18th September 2006

Apologies for the delay in the update to the Fantasy League, but the final scores have all now been recorded and the winner can be announced.

Congratulations to Richard Bamford & Paul Michaels who have scooped this years prizes! Top Banana just edged out All the Presidents Men to the £100 prize in the last week after some inspired contributions from Rich Moore & Pete Jackson.

Paul Michaels, who featured as the All Rounder in Top Banana, sealed another good season by becoming the 1st player in Fantasy GKCC history to retain the Individual Prize. Pauls contribution of 524 runs, 20 wickets & 3 catches earned him 1,204 fantasy points.

So there we are, another season come & gone. In 2006 we have seen a total of 12,058 fantasy points earned, 5,268 runs scored, 231 wickets taken, 126 catches held, 5 stumpings, 6 five-fors, 1 hat-trick, 31 MOM's, 31 TFC's & 34 ducks - roll on 2007!

4th September 2006

Ander is now on holiday and didn't get the opportunity to email me the updated fantasy league so it will have to wait a couple of weeks.

27th August 2006

One week to go and the fantasy competition is a real nail biter for the top two teams. With only a mere 32 points separating All The Presidents Men & Top Banana, Saturdays games are going to determine the £100 prize winner. As both teams have Ander Wilson & Paul Michaels, Doreen Timpson will be hoping that Andy Swain, Luke Wright & Sam Colebeck put in good displays, whilst Rich Bamford will hope that Rich Moore, Pete Jackson & of course himself, can score some big fantasy points to take the 1st prize.

And not to add any further pressure on Rich Bamford, he stands a great chance of winning the 1st XI batting cup if he can put in another good performance with the bat.

The individual competition meanwhile is just as exciting as Paul Michaels, having missed the previous 3 weeks games has finally been overtaken by 2nd XI skipper Ander Wilson. Having picked up 140 fantasy points on Saturday, Ander has moved 59 points ahead of Paul going into the final week. And with Martin Smith only 118 points off the top spot, another top class performance from the 1st XI skipper could see him take the bottle of champagne at the dinner.

20th August 2006

With only the 2nd XI getting a game this week there was little movement in the league.

Doreen Timpson's 'All The Presidents Men' stay 33 points ahead of Top Banana with only 2 games to go. Paul Michaels meanwhile still leads the individual competition, despite not playing for the past 2 weeks.

13th August 2006

Despite 2 excellent wins for both sides this week the fantasy point scoring was relatively low with Chris Young & David Edwards top scoring with 87 points, and both were just pipped for the MOM award by Sam Colebeck & Jim Anderson respectively.

So as a result there is a new leader in the league competition as All The Presidents Men managed by Doreen Timpson reclaimed the top spot 33 points ahead of Richard Bamfords' Top Banana.

6th August 2006

With the fantasy competition so close it was no surprise to see some dramatic changes to both competitions this week. Paul Michaels amazing contribution of 80 runs with the bat & 5 wickets helped him to his 3rd MOM of the season with a record 280 fantasy points. This mammoth score has moved Paul up to the top of the Individual competition as he looks to win the prize for the 2nd year in succession.

Rich Bamford showed his class again as he scored a superb 87 not out in the 1st XI's frustrating draw at home to Cookham Dean. His MOM performace not only helped him to the 25 bonus points but it has also sent his own team, Top Banana, to the top of the fantasy table, a mere 2 points ahead of Doreen Timpsons 'All The Presidents Men'.

Nick Hallatts late arrival to the game & early departure was considered to be a worthy reason to get the TFC for the 1st XI despite contributing with bat.

Paddy Stockwell, after last weeks superb performance, was brought back down to earth with a bang as he failed to score and deservedly picked up the TFC for the 2nd XI despite Jamie Tuffneys best efforts to snatch it for himself.

30th July 2006

As last weeks game fell victim to the weather, there was no change in the fantasy rankings. This week however has seen some dramatic changes in the team competition while Martin Smith excelled with the bat again to take a commanding lead in the individual competition.

Martins 91 runs, 1 wicket & a catch in the 1st XI's game against Littlewick Green on Saturday gave him a superb 171 fantasy points. Nearest rival Ander Wilson failed to score any fantasy points in the 2's and as a result Martin has extended his lead to 183 points.

The Team competition is really where all of the drama lies. With only 5 games to go, Nick Mitchell has relinquished the top spot having led the way for the previous 6 weeks. Richard Brutons 'The Chance to Shiners' have made a recent surge up the table as they climb up from 3rd to 1st, with a slender 58 point lead over 'smash smash smash' managed by Martin Smith.

With only 168 points separating the top 9 teams, the run in to the end of the season will without doubt be a nail biter for the Team Managers in contention. 

17th July 2006

It's been a weekend of contrasting fortunes, but without doubt the highlight was Martin Smiths impressive unbeaten knock of 116. Not enough to win the game for his side, but undoubtedly the winner of the 1st XI MOM for this week. Tom Hylton, who had little chance to impress on a day that the top order batsmen managed to put some runs on the board was somewhat harshly given the TFC.

Meanwhile the 2nd XI did not really deserve to have a Man of the Match bestowed upon them after their uncharacteristic performance on Saturday, but it was eventually awarded to Ander Wilson for his 4 wickets & a catch. Surprisingly, no batmen were considered for this accolade, however David Pope took the TFC for his duck on a day when 6 or 7 players were all in close competition for the award.

After this weeks scores the league table looks rather different as 'All the Presidents Men' managed by none other than Mrs President herself, closed the gap on league leaders, Team Legs, to only 51 points. The biggest mover this week was Richard Bruton and his 'Chance to Shiners' who have climbed up a staggering 8 places up to 3rd only 70 points behind Doreen Timpson.

Congratulations to Stuart Morgan and his Kop Outs, having finally broken the 1000 point mark. Unfortunately the K.O's have less than double the points of the top two teams, languishing 1168 points behind Team Legs.

8th July 2006

With the absence of both Pete Jackson & Giggsy Jayaweera this week there has been some significant changes in the fantasy competition league table. Club President Doreen Timpsons team, All the Presidents Men, has moved up an astonishing 6 places into 2nd. But it is Team Legs under the guidance of Nick Mitchell who continue to lead the way by a clear 90 points.

Stuart Morgan had a great opportunity to help his team, The Kop Outs, improve their position in the league but was surprisingly out very cheaply and as a result picked up the TFC award for this week.

2nd July 2006

Surprisingly on a such a glorious summers day on 2 good batting tracks, it was 2 bowlers who claimed the MOM bonus points this week. David Edwards 5 wickets & Ander Wilson's 6 made the choices relatively easy. But in the TFC competition, mediocre contributions from Nick Mitchell & Giggsy Jayaweera were enough to just pip a few close contenders in a week where there was a total of 936 fantasy points won.

Nick Mitchells 2nd TFC of the season had little bearing on his own fantasy team as he extended his lead at the top of the table to 119 points. His closest rival, Chantelle Wilson, climbed up 2 spots in the table to 2nd with Ian Talmer only 22 points behind in 3rd.

The individual competition is really heating up as Ander takes top spot for the 1st time this season after earning his 211 points this week. Martin Smith follows closely in 2nd with 508 points with only 6 points separating positions 2,3 & 4.

25th June 2006

Rich Bamfords impressive performance, along with Paul Michaels superb 74 helped 'Top Banana' move up 12 places in the league. This seasons competition is more exciting than ever as there are so many teams that all stand a chance to win the competition. It was no surprise that with Giggsy missing this week there would be some changes at the top as he featured in the leading 5 teams going in to this week. But with some big points coming from, some would say, unlikely sources, the situation at the top of the table couldn't be closer at almost the half way stage of the season.

Paul Michaels, winner of both prizes last season, has started to show why he is the highest valued player in the competition. After a slow start to the season, Paul has scored some impressive fantasy points in recent weeks to put himself top of the individual competition.

Despite all the drama at the top of the table, the competition to avoid the Wooden Spoon has a certain ring of inevitability about it. The Kop Outs, managed by Stuart Morgan, have languished at the bottom of the table all season and remain 242 points behind Tony Priestleys' Pimms Grovers, his closest rival.

18th June 2006

After a low scoring week last time, we had two high scoring games and lots of points won in both sides. Martin Smith & Paul Michaels, two names which featured regularly last season, showed their class and demonstrated why their values are 14 & 15 respectively. Both players won the MOM awards for this week and taking the 25 bonus points. Martin Smith doing himself a big favour as his total weekly haul 138 points has helped him into 2nd place in the league table.

Team Legs continue to march on at the top, but it is getting extremely close in both competitions with any number of teams & players still capable of winning either prize. Although it looks like Jon Wyatt will be handing over the Wooden Spoon to Stuart Morgan and his Kop Outs, as they languish at the bottom of the table.

11th June 2006

Due to Taplow 2nd XI cancelling the fixture this weekend it was a low scoring week. Coupled with the fact that few 1st XI batsmen scored many runs there has been little change to the tables. Although one player has made a profound impact on the standings in both the team & player tables.

Alex Hallatt scoring 31 runs and taking a wicket gave him the MOM award for the 1st XI and the 25 bonus points. This meant Alex picked up a total of 76 points moving himself to the top of the individual points scorers and also helping his fantasy team move up 5 places in the table to 8th.

4th June 2006

Its all change at the top of the league table as Nick Mitchells' Team Legs make strides ahead of the rest after some brilliant performances from most of his team members. Doreen Timpsons' All the Presidents Men were the biggest movers this week as they raced up 10 places in the league.

Andy Swain earned 167 fantasy points this week deservedly so with his impressive 97 not out. Meanwhile the 2 Nicks, Hallatt & Mitchell also scored big this weekend for the 1st XI.

Ian Talmer, Luke Wright & Giggsy all did well this weekend for the 2's but despite Luke's MOM performance it is still Giggsy who leads the way in the individual competition.

Some people may notice that the 2nd XI didn't have a TFC this week. And I'm sure people analysing the scorecard will agree that it was simply an outstanding all round team effort from a very inexperienced side that ensured the victory and it would have been harsh to award the TFC to any individual.

Jamie Tuffney however will be donning the prestigious TFC shirt next week after successfully avoiding having to wear it previously after being called up to the 1st XI.

21st May 2006

This weekend was the Hallatt & Talmer show as Ian, Alex & Nick scored the big points in what, despite 2 completed games, was a low scoring week.

Giggsy keeps his place top of the individual table, but has Martin Davies only 2 points behind & Alex Hallatt, in excellent form, closing in on him.

In the league competition Heineken 8 stays top, but the competition is wide open with a whole host of teams only a few points apart.

You may notice that there have been a further 2 sides entered this week. The Ian Talmer All Stars & Jammyweera, however both teams have been given a 150 point (50 points per week) penalty for being late.

14th May 2006

In what was a disappointing weekend for both sides there were still some outstanding contributions from Giggsy, Howard Holmes, Alex Hallatt and Ian Talmer.

Not surprisingly the 3 top teams all feature Giggsy who scored 123 fantasy points to take his total to 209 for the season as he leads the way in the individual points table. Stuart Morgan is still sitting bottom of the table unsurprisingly as his team only managed to score 2 points this week!

In the past 4 years of this recent incarnation of the Fantasy GKCC Cricket League, this is the lowest score recorded by an entire team. A record that surely can't be broken?

7th May 2006

Heineken 8, managed by Chantelle Wilson, lead Peter Jacksons team by 71 points. After a great week from top performers Luke Wright, Ander & Giggsy, Chantelles' team have already scored an excellent 706 points. Meanwhile at the bottom of the table Stuart Morgans' Kop Outs are living up to their name with a meagre 293 points. Stuart will be hoping his comeback game comes sooner rather than later if he is to avoid the Wooden Spoon this year.

In the individual performances, this weeks MOM's were Martin Davies and Ander Wilson who also both lead the total individual table. Martin ahead of Ander by 8 points. This weeks TFC's were a difficult call. In the 1st XI Rich Moore just pipped Nick Hallatt to the most unwanted prize in the club. In the 2nd XI, it was a difficult decision, Jon Wyatt was very close to getting the award, scoring only 7 runs. But this week, the TFC for the 2nd XI goes to Jamie Tuffney, a harsh decision and not completely deserved. But, in a game where everyone made an outstanding contribution, Jamie just managed to win the award and take the coveted T-Shirt away from Howard Holmes next week.

2nd May 2006

So far we have had 2 late entries, but the return of two teams from last year. A new look Old Boys side, with some creative team selection from Paul Michaels & Dave's Dynamic Despots, the entry of David Edwards. Some of the observant of you will notice that Dave has not selected himself, as is required in the rules as a playing member. As he will be away, playing cricket for the University for much, but not all, of the summer, Dave has been invited to enter a fantasy side.

30th April 2006

The 29th April 2006 will for some live long in the memory. Alex Hallatt returned to form with the ball, taking 3 wickets and also scoring a useful 17 runs to score a total of 77 fantasy points. Ander Wilson took 2 wickets, a catch & scored 24 runs to record 74 fantasy points in the first week of action. But the day really belonged to 2 players, Jon De Beer & Peter Jackson. Jon was in fine form as he hit a much required 75 and earn the MOM to earn is 125 fantasy points. Meanwhile on the Common Peter Jackson recorded his highest score since 2003 and his 5th highest knock ever to not only win the game for the 2nd XI but also without doubt the Man of the Match bonus points.

Losing points this week were John Lanchbury (-10), Jim Walters (-25) & Howard Holmes (-35). With Jim not batting or taking wickets in his 4 over spell and in addition leaving the game at 6.30pm he was the worthy winner of of the 1st TFC. Howard meanwhile continued his form with the bat, managing to last 3 balls on this occasion but scoring 0 nonetheless. A nervy performance in the field from Howard ensured he just pipped John to the 2nd TFC.

So after Week 1, Heineken 8, the team of Chantelle Wilson leads Jacko's team by 1 point. But with 17 weeks to go, its all to play for as yet another GKCC Fantasy Season gets underway!