940 (Sams)
How do you pick three top order bats that each get to bat twice and have them combine for three runs?
The various 50/50s in play this round:
* Sams v Rashid captain. Actually came out ahead here by 26, but forced me into other decisions that cost me a lot more.
* Wood v NCN - how different my round looks if I get this one right! Effectively this became Rossouw v NCN because I made a second decision to gamble on Rossouw hitting back harder than Wood. 174 points in the bin.
* Siddle v Boult - 66 points lost. Boult even bowled the 20th last night...
* Siddle + Hosein v Short + Naveed - Considered this option when I saw the Strikers running light on bowlers, decided to back my judgment that Short wasn't the play. Little did I know he'd bowl more than Siddle in game 2.
145 points gone, but Hosein still a chance to help make them back.
* Hosein v either of Rossouw or Wood - this option was closed off to me once I committed to Sams, and isn't additive to Wood v NCN, but I could have salvaged about 75 of those lost points back.
* The Stoinis issue - I did consider benching Stoinis, but it's a pretty fundamental part of professional sport that once you're named (especially in a sport like cricket where you can't be substituted in the normal course of events), you're fit to go. For the Stars to flout that, not once but twice in a few days, is incredibly irresponsible. In the best case, I could have benched him on the BWL line, and got both Wood and Hosein on field...
Right. Out of my system. We go again.