With Mohammad Abbas leading the way in the Cricket Draft dream team, The Cricketer give you the inside track on picking your fantasy County Championship XI
Starting to dropdown the leaderboard after two rounds of The Cricket Draft? Well, look no further, as The Cricketer takes you through the star drafts, as well as some more affordable bargain buys from the seven County Championship matches taking place in the third round. To play The Cricket Draft, head to www.thecricketdraft.com.
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Toby Roland-Jones; bowler; £142k
Another five wickets against Northamptonshire sees RoJo sit as the third top points scorer overall, and is a luxury worth having.
Ryan Higgins; allrounder; £129k
Still only selected by 10 per cent, Higgins continued his fine form with the bat with another half-century, and looked as threatening as ever with the ball.
Dane Paterson; bowler; £138k
The Great Dane, as he is known at Trent Bridge, has had a great start to the season, picking up 11 wickets, and offers a good differential as he is selected by just 2 per cent of managers.
Bargain Buys
Luke Hollman; allrounder; £79k
Entrusted with the role of Middlesex’s frontline spinner, and already showing promising signs with the bat, Hollman offers consistent points at an affordable price.
Brett Hutton; bowler; £83k
Picking up nine wickets in his first match of the season sees Hutton earn a form rating of 9.4. With a price of £83k, he's a steal given his current form.
Injury list
Luke Fletcher (ankle, doubtful)
The best performing Cricket Draft players in gameweek 2
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Lewis Gregory; allrounder; £119k
Gregory took career-best bowling figures, and his third ten-wicket haul, despite Somerset’s thrashing against Nottinghamshire, continuing his bright start to the season.
Peter Siddle; bowler; £128k
The Australian seamer is second in the list of Somerset’s top point scorers, offering a differential given his 3 per cent ownership and well-documented quality.
Tom Bailey; allrounder; £131k
Lancashire’s top points scorer, Bailey has seven wickets to his name so far, and looks set to enjoy another prolific season with the ball.
Bargain Buys
George Bell; wicketkeeper; £57k
Bell rewarded his owners with twin half-centuries against Essex, and looks a solid wicketkeeping option to free up some funds elsewhere in your side.
Steven Croft; batter; £84k
Croft’s record precedes him, offering a cheap option from whom you know you can expect big returns throughout the season.
Injury list
None
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Ben Compton; batter; £115k
Compton fell just 12 runs short of a scoring a century in a sixth consecutive match, with the opener looking as comfortable as ever at the crease.
Matt Critchley; allrounder; £124k
A key part of Essex’s unbeaten start to the season, Critchley has starred with the bat especially, hitting three half-centuries in four innings to this point.
Jamie Porter; bowler; £117k
Porter’s new-ball spells at Lord’s in the season’s first match were mesmerising, and with his opening partner Sam Cook an injury doubt, investing in Porter just makes sense.
Bargain Buys
Joey Evison; allrounder; £80k
Getting out on 99 is never an easy pill to swallow, but Evison’s impressive rear-guard action against Warwickshire should offer him as an attractive investment given his price.
Ben Allison; bowler; £84k
Allison will most likely be called upon if Cook is injured, and showed last season his ability with both bat and ball, meaning his affordable price is worth taking a gamble on.
Injury list
Sam Cook (hamstring, doubtful)
Grant Stewart (tight side, doubtful)
Nathan Gilchrist (back, doubtful)
Ben Compton of Kent has 316 points after two gameweeks
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Mohammad Abbas; bowler; £146k
Abbas has got off to a flying start this season, adding a six-fer against Surrey to nine wickets in the match in the first game of 2023. The bowler goes into this gameweek sitting top of the points chart.
Chris Tremain; bowler; £121k
Tremain is the second-top wicket taker so far this season, and offers a cheaper alternative to Abbas with a low ownership, selected by just 2 per cent.
Rob Keogh; allrounder; £106k
A century in the opening fixture was backed up an unbeaten half-century against Middlesex, with this fixture a good time to try and profit oft Keogh’s great form in the middle.
Bargain Buys
Fletcha Middleton; batter; £47k
A prolonged stint at the top of the Hampshire order appears iminent for Middleton, whose combination of price and guaranteed points would allow other luxury purchases in other areas.
Gareth Berg; bowler; £88k
His experience means Berg will be relied upon by Northamptonshire when the going gets tough, with the bowler offering an affordable option for the bench of your squad.
Injury list
Emilio Gay (knee, unavailable)
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Jack Haynes; batter; £109k
A first century of the season came in vein as Worcestershire fell to defeat, but Haynes looks set to continue his fine form from last season, offering an attractive option to those looking for something different, given his 3 per cent selection
Marcus Harris; batter; £131k
Despite Gloucestershire’s washout against Yorkshire, Harris’s first game performance sees him sit higher than all-but-two of Worcestershire’s squad, meaning the Australian is worth backing given his ability to go big - at least until The Ashes.
Tom Price; allrounder; £98k
Like Harris, there was enough evidence in Price’s first-round performance to justify selection in this fixture, with his cheaper price compared to other popular allrounders.
Bargain Buys
Matthew Waite; bowler; £83k
Waite tops Worcestershire’s points chart, and will be looking to improve on his showing against Durham, with this offering an interesting proposition for those looking to take a risk.
Ben Gibbon; bowler; £60k
With six-wickets in the match against Durham, there are not many options out there who offer better value for their points, with Gibbon offering a cheap option to come into your side if your starters unexpected miss out, or are part of an abandoned game.
Injury list
David Payne (ankle, unavailable)
Worcestershire's Ben Gibbon could make a great bargain buy [Stu Forster/Getty Images]
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
David Bedingham; batter; £125k
Bedingham announced himself in the 2023 season with scores of 118 and 86 against Worcestershire, with his ownership of 5 per cent offering an attractive proposition.
Matt Kuhnemann; bowler; £108k
After the Australian spun Durham to victory with a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings, the bowler’s quality is clear at a price that does not break the bank.
Ben Raine; allrounder; £125k
Sitting with a form rating of 7.8, Raine has made an excellent start to the 2023 season, averaging over 50 with bat and under 30 with ball, offering an alternative option for that allrounder slot.
Bargain Buys
Billy Root; batter; £73k
Root was unbeaten in both innings in Glamorgan’s draw against Gloucestershire two weeks ago, including a first innings 117 not out, offering a cheap option for one of your batter slots.
Eddie Byrom; batter; £77k
Another standout performer of Glamorgan’s opening fixture with a first-innings 86, and third-innings 36 not out, Byrom’s 154 points were some of the cheapest on offer from the first round.
Injury list
None
The Cricketer’s Star Drafts
Nathan McAndrew; bowler; £107k
The Australian made an impressive start to the season with six wickets, and a form rating of 8.5 suggests it may be worth investing in him ahead of this fixture.
Cheteshwar Pujara; batter; £155k
Pujara scores avalanches of runs for Sussex, with an inevitable century in Sussex’s first match of the season confirming this, demonstrating it may be difficult to avoid the Indian’s selection.
Dawid Malan; batter; £127k
The England international has shown his quality on the biggest stage, but a call-up for The Ashes is extremely unlikely, meaning Yorkshire - and your squad - could benefit hugely.
Bargain Buys
Finlay Bean; batter; £59k
Bean celebrated his 21st birthday earlier this week and has been given the backing of Ottis Gibson at the top of the order for Yorkshire, meaning he provides a cheap points-scoring option.
Oliver Carter; wicketkeeper; £81k
Carter offers a different option in your wicketkeeper position, and offers handy points with the bat as well, hitting the winning runs against Durham two weeks ago.
Injury list
Matt Milnes (back, doubtful)
Jonny Bairstow (leg, unavailable)
Neil Wagner (leg, unavailable)
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The standings in The Cricketer's league after two weeks
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