Fantasy Points update June 13

The fantasy table has a new leader. V. Patel [Merrion] tops a table of 1,791 players, with consistent points earned across the spectrum. 281 runs, 22 wickets, 3 catches in 12 games have seen him rise to the pinnacle of Leinster cricket. Open-top bus parades, adoration of thousands (perhaps that should read a decoration of hundreds and thousands) and in all probability, medals and awards galore await if he can hold this position for another 3 months.

Previous leader Jeremy Dunleavy [Pembroke] was without a game last week and consequently fell off the podium to fourth place. A. Yadav [Adamstown] is in third, whilst I. Smillie [Clontarf] had a great week scoring 245 points and move from 14^th to second. However, V. Patel’s [Merrion] 166 points was enough to leap above the previous 5 players above him and hold off I. Smillie’s charge and sees him top the table with 891 points.

P. Unregistered, the favourite player of the OCC, has now appeared 7 times. Leinster is his preferred club, turning out for them twice, but also appearing for Lucan, Sandyford, Adamstown, Merrion and North County. 81 runs, 3 wickets and 1 catch lead to a point total of 241, good enough for 425^th place.

Leading wicket takers with 25 wickets are S. Rice [Greystones-7^th overall] (at an average of 11.16) and another product of the Pembroke youth academy, and the Tucker academy, Diarmaid Tucker [Pembroke-5^th overall](average 14.40). 992 players have taken at least one wicket bowling.

Leading run scorer is C. McLoughlin [The Hills – 16^th overall] with 470 runs at an average of 117.50. This is an average which is bettered by only three players on our entire list. 1,593 players have scored at least one run, and whilst 59 of them have scored just one run, 327 players have scored 100 runs or over for the season, and just 45 have scored more than 250. Highest batting average belongs to K. Merchant [YMCA] with 132.00 over 3 innings and with 2 not outs. 

J. Kerrison [Leinster – 141^st overall] has the most catches, 12 and in combination with his stumpings the most dismissals, 14. 852 players have taken a catch this season so far. 57 keepers have taken a stumping, including a province leading 5 for R. Watkins [Merrion – 165^th], who has only one catch, which is an unusual ratio of catches to stumpings.

The top 25 overall point scorers, and looking at 25^th place you’ll soon realise why the cut-off point was made there, are as follows:

Finally, a few other statistics.

55 centuries have been scored, but only 3 players have scored two. P. Collins [R&SPU]; C. McLoughlin [The Hills]; and Richard Forrest [Dublin University]. 292 half centuries have been recorded with H. Tanveer [Civil Service] the only player to score four. Adnan Khan [Dublin University] has played 7 games without making it to the middle with his bat. R. Weir [Malahide] has the most innings, 4, without a run. Here’s hoping he can break that duck soon.

Best bowling figures in Leinster cricket go to Adam Ellison [Rush] with 7/11 with P. Collins [R&SPU] second with 7/33. 14 players have taken six wickets in an innings. At the other end of the scale, S. Cassidy [Leinster] has a bowling average of 277.00, but there are a further 16 players whose average is in three figures.

There is no hiding place in Leinster Cricket fantasy points table….. be warned.

Following on from the LCU team of the week, it seemed to be a good idea to expand this to include all players, not just the Senior teams. Therefore, for this week only, we feature a “fantasy-point-team-of-the-week”. The top 11 points scorers for just the past seven days. In reverse order we showcase those players who shined whilst the sun did. This is not an exact listing, as some players may have benefitted from late scorecards, or amended scorecards.

In 11^th place and securing his place by a margin of just 5 points is R. Abbasi [Castleknock] who scored 175 points and is in 31^st place on the overall table.

In 10^th spot is N. Muhammad [R&SPU] with 183 points this week and 23^rd overall.

9^th spot goes to J.J. Garth [Pembroke], an under 13 player who helped Pembroke 6ths win only their second cup match ever with his maiden half century (71) and 4 wickets for 6 runs. This game saw him score 191 points and more than double his previous points total (183) and moved up from 525^th place to 168^th. This is a rise of 357 places.

8^th place, with just two points more this week (193 points), goes to M. Saqi [North County] who moved from 122^nd into the top 25 overall.

7^th place is another who featured in Pembroke’s weekend cup wins is very definitely an over 13 player, Rupert Heather [Pembroke] whose 203 points over the weekend sees him move to 169^th overall, just one place behind teammate, for Pembroke and “team-of-the-week”, JJ Garth. Rupert took a five wicket haul and scored quick and valuable runs to secure his place.

6^th place is Rex Walsh [Merrion] scored 215 points, nearly doubling his seasons total and entered the top 100 overall.

5^th is S. Shahzad [Civil Service] is one of only two players on our “team of the week” who averages over 50 with bat and his 220 points sees him in 35^th overall.

4^th goes to one of two Laois players in our side. M. Mughal [Laois] scored more points last week then his total for the rest of the season with 235 last week, rising to 75^th overall.

3^rd is our runner-up overall, I. Smillie [Clontarf] whose 245 points nearly saw him lead overall. 15 matches played this season, the most in Leinster; already I. Smillie has been busy with bat and ball. One catch, six wickets and 65 runs in the past week have helped him soar to second overall just 5 points from the lead.

2^nd, or first runner-up, is J Short [Merrion] with 275 points. 689^th last week, he now stands at 112^th overall with his total points having risen from 145 to 420, an incredible leap forward.

However, top of our “team of the week” scored an amazing 354 points. A total that by itself would reach the top 200, but for this player it has seen him move up to 6^th place overall from 50^th. He was a long time leader overall last season and it is good to see him returning to the top. R. Meraj [Laois] had a fabulous week with 4 games going into his figures. 3 wickets, over 150 runs, and the addition of seven catches helped him achieve such a high point total. It would seem that Laois have updated some scorecards that were missing some catchers’ names, but even allowing for this, it is a magnificent jump in points and a worthy leader of our team.

So our team of the week, who scored in total 2,489 points in one week, is:

R. Meraj [Laois]; J. Short [Merrion]; I. Smillie [Clontarf]; M. Mughal [Laois]; S. Shahzad [Civil Service]; Rex Walsh [Merrion]; Rupert Heather [Pembroke]; M. Saqi [North County]; J.J. Garth [Pembroke]; N. Muhammad [R&SPU] and; R. Abbasi [Castleknock].

As usual you can request your figures, your Club’s figures or even your province’s figures by email, craig@cricket.ie, twitter, @craigpcc, or even leave a comment on this article. You may wish to ask for your own figures and those of your teammates, seeing who is performing and who is looking at the team below. In fact any feedback is welcomed, including statistics you’d like to see more of and even the ones you’d like to see less of. If there are any categories you like to see at all, please let me know. Which Club has the most points per player? Answer to that one is North County with an average per player of 239 points.