CLT20 2014: Fantasy Guru - Closing stages of the tournament
Barbados Tridents v Hobart Hurricanes
Transfers made – 5; Transfers remaining – 12
Brendon McCullum - Aiden Blizzard
Dwayne Smith - Shoaib Malik
Suresh Raina - Jonathan Carter
Craig Simmons - Jeevan Mendis
Mitchell Marsh - Robin Uthappa (combination reasons)
Perhaps, losing out on their star players to other franchises has been a blessing in disguise for Barbados Tridents. They may not have won anything, yet, but the kind of talent that has been on show – the likes of Jonathan Carter and Raymon Reifer – has lighted up the tournament with the typical Caribbean flair. While Reifer’s 60* stole the show in their first encounter, against Kings XI Punjab, Carter took it to a whole new level with his 111* against Cape Cobras in their very next match. It wasn’t all plain slogging; they timed their big shots well and held their shape, all the more reason to have them in the team for this fixture.
Hobart Hurricanes’ new ball threat will make sure these two get enough playing time in the middle, and the fact that their only frontline spinner Xavier Doherty also happens to be a left-arm bowler could play it into the hands of these two southpaws. They are inexperienced and flashy, so you can never be sure of what is on cards; however, at this stage of the game with enough transfers in hand, both of them are worth their spots.
Jeevan Mendis is one other Tridents’ player who will make it into my team. The leg-spinner has been amongst the wickets in addition to being economical in his two matches so far: 4/27 and 2/18; add to it that he will be bowling to batsmen who aren’t adept in handling slow bowling, with the exception of Shoaib Malik, and that Karanveer Singh was extracting enough purchase at the venue, against Northern Knights, you will get why I am pushing for him. Not to forget, he is quite capable with the bat, as well, and can chip in with valuable runs, batting at No. 5.
Coming to the Hobart Hurricanes side of it, while Aiden Blizzard has the Mendis-threat hanging around him, one bowler is no reason to leave out a batsman who bats at No. 3 and has been in good touch in the tournament. Malik’s off-cutters could scalp a wicket or two, given that the opposition has a plenty of left-handers, and he could cash in on the weak death bowling attack of the Tridents: get him in!
Something that I have been noticing with this Hurricanes set-up is that since they have too many pace bowling options, the wickets get equally shared and hence Ben Laughlin, even on his best days, is struggling to give back returns as he usually does. That they have Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger rules him out from new ball spells, too.
Captaincy pick: Shoaib Malik/Jeevan Mendis
Cape Cobras v Kings XI Punjab
Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 9
Aiden Blizzard - Hashim Amla
Shoaib Malik - David Miller
Aizaz Cheema - Karanveer Singh
It would only be a matter of time before one of Akshar Patel or Karanveer Singh scalps Richard Levi, despite the South African being in his best form; it leaves us with only one reliable option in the Cobras’ batting unit – Hashim Amla. The South African Test team captain could capitalise on the weak pace bowling unit of Kings XI and would be at home against the spinners, too.
With Glenn Maxwell already in my team, a choice has to be made between the Punjab-based side’s openers and David Miller. If the Cobras have any threat with their bowling, it is up front with the new ball, so getting in one of Virender Sehwag or Manan Vohra could backfire given their nature of play. Miller, on the other hand, is a much secure option.
While Akshar can be economical, Karanveer could easily run through the opposition, making him more preferable. The Cobras batsmen had no answer to Mendis’ in their last fixture, and it wouldn’t any different this time around, either.
Captaincy pick: Glenn Maxwell or Karanveer Singh