CricViz have teamed up with Sage to provide some tips and tricks into how to nail your team selection.

Powerplay Dashers primed for big points

The second season of the Men’s Hundred has seen an uptick in both strike rate (from 139 in 2021 to 145 in 2022) and batting average (24 to 29) inside the batting Powerplay. This could partly be due to the flatter nature of pitches on offer this season but a more likely explanation for this is sides gradually adapting to the required batting tempo of a 100 ball innings and changing their approach and roles of batters within their sides accordingly.

Four of the six leading Powerplay run scorers so far in the Men’s Hundred are primarily deployed to take advantage of the opening 25 balls with just two fielders out with Salt, Lyth, Hales and Rossington all boasting Powerplay strike rates above 170 – targeting Powerplay dashers should yield plenty of fantasy points with boundaries galore flowing for them so far this season. 

Luke Wood’s bowling approach brings fantasy reward

Luke Wood has been on the fringes on the England white ball sides in recent months and the left arm quick has continued to deliver so far in the Hundred, finding himself as the second leading points scorer among bowlers so far in the Men’s Hundred. 

Wood tends to bowl the difficult overs for Trent Rockets, bowling in both the Powerplay and at the Death but this supports his case as a fantasy asset – the left armer is the leading Powerplay wicket taker so far in the competition and with his ability to swing the new ball brings the pads into play, giving fantasy owners bonus points for lbw and bowled dismissals. 

Trent Rockets look likely to go deep into the Men’s competition and with fixtures against strugglers Southern Brave and Welsh Fire to round out the group phase, Luke Wood should be in everyone’s side at just 6 credits. 

Emerging talent – Jordan Cox

Will Jacks may be the headline name for the Oval Invincibles so far but with both Jason Roy and Sam Billings struggling with the bat another young English batter has stepped up and performed admirably alongside Jacks.

Wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox has scores of 39(30), 48(29) and 61*(33) in his three innings so far and looks adept against both pace and spin bowling, with a strike rate above 150 against both types. Cox could be elevated into a more prominent role in the batting lineup considering the struggles of Billings and has shown his strength in front of square on both sides of the wicket and at 6.5 credits provides another value option for fantasy teams. 

Keep an eye on availability

With the likes of Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell leaving The Hundred for the CPL keeping tabs on potential replacement players could be the difference for your fantasy team – both in terms of targeting players coming in as well as looking at players who may be given elevated roles in their sides as a result of team changes. Tristan Stubbs may bat higher and bowl more frequently for Manchester Originals in their remaining games with Andre Russell departing, whereas Jordan Thompson may find himself taking over the finishing role from Kieron Pollard for London Spirit.