces best bowling analysis thus far and bowlers will do well to better his 7/30. This list will be truncated next time around, but for the moment let us recognise all of those bowlers with a five wicket haul. W. Clarke and Pat Carthy may soon be putting their umpire’s coat away and looking to surge through the teams, whilst Ray Stapleton will be heartened by his 5/7 which represents half of his wickets to date. If the body holds up he could be leading Bagnalstown back up the leagues.
Best bowling figures
Mick Cotter Ter 7-30
W Clarke Phoe 6-9
Susheel Kumar RU 6-14
Sean McCarthy Tarf 6-19
M Collier Tarf 6-39
E Conway Rush 6-41
Ray Stapleton Bagenal 5-7
A Yadav Adam 5-11
R Butt Carl 5-12
V Jacob Lein 5-13
G Morris Phoe 5-16
L Ali Ash 5-16
I Sabir RU 5-18
D Dismore Phoe 5-20
J Carroll Lein 5-22
P Carty Merr 5-23
E Connolly RU 5-28
Steve Smith Mal 5-29
V Jain Cab 5-32
A Malhan NK 5-38
Naveed Khan Civil 5-42
One of the quirkier tables has always been the bowling averages. 202 bowlers have yet to claim a victim despite having bowled over 900 overs between them. However, only one player, the wonderfully named Upender Reddy, has taken a wicket and not conceded a run. A. McDermott deserves a mention in that his bowling average of 2.75 includes four wickets claimed.
Best Bowling Averages
Upender Reddy Merr 0
Muhammad Saleem Tarf 1
C Gomes Adam 1
K Jesu Ranjan Adam 1
W Iqbal NC 1
Sibu Jose Swords 1
B Sweeney Grey 1.5
C Herbert Mal 1.67
A Ahmed Slieve 2
O Sivanatham Adam 2
James Redmond Wexf 2.67
A McDermott Tarf 2.75
Bowlers take wickets. It’s their reason d’etre, their jol d’vive. The most successful at this early stage include our overall points leader, S. Babu.
Most wickets
S Babu Ddrm 14
A Varma Merr 12
Susheel Kumar RU 11
Joe Prendergast Pemb 11
Ray Stapleton Bagenal 10
A Verma Adam 10
N Qureshi Castle 10
M Collier Tarf 9
M Baker Bagenal 9
P Carty Merr 9
S Stanton Merr 9
Aiding the bowlers in pursuit of wickets are the fielders. They can turn a long hop into a wicket taking delivery. They can pull off amazing feats of athleticism from young and old. The safest hands may not appear on the next list and dropped catches are not a recorded category, except perhaps in the post-match chat, but here are the players who have held the most chances. This category includes wicket-keepers. 700 catches have been held by 471 players. Nic Pretorius has returned to our shores for another season and since passing Immigration at Dublin Airport has slipped straight back into form and appears on both catches and stumping top lists. Welcome back Nic.
Most Catches
N Thambi Ddrm 7
Robert Forrest Tarf 6
K Narang Castle 5
R Gopalakrishnan Phoe 5
A Zibran Shovon Pemb 5
Richard Forrest Lein 5
Sam Murphy YMCA 5
S Babu Ddrm 4
L Prior Tarf 4
D Rice Wick 4
K Sabrie Laois 4
S Sarfraz Long 4
D Purcell Bagenal 4
Nic Pretorius Hills 4
P Byrne RU 4
K Khan RU 4
C O'Donoghue Merr 4
Most Stumpings
A Battan Tarf 3
Nic Pretorius Hills 2
H Habib Adam 2
Lorcan Tucker Pemb 2
N Griffin Lein 2
E Sheehan Rush 2
So there you go, the first lists of the new season. Feel free to leave feedback on the cricketleinster website, the Twitter account or even by email to tangylemon@hotmail.com
Until next time, score runs, hold your catches, take wickets and umpire straight.