We take a look at some of our favourite individual performances of The Cricket Draft in 2023 so far
Having already reached the mid-point of the 2023 English cricket season and with The Cricket Draft's County Championship, T20 Blast and men's and women's Ashes games all running (you can still enter them all here for free), it's the ideal time to look at some of our favourite individual performances of our games, so far.
Co-founder of the Cricket Draft, John Welch, picked out a quintet of the very best.
5. James Vince (T20 Blast, gameweek 3) 650 points
James Vince showed in Blast GW3 exactly how he has become the competition's highest ever run scorer. He smashed 103 (43 balls, 215 strike rate, 8 sixes, 3 catches) in a demolition job of Essex and then, just 24 hours later, followed it up with 71* (39 balls, 182 SR, 3 sixes, 1 run out) in a 10 wicket victory over Sussex. Prolific.
4. Ashleigh Gardner (Ashes, GW1) 480 points
In a Test that saw a double-hundred and another 10-fer, Ashleigh Gardner surpassed them all thanks to a staggering day 4 and 5 showing, adding to her solid 40 runs and four wicket 1st innings haul (167 points) with an unbelievable 8 for 66. As well as securing victory for the Aussies, that accumulated a mind-boggling 313 points in the 2nd innings.
Ashleigh Gardner of Australia celebrates a wicket during the Women's Ashes Test match [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
3. Jake Libby (County Championship, GW 8) 446 points
In a season where ball has dominated bat, Jake Libby decided he was going to make the most of the good weather and flatter pitches by scoring 198 and 97 against Sussex in a game that went to the very last ball. Two more runs in the 1st innings and three in the 2nd would have added a further 50 points to the Worcestershire man's already-amazing total that had outstripped any other batting performance by some margin, so far.
2. Ollie Robinson (County Championship, GW5) 570 points
When Robinson plays in the County Championship, he invariably takes a bag full of wickets. But the great thing about this performance - in Cricket Draft terms at least - was that managers had to hold their nerve. Robinson had only played in one gameweek prior to this, so if you kept the faith and retained him in your squad, he paid you back - big! 14 wickets, 33 quick runs and a huge pile of points.
1. Daniel Sams (T20 Blast GW5) 668 points
The great thing about this performance is that it was part of a triple gameweek with three matches played for Essex. Tactically, it makes perfect sense to pick players that are playing the most games during any week. There is some risk attached to this policy though, as you may have to drop high class performers to accommodate. In Daniel Sams, you also have a player who may not bowl all his overs or potentially get a bat. High risk strategy at play, but scores of 225, 334 and 109 meant you got your full money's worth. And for those smart enough to captain him, Sam brought in an extraordinary 1,336 points!
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