August 12
Martin Aruvickal (257) made his debut in the Saturday 2s & has now been added to the pool as an All Rounder costing 4p. He bowled sharp swing, rather wayward, but still finding his rhythm, then played an innings which included a big 6 over cow with a soggy ball, getting bowled but surface tension keeping the bails on & knocking off the winning runs in the rain. Would like to play now for the rest of the season but does have an ongoing knee cartilage issue.
Mark Treacher has been & gone & it seems like too much work to classify Brian Salt & add him to the pool, but get in touch if you really want to select him & we can negotiate a deal.
July 10
Just like poor old Mike C last weekend, the Sunday 2s establishment have neglected Brian in favour of 6 folks scheduled to play twice, but at least that saves us from having to make any classification decisions, even if it is another flagrant breach of club protocol.
July 8
Brian Salt has made himself available for the Sunday ahead. We have no idea as to his long term availability, but he will be incorporated into the pool in good time for Friday's transfer deadline.
July 3
DC2 (485) would appear to be on the road to recovery, beginning with a Saturday 2s outing this coming weekend. Don't say you weren't warned.
June 23
Matt Caven (113) is off to sun himself in Turkey & won't be back until the 8th July
June 17
And this week's new acquisition form Hope is a medium pace bowler named Jethro Binns (492). Looked pretty sharp but apparently has limited availability, hence the 4p tag.
June 11
Another pair of new options for the player pool, both from the Hope stables, now available for transfer:
Mark Benewith (256), also goes by the name Beefy & makes his debut for the Saturday 2s this weekend. We have classified him an all rounder, who will cost you 3p.
Ed Beavan (491) is a bowler who comes highly recommended for his potential tea making skills, priced for this year at 4p.
June 4
Two more new faces at nets this week, 1 of whom we have failed to identify yet. The other has already been classified:
Jules Bolton (255) is an All Rounder who bowls sharp left arm from an impressive height & looks a wieldy bat. Hasn't played for a while, but watch this space, could be a real snap at 5p.
It looks as though AB (243) has played his last cowboys cricket of the season; one of those weddings that runs on & on for the whole summer. Felicitations Anurag!
June 2
Some further clasifications for June's transfer options are now complete.
Malik Khan (128) is an Afghani batsman, who scored 8 for the Sunday 2s at the weekend, but apparently looked pretty good while doing so. He'll cost you 4p if you're interested.
Shahid Hussain (251) is, we believe, Amir's cousin; an all rounder who also made 8 with the bat & took a 5-for on his debut in the Sunday 2s game. Could be a serious bargain at 5p.
Steve Meadows (252) is an all rounder, who certainly prefers batting, but can also bowl respectable slow medium pace. You can have him for 4p.
Additionally, Hardy Singh (486) would now appear to be an Indian Leg Ends player, so it is extremely unlikely he will switch allegiance midseason & play for the cowboys any weekend. I suspect we may continue to see him make use of our net facilities however.
May 29
We have some new options on the Transfer Form:
Alex West (126) is a useful looking batsman who played in Rage II & conceivably might be called on to bowl a bit too. Has been available the past 2 weeks, so may prove a bargain at 5p.
Rich Olney (127) is another pedigree batsman from the Hope stables, although we are clueless as to his intentions & availability. He will also cost you 5p.
Vish X (253) looked handy batting in the T20 v Hope for a couple of balls, then tweaked his quad, but finished not out. Also bowls seam up medium. Currently studying but is looking to play once term ends. Useful prospect at 4p.
Raj Y (254) is an all rounder who has sent down some useful legspin in the nets, where he also looks a decent bat, but he has yet to play a real game. Also a student with good prospects at 4p.
Malik Khan & Shahid Hussain should be classified, along with Steve Meadows, after the matches this weekend.
May 26
Dave Littleton the 1st himself (237) now says this:
"I will be continuing my recuperation in the New Forest next weekend, and am not available for another 2 Sundays in June, so if you were stupid enough to have me in your fantasy team get rid now!"
Tom Taylor (361) appears to have made himself available for this coming Sunday at least.
May 21
Ahad Syed (246) is free! Let's hope it stays that way.
There are some new faces awaiting classification, including at training, Shahid Hussain (a mate or maybe cousin of Amir's), Alex West, who we saw at Rage II, plus a mate of Omar's, Malik, who can't make training, is available & on Wayne's list for Sunday .
Muhammed Asad (234) seems increasingly likely to have made a permanent move to a club nearer home & probably won't play cricket for the Cowboys this season
Steve Franks (490) seems to have a chronic hamstring issue, which he is hoping to allow heal with a few weeks off. May return in June.
May 19
Dave Littleton (237) has tweaked his knee, missed the games of 18th/19th May & could be out for a couple more weeks yet.
Tom Taylor (361) has betrayed us for the bright lights of fame, fortune & vanity. So he bottled taking on the mighty Old E in division 1 & chose to play for Bristol in some T20 games at the weekend. This bodes ill for his fantasy game.
May 6
Oli Groom (362) seems to be settled in Bristol for the summer & should be available both days most weekends.
Rich Grove (111)'s back seems good for the time being, so he's been taken off the injury concerns list, but we reserve the right to put him back on again at short notice.
Rob Mason (242) has broken his hand before even fielding a ball, so will be out, most likely, until mid to late June.
Mike Chant (125) has been classified as a batsman (see below).
April 29
A few new faces at training on Tuesday; Stevie Franks, Mike Chant, Vish & Raj. Details for Steve F can be found below & although Mike C is also selected for the weekend, we have no idea what he does, but he will be evaluated & made available for selection by the time the first transfers come around. We are currently unclear as to the plans for the season for Vish & Raj, but news will appear here when we know better.
The long winter has lead to the emergence, re-emergence and disappearance of a number of players; here is a summary:
New Players:
Name: Tim Gibbon
Number: 114
Classification: Batsman
Price: £0.06
A multiple centurion, so we hear, albeit for Hope Chapel, due to make an appearance at nets in the near future.
Name: Mike Chant
Number: 125
Classification: Batsman
Price: £0.02
A cricketer truly at the embryonic stages of his development, but willing, motivated & keen to learn. Most recently specialising at number 11 for the Sunday 2s, but who knows what glory may yet come?
Name: Nick Bannerman
Number: 240
Classification: All Rounder
Price: £0.09
Atypically for a new cowboy, considers himself a batsman, but preceded by a bowling reputation founded on breaking the ribs of our esteemed, albeit fragile, Saturday skipper over the course of winter nets. Would like to play every day.
Name: Rob Mason
Number: 242
Classification: All Rounder
Price: £0.08
An all rounder; looks like he can bat & bowls brisk seam up swing. Availability is variable; probably looking for games either day or both when around.
Name: Chris Britt-Searle
Number: 477
Classification: Bowler
Price: £0.08
Proven athleticism through a winter of bladdersport; a right arm orthodox spinner who also looks as if he might prove useful with the bat. Availability variable.
Name: Stevie Franks
Number: 490
Classification: Bowler
Price: £0.02
Slow left armer from Frenchay, looking to play a friendly level of cricket, most likely in the Sunday 2s.
Disappearances:
Rich Garner has received an offer he cannot refuse & after many years service with the wind behind him, despite the paucity of Stilton & extreme distance to Melton Mowbray, will be transporting himself to New Zealand. May feature in the game on the first weekend, but plans to spend the rest of the summer having a winter.
Matt Davey, having made the 3rd highest fantasy points total in 2013, has moved to Spain & is not expected back at weekends, although those trucks do travel very long distances
Hidayat Sayed, Sayedajan Sidiqi & the guy who came for the free tea made a proper job of burning their bridges with the club, so it's hard to imagine any circumstances under which they'll be featuring this season.
Mark Treacher has not exactly disappeared & will doubtless shout at us via email every so often, but remains in China & is not expected to return this summer, so has not been included in this year's player pool
We have good reason to believe none of the following will be playing league cricket for the Cowboys this year and so have not included them in the player pool:
Gary Phillips, Duane Allen, Sean Flynn, Jimmy Pitcher, Alan Cuthill, Sean Parkin, Chris Arrigoni, Neil Richards (Babble), John Marshall, Abdulmalek Khugiano, Simon Davis, Dave Bryant, Ray O'Reilly, Shaz, Roger Ball, Ben Carter, Pete Davies, Harry Gowling, Aran Gharyal, Gabby Amiel, Ian Page, George & Nick Russell, Ben & Brian Salt.
We have yet to see any of the following; if they, or any of those listed above, appear, they will be added to the player pool:
Bernet Cochrane, Andy Chester, Dave Hewish, Paul Moylan, Dylan Otterbeck, Malik Saqib
Reappearances:
Al Buchanan (120). Yes, whispers are abroad that the flashing blade may be unsheathed after several years out with keeping related back trouble. No physical evidence as yet, but he's in the pool as a bargain batsman anyway.
Nelly Musgrave (121) has been displaying signs of a refreshed enthusiasm for cricket & should feature properly this year. If he could manage to persuade Lauren to join us we might even become stronger as a result.
Bowlers Omar Gul Miakhail (476) & Sayedajan Miakhail (481) & all rounder Zabeullah Orikhil (244) have returned & should be available to play for us on Sundays this season. The ECB's preferred insurers will not help you here; do your own risk analysis.
Bladderfans Eddie Bridges (248) & Trevor Forrest (483), having experienced some of the 78cc vibe over the winter, seem to have been inspired to seek to play an as yet unspecified amount of cricket this summer.
Preash Patel (365) is back & available for us on Sundays. Or is he really?
Aaron Rogers (489) is no longer pleasuring her majesty & has been heard to express an interest in playing some cricket this summer
Mysteries:
Currently in the players pool as we fully expect them to play, but beware, although the summer is still very young, we are yet to see them in any cricketing capacity this season:
Ben Preece (108), Don Taylor (122), Reg Shaw (123), Bill Cullum (124), Muhammed Asad (234)
Limited Availability:
The following players are included in the player pool for the season but have limited availability, or are either leaving or arriving, or both, at least once during the course of the summer:
Dave Flinton (115) will be available after a short break following the end of the bladder season, if there is such a thing.
Grant Forrester (117) indicates difficulty attending Tuesday training this season & having doubled his genetic burden he seems unlikely to play any more than last year's 5 games. Nevertheless, in his own words he still considers himself a Saturday regular (at which rate Jeff will need a squad of about 40 such regulars to complete the season's fixtures, & that's assuming they coordinate to avoid overlap with each other)
Syed Ahad (246) is currently seriously inconvenienced, but with a fair wind should become available to play soon. With an ill wind his brothers Samad (112) & Sadiq (245) may become similarly inconvenienced. To support Ahad go here.
Barnaby King (236): is around & available to play at present, but is expected to fly off to Ghana in June & not return until later July.
Tom Taylor (361) is a musician on the up, meaning an increase in Saturday gigs & a proportional decrease in Sunday availability &/or functionality
Gretch Eller (364): seems to have finished his homework, so may be featuring again this summer once he returns from Norfolk.
Joe Burgess (479): has confirmed he is unlikely to play much, if at all, but would be looking for a bit of a hit & a giggle when he returns from his cycling tour of the universe. Beware, he has been loading up on EPO & will have twice as many red blood cells as anyone else when he next plays. Should at least make it to Thornecombe, so watch this space...
Injury Concerns:
Neil Boulton (104): Following his tentative season last year, spent the winter jogging about in midfield instructiing anyone who would listen, & seems to have just about made it through to spring, so expect the bat to be not quite so far from the pitch of the ball & a little more flexion & extension generally.
Duncan Brewood (107): Revisiting an old blackberry related shoulder injury which is precluding him from overarm throws & bowling until further notice, but remains available in a batting & close fielding capacity.
Dave Littleton (237) has tweaked his knee, missed the games of 18th/19th May & could be out for a couple more weeks yet
Ian Higgins (239): Recovered from calf & thigh issues plaguing him last summer; now has ribcage tenderness (see Nick Bannerman, above), still healing, but won't prevent him from selecting himself from the start of the season.
Rob Mason (242) has broken his hand before even fielding a ball, so will be out, most likely, until mid to late June.
Andy Bowen (471): Recently fitted with a bionic arm, which may take a while to coordinate, so out of the earliest fixtures at least, but watch out when he returns. K-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k.
Alfie Baker (484): Unspecified bladdersport related injury which looks like it's making him unavailable until further notice.
Dave Crowle (485): Chronic. Out of action for the foreseeable future but remains optimistic for a comeback at some point later in the summer.
Steve Franks (490) seems to have a chronic hamstring issue, which he is hoping to allow heal with a few weeks off. May return in June.
General News:
Ramadan in 2014 will start on Sunday 29th June & will continue for 30 days until Eid on Tuesday 29th July.