CricViz have teamed up with Sage to provide some tips and tricks into how to nail your team selection.
As the 2022 Women’s Hundred builds towards its climax, Fantasy players will be looking to recruit the very best performers from the remaining teams: Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, and Trent Rockets. Two games, three teams – and only one winner.
Smriti Mandana and Suzie Bates have been two of the most eye-catching performers in the Womens’ Hundred this season. They both stand among the highest scorers in the tournament full stop, but specifically in the Powerplay: Bates has amassed 113 Powerplay runs this season, while Mandhana has managed 108. While all runs are created equal, and score the same number of points in Fantasy, the nature of Women’s Hundred can make Powerplay runs far more reliable. With fielders up, these two experienced international operators are superb at finding gaps and maximising these early scoring opportunities. Banking on their ability to continue this trend in the last two matches is a sensible call.
However, if you want to go in another direction, Southern Brave have been particularly effective in the latter stages of the innings. The final 25 balls have seen Brave score at a strike rate of 154, second only to the Oval Invincibles: Sophia Dunkley (strike rate 169), Freya Kemp (158) and Georgia Adams (164) have all made significant contributions in this phase across the competition. While it’s higher risk to focus your attention on these players given they might not face a ball, when they do get the opportunity, they can rack up runs – and points – at a rapid rate.
Trent Rockets bring a different set of opportunities for Fantasy players. The most interesting player on show, as often is the case, is Nat Sciver. The England all-rounder has had a superb tournament with bat and with ball, taking more Powerplay wickets (five) than any other player in the competition. However, it’s her batting which comes to the fore this weekend. Sciver’s ability to hit twos (having hit 14 this season, the most of any player) is a marked point of difference to the other star batters on show in the play-offs, and gives her scoring potential a nice low-risk middling-reward quality. With the tension inherent in knockout cricket likely to be an influential factor, Sciver’s calmer approach to accruing runs could be of enormous value.
In terms of venues, the last two matches of the tournament come with some specific characteristics. On Friday, the competition heads to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, Southern Brave’s home venue – and the highest scoring ground in the competition to date. That has fed into the strengths of their side, both allowing for Mandhana to go hard at top and for lower order batters to hit cleanly and aggressively from the outset in the backend overs. However, should they progress to the final on Saturday, conditions are rather different. Lord’s has the lowest average score for any ground in the Women’s Hundred, and offers a completely different set of challenges for Southern Brave’s attacking batting lineup. Be aware of this when selecting your team – success on Friday doesn’t automatically bring success on Saturday.
