The international summer of cricket kicks off this weekend in Australia with the home team taking on South Africa in the first of three One Day Internationals in a day/night contest in Perth.

Draftstars are hosting the biggest prize pool contest on this first match with a very reasonable $10,000 up for grabs, but also present a new lineup and scoring system which we will discuss in this preview. If you have an aversion to change, Moneyball are offering a guaranteed $2,000 contest which features a structure and scoring system consistent with past seasons.

First of all, a note on Draftstars. Line-ups for this contest are extremely simplified 7 man teams, where fantasy coaches will need to select four batsmen and three bowlers. Note that wicket keepers are classified as batsmen, and all-rounders are able to be selected at either position. The scoring system has also been changed, with the below graphic illustrating the new format. At first glance the big hitting batsmen look advantaged with only 6s rewarded with bonus points, while the bowling scores look heavily weighted towards wicket taking.

Draftstars Cricket Scoring

Perth has long been the domain of the quicks, so it will be interesting to see which approach both teams take when it comes to selecting their sides, especially to see if they select a specialist spinner. The typical bouncy, pacey pitches in Perth mean fast bowlers will appeal in roster construction but are also likely to be more popular than their slower counterparts.

Moneyball

Aaron Finch (DS $20,600, MB $7,500) is the most experienced batsman in the Australian line-up. In his latest ODI series back in January he averaged 91.66 against England and he gets full opportunity in his usual role opening the batting. The fast conditions in Perth should also suit him as his perceived weakness is against the slower bowlers who won’t get as much purchase on this deck. While he is as expensive as they come on this slate, he is a match-winner who goes big often enough to justify his high price tag.

Another Australian batsman who loves the ball coming onto the bat is Chris Lynn (DS $14,100, MB $7,100). He comes into this series off a blistering domestic series where he topped the run scoring with 452 runs at an average of 75.33. He is the big hitting type who looks suited to the Draftstars scoring format and is especially well priced on that site more so than Moneyball.

Josh Hazlewood (DS $10,000, MB $6,700) is reaching his prime now at 27 years of age and onlookers would have been impressed in the Australian’s recent centre-wicket match practice where he took the scalps of Head and Marsh. He is a wicket-taker, having taken 69 career ODI wickets in only 40 innings, and can also be very economical with his unrelenting line and length. If there are chinks in the defence of the South Africans he may well be the man to exploit them.

David Miller (DS $11,500, MB $5,900) presents as a cheaper option for the South African side. While his 2018 season has been somewhat disappointing, he impressed with 45 in his recent hit-out against the PM’s XI where a couple of the bigger names missed out. He also has an exceptional record against the Australians, averaging over 46 in 13 innings at a strike rate just over 105. He is the hard-hitting type suited by the Draftstars scoring system and may provide value at low ownership.

Draftstars
 
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