Best and Worst Picks of the Round

[Howe_zat]

I can only find two players I've heard of playing in it: Pragyan Ojha (played one game) and Pankaj Singh (averaged 9)

 

[Prince EWS]

I can only find two players I've heard of playing in it: Pragyan Ojha (played one game) and Pankaj Singh (averaged 9)

Surprised to see Pankaj had such a poor season.

 

[Chewie]

I'm gonna do a Best and Worst of each round. 3-2-1 style, with 3 being either the best or worst pick for the round. All of this is purely my opinion, I don't really expect anyone to agree with me entirely.

For bias reasons I won't consider any of my picks in the best.

Round 1:

Best:

3 - Vernon Philander. Still in the best 3-4 bowlers in the world, can bat. Very good business to see him slide to 10.
2 - Pat Cummins. As above. Slid a bit further but probably not as good as Vernon so only gets the 2.
1 - Steve Smith. 1 was a trickier one as the picks here were mostly standard or a bit early. I'm saying Smith as if not for the ban he probably goes #1. But really it's hard to give out the one vote this round.

Worst:

3 - James Pattinson. If he was fit this would be fine, but as it is it's early. Reckon there were 7-8 better bowlers leftover and a few of them are at least as good with the bat too.
2 - Yasir Shah. I don't know if I see the value of a wrist-spinner being that much more significant than a finger-spinner and there were better options left with regards to the latter if you wanted a spinner Round 1.
1 - Jason Holder. Would be very justifiable in a bigger comp, but I simply feel he hasn't done enough with the ball outside of favourable conditions and batting-wise he's probably not a Top 6 batsmen here. He obviously won't be a no-rounder but he's not a good enough bowler for Round 1 and I don't think his batting is quite good enough to drag it over the line.

Round 2:

Best:

3 - AB de Villiers. Probably still amongst the best bats in the competition and taken at the end of the round. Huge boon.
2 - Ravindra Jadeja. Adds so much balance to the side. Can easily bat 6/7 and would be many sides best spinner.
1 - Ravi Ashwin. Like Jadeja but taken earlier and possibly a bit worse. Still a very sound option though.

Worst:

3 - BJ Watling. Too soon, he's a nice player but there were better batsmen who can keep leftover and his keeping isn't quite good enough to justify taking him before them. Would probably have been available Round 4/5.
2 - Ross Taylor. Just think he hasn't done enough against quality opposition recently. He's a good player but I was thinking he could've held off a round.
1 - Tim Southee. Not a terrible pick, but the fact that he's missed out on selection in certain unfavourable conditions hurts his reputation a bit and he's probably not quite good enough with the bat to be conclusively a better pick than a few other bowlers that went later.

Round 3:

Best:

3 - Trent Boult. I found this round hard to do as there's no real steals here. Boult I simply think is a top-class bowler that deserved to go a bit earlier than what he did.
2 - Ben Stokes. He's a matchwinner, it's simple as that. I think he can win a couple of games on his own and that's a big win outside of Round 1.
1 - Morne Morkel. His form has simply been immense recently. Dominant.

Worst:

3 - Quinton de Kock. Now this is interesting in that about 18 months ago this would've been a fine pick but his form has been largely turd since then. Obviously deserved to be picked but ahead of guys like Bairstow and Chandimal? I don't quite think so.
2 - Alastair Cook. Just hasn't looked right in the last couple of years. Admittedly the batting depth is very thin, but he doesn't really feel like a Round 3 pick anymore.
1 - Hashim Amla. Similar kind of logic to Cook, though maybe not quite to the same extent. Tough round though, no real shockers and no real steals.

Round 4:

Best:

3 - Jasprit Bumrah. Has just looked super dominant everywhere he's bowled at Test level. Definitely someone that could've gone much earlier even though he probably doesn't go at all a year earlier.
2 - Rangana Herath. Arguably the best spinner in the world before retiring, Round 4 for that is accordingly excellent value.
1 - Johnny Bairstow. Form has been a bit patchy lately, but he's someone that can easily handle batting 3-5 and also keeps wicket to boot. Hard to complain too much here.

Worst:

3 - Prithvi Shaw. Just probably one CWPL too early for him. His stats are very good and he looks an insane talent, but there's not enough depth in them for him to be a top of Round 4 pick at this point.
2 - Henry Nicholls. This is probably harsh given how well he's batted lately but he just feels like a bit of a hack on a hot streak. Several better batsmen were leftover.
1 - Lungi Ngidi. Basically read Shaw. Very good prospect but still a bit too inexperienced to be going so early.

What happened to your ranking of the other rounds?

 

[morgieb]

Yeah I've been lazy as **** with regards to this, also been a tad busy. I'll do the rest now.

 

[morgieb]

Round 5

Best:

3 - Chris Woakes. Adds so, so much to a sides balance. Could easily bat Top 7 and would comfortably be in any teams best four bowlers. Just class all round.
2 - Aidan Markram. I think this pick set off a bit of a rush in selecting Top 3 batsmen and he's one of the best around and one of the few still in class form.
1 - Usman Khawaja. Again, a pretty good record and can easily score runs in a position with a lack of good options.

Worst:

3 - Matt Renshaw. Six months ago I could see the argument, but he's lost form again. Just too early for someone out of a pretty weak Test team and without a brilliant FC record.
2 - Rishabh Pant. Picked because of his keeping but unfortunately he's kinda terrible there. And there were better batsmen left over. I think there was better value options.
1 - Kyle Abbott. Hard to think of a third one - Abbott no longer plays Tests though and while his 2018 was good it was a pretty easy season for bowlers in county cricket which drags him down a bit - so I guess he's a bit of a meh pick for the round.

Round 6

Best:

3 - Mushfiqur Rahim. Like Chandimal, a keeper that can easily hold down a Top 5/6 position is worth so so much and gives the side great balance.
2 - Monimul Haque. A bit of a F/WTB, but does have a gun record and bats in a tough position.
1 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Best of the rest I guess. Being able to bat 8 is a bonus and has a good record.

Worst:

3 - Shai Hope. One Test wonder at Test level, not a particularly great FC record to fall back on either. Way too early when you consider Hetmyer didn't even get picked.
2 - Mosaddek Hossain. I don't rate Bangladeshi domestics all that much and he's played very little Tests. Not quite the right time for FC h4x in questionable competitions me thinks.
1 - Hanuma Vihari. See above.

A lot of weak picks that round I think.

Round 7

Best:

3 - Moeen Ali. For another side this would merely be a decent pick, but when you already have Bairstow it's a really good one. Adds so, so much to your balance being an ideal #7 and a very good 5th option.
2 - Steve O'Keefe. Probably a bit past his peak but he's dominant in a competition notorious for being bad for spinners, and can bat too.
1 - Sarfraz Ahmed. If he isn't past it he's the perfect #7. Adds a lot.

Worst:

3 - Sam Curran. Just too early in his career to have significant value I suspect. His FC record is merely decent and while he has all-round value is he of fourth bowler or Top 7 quality? Not quite convinced.
2 - Peter Siddle. Basically is borderline cannon fodder at Shield level as things stand. Does do better in England but I don't think it's enough to drag the quality of pick up.
1 - Misbah-ul-Haq. Struggled a bit towards the end of his Test career and isn't even scoring too many runs in Pakistani domestics as things stand. Like Siddle just isn't worth a pick this early at this point in his career.

Round 8

Best:

3 - Shannon Gabriel. Round 8? Pretty bloody h4x given his recent form and point of difference. Given the paucity of good picks in this round this is an excellent one.
2 - Ben Foakes. Probably a bit high, but has a very good case of being the best pure keeper in Test cricket today and has a good batting record too.
1 - Glenn Maxwell. Again probably wouldn't get a vote in most rounds but he does have good utility value here.

Worst:

3 - Doug Bracewell. At least 15-20 bowlers left over, and I don't think him batting 8 is enough to justify a selection this early.
2 - Scott Kuggeleijn. See above. Slightly better at FC level but also doesn't have a Test record to fall back on either.
1 - Dilruwan Perera. Sri Lankan pitches are notoriously spinner friendly and he's struggled outside of it. Best thing I can say about it is that most of the spinning options left are quite weak.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Wouldn't agree that Hope's non test FC record is poor. Averages about 40 for Barbados, which is not too shabby at all considering how absurdly low scoring WI domestic cricket can be

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah Hope's domestic record is much better than it seems at first glance.

 

[morgieb]

Yeah Hope's domestic record is much better than it seems at first glance.

Thought his FC average was lower than it is. Still probably didn't deserve a pick that early but the pick isn't quite as bad as I implied.

 

[Jarquis]

Pant isn’t even keeping for me, so :shrug:

 

[Athlai]

Pant was a good pick, Morgie is a weirdo.

 

[Daemon]

I think Curran isn't a great stats pick but if the sim could somehow rate impact he'd come out looking like a very good round 7 pickup imo. There were something like 80ish players picked before him.

 

[morgieb]

I think Curran isn't a great stats pick but if the sim could somehow rate impact he'd come out looking like a very good round 7 pickup imo. There were something like 80ish players picked before him.

Yeah that's my worry, I think in a real life draft he'd be a very good pickup in Round 7 (and if retentions were a thing it wouldn't be one of the "Worst") but it's just a bit hard to rate him at this point.

 

[morgieb]

Round 9

Best:

3 - Kemar Roach. See Gabriel. How he lasted to Round 9 I have idea, should've gone much earlier.
2 - Rohit Sharma. Dominant at FC domestics and against weak Test opposition. He does struggle against the best teams but with 12 teams of relatively similar quality I think he'll be an excellent pick.
1 - Fawad Alam. In a world without a lot of FC h4x batsmen Alam really stands out. Tempted to strike Athlai of points for batting him out of position but it's a very fine pick this late.

Worst:

3 - Jofra Archer. Simply not really worth it for Randy at this point. All his FC performances have been at Div 2 level (so not quite as impressive as it first looks) and his batting isn't too relevant when you already have Woakes, Jadeja and Perera. Better players left over.
2 - Ian Bell. Was admittedly pretty gun last season but before that his recent form has been pretty poor. And even his 2018 has the caveat of being at Div 2 level. Early for me.
1 - Karun Nair. Again his FC average isn't that great when you consider how many teams India has and while he does have a Test triple he's done little else at that level. Again I think there were better batsmen left over.

Round 10

Best:

3 - Haris Sohail. Another pick that makes me go "how the **** did he last this long?" Wonderful pick.
2 - Joe Burns. Solid FC and Test record and has a heap of versatility in where he bats. Very nice pick this late.
1 - Rory Burns. Bit of a "best of the rest" sort of pick - but given that not too many openers were left over I do rate the selection. Especially given how well he batted last season.

Worst:

3 - Malinda Pushpakumara. You already had a spinner. His Test record is pretty bad given the conditions he bowls in. And Sri Lankan cricket is a piece of piss to bowl spin in. Far too early, one of the worst picks full stop.
2 - Shubman Gill. Just doesn't have enough of a track record behind him. If he had played 20-25 FC matches I think it'd be a decent pick, hell even if retentions existed I could see the logic; but as it is he just hasn't done enough.
1 - Ollie Pope. Similar kind of case. Played more FC cricket but he did so much of it batting down the order. Which given how well Surrey went this year makes me a bit skeptical of how good he is as things stand.

Round 11

Best:

3 - Simon Harmer. Given that he hasn't been bowling in particularly friendly conditions at domestic level his recent form has been outstanding. Especially given the paucity of good spinners around.
2 - Roston Chase. Good FC record, OK Test one and makes for a handy 5th bowler. Very fine pick.
1 - Wriddhiman Saha. Amongst the best pure keepers in the world which is really handy given how long Randy's batting is and he's a pretty solid batsmen to boot.

Worst:

3 - Tim Bresnan. His form for Yorkshire has been distinctly ordinary since his most recent Test. And given your pick after this I don't see much value in his batting either. One for Rd 15/16 methinks.
2 - Ish Sodhi. This isn't ODI cricket we're drafting for. He's improved at domestic level recently but I still don't really rate him as a red ball bowler and this was too early given you already had a spinner and a weak batting lineup.
1 - Fidel Edwards. A little bit harsh perhaps. But his county performances haven't been amazing and I think you were a bit hasty here.

Round 12

Best:

3 - Mohammed Siraj. For his brilliant A-team form. Very handy pick this late.
2 - Rudi Second. He gives great options, being an opening keeper. Recent form has been pretty excellent too. For a depth pick it's great.
1 - Jeetan Patel. His NZ form has actually been pretty good recently given that the pitches there are pretty bad for spin, and his county form is excellent.

Worst:

3 - Imam-ul-Haq. Similar case to Sodhi. His FC average is pretty bad and while he hasn't been terrible at Test level thus far he hasn't been great either.
2 - Kuldeep Yadav. Statistically, I think it's too early. In real life he would've gone much earlier than this but his Ranji average isn't great and he hasn't played many Tests to cancel it out yet.
1 - Gautam Gambhir. Has been OK at Ranji level since his most recent Test but given the quality of the Ranji

 

[morgieb]

Pant isn’t even keeping for me, so :shrug:

Fair enough. Though I just feel at this point there were better batsmen left over.

Was a pretty good round, especially when you compare it to Round 6.

 

[Chewie]

I think Chase's bowling is going to be pretty ****, he only averages like mid 20s in the West Indies, but his batting average domestically is 47 or something

 

[morgieb]

I think Chase's bowling is going to be pretty ****, he only averages like mid 20s in the West Indies, but his batting average domestically is 47 or something

He's at least taken wickets at Tests though. Average is still fairly **** but he'll be at least serviceable as a 5th option.

Obviously the appeal is his batting. Though his domestic average is only 41 (which is still good given how bowler-friendly West Indian pitches are), it's more just him dominating tour matches that makes up the gap.

 

[Howe_zat]

Why give a toss about tour matches? They're rarely FC status and when they are it's against the board president's schoolboy XI or whatever

 

[Prince EWS]

Why give a toss about tour matches? They're rarely FC status and when they are it's against the board president's schoolboy XI or whatever

He's talking about the ones that affect his FC stats, so the non-FC ones aren't a factor.

In Chase's case it's a game against Essex, a game against Derbyshire, a game against Australia and a game against the Pakistan President's Schoolboy XI. Ironically enough that last one was the only one he failed in.

 

[morgieb]

He's talking about the ones that affect his FC stats, so the non-FC ones aren't a factor.

In Chase's case it's a game against Essex, a game against Derbyshire, a game against Australia and a game against the Pakistan President's Schoolboy XI. Ironically enough that last one was the only one he failed in.

Yeah it matters in this case because it makes his FC average look better than what it is if it was just West Indies + Barbados.

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah it matters in this case because it makes his FC average look better than what it is if it was just West Indies + Barbados.

Yeah those games count but with the exception of the game against Australia it'd be better for him if they were West Indian domestic cricket.