12/21/24
November 16, 2006
Ashes Fantasy Pick 'Em: It's cricket's most celebrated contest, this southern summer when England travels to Australia. A chance to test your cricket knowledge against other SpoFites, with a healthy dose of luck thrown in. Details on how to play inside.
Nice, I'll give it a go. England picks: Freddie Flintoff & Geraint Jones (the wicket keeper counts for catches, right?). Aussie picks: Matthew Hayden & Glenn McGrath. Series score: Australia, 2 - 1.
posted by afx237vi at 03:49 PM on November 16, 2006
I'll also update the score table at the end of each Test. afx - yep, wicket keepers count for catches, as do all other fielders.
posted by owlhouse at 03:50 PM on November 16, 2006
England Picks - Andrew Flintoff and Andrew Strauss Australian Picks - Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden Ashes Winner - Australia 3-1
posted by skydivemom at 10:24 PM on November 16, 2006
By the way - what is the schedule of Tests and is there anyway to watch this in the U.S.?
posted by skydivemom at 10:29 PM on November 16, 2006
The Anglish - Cook, Bell The Aussie - Gilchrist, Hussey Series - Anglish 3 Aussie 1
posted by apoch at 02:20 AM on November 17, 2006
Aussie - Gilly and Hayden Engerland - Freddie and Strauss Aussie win 2-0 (Thanks owlhouse - nice idea)
posted by JJ at 04:09 AM on November 17, 2006
Aussies - Ponting, Hayden Those dirty Brits - Pietersen, Strauss The Land of Vegemite, 3-1
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:43 AM on November 17, 2006
Oy, oy, oy - Ponting and Gilchrist 'allo, guvna - Cook and Flintoff Da winna - Paul Hogan 2-1
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:58 AM on November 17, 2006
England=Jones+Pietersen Australia=Lee+Martyn Winner=England 3-1 I have absolutely no clue but what a great idea. Thanks owlhouse......
posted by skydivedad at 08:06 AM on November 17, 2006
Does this mean we can get a cricket category in the dropdown, even just for the Ashes?
posted by JJ at 08:43 AM on November 17, 2006
The Tories: Andrew Strauss & Alastair Cook The Criminals: Matthew Hayden & Justin Langer Winner: The Criminals 3-1
posted by NoMich at 09:15 AM on November 17, 2006
Limeys: Cook and Pietersen Criminals: Hayden and Ponting Criminals 3 Limeys 1
posted by cabuki at 01:07 PM on November 17, 2006
I meant to say it earlier, fine job, owlhouse.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 12:08 PM on November 18, 2006
Pieterson and Collingwood Warne and Gilchrist Australia 4 England, Wales, Ireland and Papua New Guinea 0
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:48 PM on November 19, 2006
What about South Africa, Fat Buddha? You even picked one of them :-). My picks: Flintoff (24 wickets and 400 runs in the last series - you'd be mad not to), and Pietersen (his style will suit Australian wickets, with the ball coming on to the bat and less sideways movement off the pitch and through the air, and also if he can avoid the temptation of the hook). Hayden (guaranteed to bat each innings) and Ponting (had an incredible average last Australian summer). I see most people have picked batsmen rather than bowlers - I think this is wise given the anticipated pitch and weather conditions. We are having the worst drought in a thousand years in Australia at the moment, and in the last few seasons Perth and Adelaide have been very, very flat wickets with lots of runs in them. The only turner is Sydney, and the only seamer is Brisbane, but generally only if the conditions are right on the first day. Series score - Australia 3-1 (I'm expecting a draw in Adelaide).
posted by owlhouse at 05:07 PM on November 19, 2006
Cricket, like Canadian Football, is something I feel that the average american sports fan (ie, me) is unfairly deprived of. Do they show Cricket in Canada? I may have to try and convice the wife to move north.
posted by apoch at 06:47 PM on November 19, 2006
I'm still tempted to go Aussies, 4-0. I typed that first, then thought better. Now I'm thinking better of thinking better.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:10 PM on November 19, 2006
if he can avoid the temptation of the hook Yeah, and if the moon turns blue. That boy can't bat when he's resisting anything that comes naturally to him, and sadly the hook still does. He needs to spend a long time getting rid of it, but as far as I can tell he hasn't yet. The best England can hope for is that he continues to play naturally and gets as lucky as he seems to more often than most. If they send him out there with instructions to play his own game "but don't hook", he'll score about five runs. I think the batsmen ahead of bowlers selections come not only because of the likely pitches, but also because of the scoring system. A good innings for a bowler in terms of strike (say, five wickets) will only net you 50 points. A half century will get you the same from a batsman, but its arguable which contribution is more valuable to a team performance. Plus, a bowler can bowl very well and do a good economical job for the team without getting any points under this system. Gilly seemed an obvious choice for me - he takes a lot of catches as keeper and can go ballistic with the bat if the opportunity presents itself. In theory, Jones can do the same, but it's worth bearing in mind that he a) might not play, b) can't catch and c) often disappoints with the bat!
posted by JJ at 05:07 AM on November 20, 2006
Fat Buddha: England, Wales, Ireland and Papua New Guinea 0 LOL. Just out of interest, who's the Irish person? owlhouse: What about South Africa, Fat Buddha? You even picked one of them :-). Two! Strauss *and* Pieterson. And if we're being thorough, we may as well add Zimbabwe for the coach.
posted by afx237vi at 08:06 AM on November 20, 2006
Jeez, how could I have forgotten Pieterson, who couldn't be more South African if he tried. Ed Joyce is the Irishman, but he is unlikely to get a game. With the battery of pace the Aussies are likely to select, expect many catches behind the stumps and in the slips.
posted by Fat Buddha at 08:28 AM on November 20, 2006
England- Flintoff and Jones Australia- Pointing and Gilchrist Series- England 3-1
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:40 AM on November 20, 2006
A good innings for a bowler in terms of strike (say, five wickets) will only net you 50 points Actually, JJ, it's 20 for a wicket, so a 5 wicket haul gets you 100. Generally 5 wickets in an innings is considered the bowler's equivalent of a ton, so I based the scoring on that. The 10 points is for a catch, going to the fielder. Still a few more days to get your entries in, or change what you've got. Especially if England put Read in ahead of Jones (unlikely but possible). I'll keep the lines open until well into the first session on Thursday, to take into account any injuries or other late changes.
posted by owlhouse at 05:13 PM on November 20, 2006
I've read the rules of the game bit I feel I will never get a true appreciation for it until I get to see a full game played. Anyone know where I can get a cricket game in the states?
posted by HATER 187 at 06:33 PM on November 20, 2006
Eng - Flintoff and Strauss Aus - Warne and Ponting Eng 3 - Aus 1
posted by gspm at 09:32 PM on November 20, 2006
Selection news - as of Wednesday. For the Poms, Bell is doubtful but will probably play. For the Cobbers, Watson is out with a hamstring and has been replaced by Michael Clarke. I think this actually strengthens the Australian team. This latter change doesn't affect anyone's picks. No-one in their right mind would pick Shane Watson in any case - the selectors have been bullied by England's success with Freddie Flintoff into finding an all rounder. But Watson is not Test standard with either bat or ball. Have you noticed how the Aussies act like it's the Second Coming whenever he flukes a wicket in one day games? He also looks like he can't believe it himself. But maybe I'm being harsh.
posted by owlhouse at 04:27 PM on November 21, 2006
count me in. I will pick England - Flintoff (what a man) and Pieterson Australia - two legends Warne and Ponting Australia to win 2-1
posted by onyanellie at 03:52 PM on November 22, 2006
From the BBC text commentary : "1629: Pietersen beats Hussey with a wicked turner. He's looking a bigger threat than Giles at the moment, but then so might my nan, and she's been toes-up for 10 years. 307-3 " and, my favourite : "1641: Giles is soldiering on, he's been a little trooper. Mind you, so have I: I've written almost 6,000 words so far today. My dissertation wasn't much longer than that. I made most of that up as I went along as well. If only I'd taken it more seriously, I might not be here having my spirit crushed. Three from Gilo's over. 313-3 "
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:12 AM on November 23, 2006
It's a marathon, not a sprint, Mr B. Are you going to enter? Still room.
posted by owlhouse at 08:02 PM on November 23, 2006
By the way - what is the schedule of Tests and is there anyway to watch this in the U.S.? Can't say about the US or Canada, but ABC radio coverage is being streamed on: www.abc.net.au/sport and click on the Ashes broadcast link on the right hand side. You might not understand some of the terms, but Mr Bismarck's FPP can help. Although it can't possibly explain the phenomenon that is Kerry O'Keeffe.
posted by owlhouse at 08:54 PM on November 23, 2006
I can enter, but if I pick Hussey, purely on the basis of the Times article I read yesterday, does it look like cheating, on the back of his 86? I don't mind not scoring anything for the first innnings. I'll have Hussey and Langer for Borstal South and Pieterson and Freddie for England. The convicts win 3-0. Which, on current evidence, is generous to the tourists.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:12 AM on November 24, 2006
A history of the Ashes contest here. The way this fantasy league works is for each player to pick TWO players from Australia and TWO from England. You get 1 point for each run scored as a batsman and 20 points for each wicket taken as a bowler. There are also 10 points per catch in the field. The total at the end of the five Tests will be the winner. The England squad, with pen pix, is here. NB : Forte described as RHB - Right Hand Bat, RF - Right Arm Fast Bowler, LS - Left Arm Slow Bowler, WK - Wicketkeeper etc Likely batting line up is: Strauss, Andrew - LHB Cook, Alistair - LHB Bell, Ian - RHB Pietersen, Kevin - RHB Collingwood, Paul - RHB Flintoff, Andrew (c) - RHB/RF Jones, Geraint - RHB/WK Giles, Ashley - LS Harmison, Steve - RF Hoggard, Matthew - RF Anderson, James - RF Possible other selections: Read in for Jones as WK, Panesar in for Giles as LS, Mahmood in for Anderson as RF. The Australian players are here. Likely batting line up: Langer, Justin - LHB Hayden, Matthew - LHB Ponting, Ricky (c) - RHB Martyn, Damien - RHB Hussey, Michael - LHB Watson, Shane - RHB, RF Gilchrist, Adam - LHB/WK Warne, Shane - RS Lee, Brett - RF Johnson, Mitchell - LF McGrath, Glenn - RF Possible other selections: Clark in for Johnson as RF, Tait in for Johnson as RF For stats geeks, more information on current international players is available at Howstat. A parallel contest will be to pick the Ashes series winning team, and the margin. There are 5 Tests, and each Test has four possible outcomes - England win, Australia win, a draw or a tie. Since there have only been two tied Tests in the history of all international cricket, picking that would be a longshot! For our purposes, a draw and a tie equal no result. The schedule of Tests is: First Test: The 'Gabba, Brisbane Nov 23-27 Second Test: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Dec 1-5 Third Test: WACA, Perth Dec 14-18 Fourth Test: MCG, Melbourne Dec 26-30 Fifth Test: SCG, Sydney Jan 2-6 Entries close Day 1 of the First Test. What you need to tell me are two names from each team, and the winner/margin for the series. Good luck!