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MAD Fantasy Cricket
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James Hoskins has been running
the Far from the MCC’s Fantasy Cricket since it was realised back in 2006.
Nobody is quite sure of the exact formula he uses to generate player values,
but it is based over several previous seasons. That is unless the individual
is new to the team, in which case JMO will invent a costing factoring in head
size, drinking ability, self-importance and a modicum of mathematical
interaction based on the person’s potential cricketing ability. The competition is based on
the principal of you having 100 points to spend on 6 (six) Far from the MCC
cricketers. They can consist of any mixture of batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers or clowns. Points are awarded to each
Fantasy Team based on certain criteria after a match is completed (see the
point scoring system in James’ summary below).
James normally emails out
the latest updates on a week to week basis, unless
he’s got no coverage in whatever field he’s decided to set up his business
and sell pizzas. The winning team (highest point scorer) at the end of the
year will receive a percentage of the prize money based on the number of
entrants who joined the competition. James assures everyone it is not
rigged…. An extract from The MAD’s
20th year celebratory book ‘Never at This Level’,
written by [Stan] James (geddit?) is detailed
below…. |
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“A
MAD Fantasy”
(contribution
by James Hoskins – 2017)
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I
still remember the time clearly when MAD Fantasy Cricket was finally conceived
– travelling down the M40 (or were we on the M25 by then?), four (or was it
five?) MADsters on an out of season social in late 2005 (or was it early
2006?) – we were definitely in Moo’s car (I think) and very definitely on our
way to see Stevie D (although I can’t remember why), so yes, crystal clear
memories indeed. I
think we were talking about Fantasy Football and I think I was probably
commenting on how shit it was that we all spent hours poring over Fantasy
Football Costs to enter a team into a National Newspaper for a fiver only to
find five weeks later that we were in 141,323rd position out of 143,158
entrants, with little or no idea of who we had picked in the first place and
very little interest remaining in the whole thing. How
much more fun it would be if we could play Fantasy Cricket we all thought….and
hang on, what if we did it with our OWN team? By the time we had rolled up in
Stevenage the seed had been set, a basic format drawn out and MAD Fantasy
Cricket was alive. With a genuine interest in the mathematical challenges (of
creating a costing algorithm to ensure it would not be an easy task to select
a team you really wanted without spending all available resources) I
enthusiastically volunteered to run the competition for the following
season... just to see how it went….
Any mistakes are that of JMO’s MAC and not JMO. It
is indeed quite a challenge to ensure all of the players are priced in such a
way so their cost reflects potential point scoring
ability over the forthcoming season and no doubt readers are wondering the
exact ins-and-outs of the algorithm that produces the costings. But I
couldn’t possibly reveal that (since it is not an exact science). Suffice to
say it is a subtle mix of previous form (over as long as the player has been
playing), net rumours and head sizes. I’ve always thought that an indication
of getting the pricing policy right is the variance in teams selected – and
over the years there have only ever been a handful of duplicate teams.
Although as Jake once pointed out to me, that might have something to do with
the fact that there are 593,775 possible ways of selecting 6 players out of
30! Now,
due to a fatal backup failure at the end of the 2010 season (and it wasn’t a
MAC in those days) original MAD Fantasy records have sadly been lost in the
ether, but I seem to remember that we had about ten teams entering that first
year for a meagre £25 first prize. Year on year the popularity and intrigue
of the competition has seen the number of entries soar to over 50, with the
most recent First prize award of £135! If current trends continue as shown by
the graph below we should hit 100 entries by the
year 2028!
Over
the years the rules have been tinkered and tailored. Most rule changes have
stayed, and I think the only rule change that was reversed was that of
‘substitutions’ – an idea to keep your interest as a Team Manager should one
of your players become injured or have a baby mid-season. I have no idea why
I thought that one would be possible to administer, and substitutions were
quickly replaced by ‘Jokers’ as a way for lower rank teams to boost their way
up the table. Jokers remain as a popular feature and now include not only
Sunday game Joker play, but also T20 Jokers and the horrendously complicated
(if your name is Darley) ‘Tour’ Jokers. For
history’s sake here are the rules: Select
SIX players for your MAD Fantasy Cricket Team that cost a total of no more
than 100 points. Not forgetting to name your team something obscure (see Mark
Rundle), insulting (see Mark Rundle), deeply offensive (see Mark Rundle), or
bizarre (erm... see Mark Rundle).
Rundle (left) amusing some equally crude idiot with some deeply
offensive joke. By way of explanation of the scoring system, points are
awarded to players in your team thus:
A
Joker can be played on your team for one Sunday game and one T20 during the
season for which your Team’s points will be trebled and a Joker can be played
on any touring player in your Team for which that Player’s points scored on
tour will be trebled. Rule
changes as expected are directly proportional to the number of queries I get
about the rules, but in the case of a certain Mr A. Darley, rule changes
particularly surrounding Jokers are exponentially proportional to the number
of queries I get as shown by the graph below:
Basic
rules indeed, but it’s remarkable how much confusion this can cause in MAD
ranks – such as the absolute total misunderstanding of the whole point of the
game after a certain Mr D. Edwards entered a team costing 142 points which
consisted of the six most expensive players. I seem to remember an email
chain ensued…. Dan: “Well I want those six because they are the best.” Me: “But you can’t afford them.” Dan: “Who can I afford then?” Me: “Six players that cost no more than 100.” Dan: “So who can I swap out of my team?” Me: “For example you can swap Howarth out for Dobner and it
will save you ten points.” Dan: ”I’ll do that then.” Me: “OK, so now your team costs 132 points.” Dan: “So who else can I drop?” Me: “You could have the bottom six players.” Dan: “But half of them don’t even play.” …and
so, it went on….
Fantasy wasn’t one of Edwards’ strong points. It
has to be said I am not without fault during the scoring of the Fantasy
Points following a match. No matter how carefully I pore over the scorecard I
often seem to forget to account for a catch; or an Economy Bonus; or some
clever algorithm I have put into my spreadsheet fails to account for a Duck;
or a typo in a player’s name means they aren’t credited for their points… but
it’s usually within about three minutes of sending out the summary mail that
I will get a flurry of emails from the player I forgot the catch/bonus for;
the Managers who have that player in their teams and most consistently of all
– a certain Mr G. Timms who I am sure has a Fantasy Cricket Spreadsheet all
of his own installed permanently in his Cerebrum which updates ball by ball
as the Match unfolds. I am eternally grateful to all these corrections as it
keeps us all honest and above all, means that people are actually paying
attention – so that must be a good sign. I
am proud of the fact that Fantasy Cricket continues to entertain and has
become an integral part of MAD ethos. Discussion ensues pre-match around whether
or not to play Jokers and often in the field you can hear that extra groan
from a Fantasy Manager when one of their Players drops a catch. Post-match
comes the accusations of dropped Fantasy points or handshakes for good
Fantasy performances. So,
since we are all gluttons for statistics – here are a few MAD Fantasy stats
for our amusement below, and a detailed list of previous winners of the competition: Highest Fantasy Points scored
by a single player in a Match: 211 J.
Newman-Robson (vs OUP 2013) Highest Total Team Fantasy
Point Score in a Season: 5,128 C. D. Roberts
(Cheese and Pineapple) Number of cells in the 2017
Fantasy spreadsheet: 123,475 (no wonder
I make so many mistakes!) * MAD Fantasy Cricket (Club based Fantasy
Cricket competition ran each season by James Hoskins) -
Adjudicated by Fantasy points calculations
2022 winner G. J. Timms’ receiving a piece of broken glass.
+ On-going large shield
awarded + lion’s share of cash prize. ‘Stan’
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“BREAKING NEWS!!!”
After spending the close
season of 2018 pondering over the intricacies, criticisms, and suggestions of
and for MAD Fantasy Cricket – James ushered in revamped rules and regulations
for the following, in the hope of bending the minds of club members into
hitherto complexities unknown. The details of his bulletin are given below… …along with the 2020
Covid-19 amendments circa 2020! |
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“Rule
Changes Circa 2019+”
Punters! YES!
It’s that time of year – the winter is almost over – time to dust off your
laptops, fire up the spreadsheets and get those hats out for picking your
teams! Fantasy prices are being published early this season so you can take
advantage of net rumours and get your head around the… [insert drum roll here]… NEW RULES!!! This season you are required
to select: THREE BATSMEN (using
the Batsmen costings) THREE BOWLERS (using
the Bowler costings) & ONE WICKET KEEPER (using
the Keeper costings) For a total of no more
than 130 Points! Batsmen will receive BATTING
and FIELDING points Bowlers will receive BOWLING
and FIELDING points Keepers will receive BATTING,
KEEPING and FIELDING points You cannot select the
same player more than once. Apart
from that, all rules remain the same. Note these prices are nothing to do
with ability or non-ability – they are based on average scores over the last
three years, indexed to 130 points and furtled about with ever so slightly to
make things interesting! The
latest costs for the coming season will be published soon…. ‘Stan’
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“Adapted
Rule Changes to the Above
Circa
2021 Coronavirus Pandemic+”
Punters! Right,
it’s the time of the year to get your calculators, spreadsheets, faulty MACs,
hats and tins out. But first – exciting news of a NEW RULE which hopefully is designed
to keep more teams in it for longer should anyone catch Covid during
2021 and any subsequent years…. This
season you are required to select: THREE BATSMEN (using the Batsmen
costings) THREE BOWLERS (using the Bowler
costings) ONE WICKET
KEEPER (using
the Keeper costings) AND
ONE 12th MAN
whose points will count IF… YOU HAVE THREE OR LESS PLAYERS PLAYING in a game! For
a total of no more than 130 Points! Batsmen
will receive BATTING and FIELDING points Bowlers
will receive BOWLING and FIELDING points Keepers
will receive BATTING, KEEPING and FIELDING points 12th
Men will receive BATTING, KEEPING and FIELDING points IF they play as
12th MAN You cannot select
the same player more than once. JOKERS
are back after
being ruled out in a pandemic ruined 2020 (a JOKER will mean ALL player
points TREBLED!!!) You have
a Sunday Joker, a T20 Joker and can select a Tour Joker. All
this for a FIVER per entry! So,
without further ado – here are the costings for 2023:
‘Stan’
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