Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Well here we are again...and what a busy one it is. 14 players have played already this year with 1331 points accrued; that is 806 than Week 1 of 2025.

Top 5 after Week 1

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 261 - Led the way for 17 weeks of 2024 and, just like last year, opens her tally with a Weekly high courtesy of dominating the Women's Super Smash in New Zealand. Her late addition to the competition cost her last year's top prize; she was just 41 points behind Vince.

2. Babar Azam - 189 - Desperate to put some of the negativity of 2024 behind him, Azam has started 2025 brightly...albeit you cannot say the same for his team. 139 runs across the two innings in their Test loss to South Africa is enough to see him second place.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 186 - Our highest scoring debutant on the List for 2025 is one of our new Sri Lankans. Having said that, the allrounder played one T20 and two ODIs so 186 ( 62 points per game) does seem a little on the disappointing side.

4. Rishabh Pant - 181 - Returns to the List after a year today and takes 4th place courtesy of his best performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was too little too late for India but could it be the start of a big year for Pant?

5. Adam Zampa - 123 - A good start to his time on the List for the enigmatic spinner. Having only got 3 wickets in the BBL to date he added a further 5 in the 3 games he has played since the start of the year. A rapid turnaround in form.

Top Players By Format

Red Ball - Babar Azam - 189
One Day - Wanindu Hasaranga - 146
Short Form - Chamari Athapaththu - 261

Top Players by Discipline

Runs - Babar Azam - 139
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam - 40
Strike Rate - Chamari Athapaththu - 40

Wickets - Chamari Athapaththu & Adam Zampa - 100
Wicket Bonus - Chamari Athapaththu & Adam Zampa - 20
Economy - Wanindu Hasaranga - 40

Fielding - Yashasvi Jaiswal - 40

List In Full

Chamari Athapaththu 261
Babar Azam 189
Wanindu Hasaranga 186
Rishabh Pant 181
Adam Zampa 123
Jasprit Bumrah 112
Yashavi Jaiwal 72
Ravindra Jadeja 49
Travis Head 48
Pathum Nissanka 44
Liam Dawson 26
Suryakumar Yadav 10
Nat Sciver-Brunt 10
Saim Ayub 0

Heinrich Klaasen dnp
Kane Williamson dnp
Jamie Smith dnp
Liam Livingstone dnp
Sam Curran dnp
Jos Buttler dnp
Annabel Sutherland dnp
Phil Salt dnp
Harry Brook dnp
Nicholas Pooran dnp



Headlines

Already a bit of a spread but a lot to unfold.

Rankings

The Prof Sr. 261
RDJ 250
DFM 212
Andy 189
The Professor 156
Arthur 123
MIB 72
DD 48
RT 10
GingerPele 10
Sussex 0
Red Devil 0

Whoops ....wrong year.

Can anyone change please?

I recollect I did this last year too

The Professor wrote:Whoops ....wrong year.

Can anyone change please?

I recollect I did this last year too

A new CMS tradition!

All fixed I think

Most appreciated

According to reports, Jasprit Bumrah has been advised bed rest, and the future course of action will be decided once the swelling in his back subsides.

While there’s hope it’s just a swelling, Bumrah will not be rushed back to cricket.

A worrying situation for Indian cricket with the Champions Trophy, IPL, and India’s tour of England on the horizon.

The Professor wrote:3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 186 - Our highest scoring debutant on the List for 2025 is one of our new Sri Lankans. Having said that, the allrounder played one T20 and two ODIs so 186 ( 62 points per game) does seem a little on the disappointing side.

you have to remember that, over the years, I've become used to barely picking up any points until about April, so I'll take it

Another incredibly busy week. Only 4 players of our 24 have yet to play cricket in 2025....but who impressed this week?

Weekly Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 303 - Nobody has ever had back-to-back Cricketers of the Week in the first two weeks of the year...but nobody has seized the competition by the scruff of the neck like Athapaththu. Will be right up there again this year.

2. Sam Curran - 290 - Looking to put last year's malaise behind him, Curran has hit the ground running in the ILT20 with 120 runs scored in three games this week.

3. Nicholas Pooran - Two scorching performances for MI Emirates in the ILT20 was followed by a rather pedestrian one....still enough for the West Indian powerhouse his way into the Top 3 for the week.

4. Nat Sciver-Brunt - 225 - Posting number such as this you must assume that England are playing an absolute blinder in The Ashes.....instead you wonder just how much bother they would be in without her services.

5. Phil Salt - 133 - Bloody loves a short sharp T20 competition and looked in dominant form for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders with 71 off 49....followed that up with a rather tame score of 2. Debuts on the Overall List at 10th.

Overall Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 564 - Another week in top spot for the Sri Lankan. Such is her dominance in this opening fortnight that she has now opened up a 274 point gap. Only one other player has scored more than that in the 17 days of 2025.

2. Sam Curran - 290 - Goes from being active last week straight into silver medal position this week. A great start for the man who never got higher than third last year.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 273 - Had one ODI left for Sri Lanka which was rather a damp squib and then has had a rather lowkey start to his time in the ILT20 with 2 wickets and 2 runs in 2 games. His score of 87 was enough to see him be one of only two people to retain their positions in the List.

4. Nicholas Pooran - 257 - Debuts in fourth place courtesy of his heavy hitting performances in ILT20. Plays so much cricket that you wouldn't bet on him being a sticker in the higher echelons.

5. Nat Sciver-Brunt - 235 - Her side are being put to the sword by Australia but her individual performances see two women in the Top 5 for the first time in recorded history.

Top 3 Averages


1. Chamari Athapaththu - 282
2. Wanindu Hasaranga - 136.5
3. Nat Sciver-Brunt - 117.5

Top Players By Format

*=New Name

Red Ball - Babar Azam - 189
One Day - * Nat Sciver-Brunt - 225
Short Form - Chamari Athapaththu - 564

Top Players by Discipline

Runs - *Chamari Athapaththhu - 164
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam - 40
Strike Rate - Chamari Athapaththu - 80

Wickets - Chamari Athapaththu - 200
Wicket Bonus - Chamari Athapaththu - 40
Economy - *Chamari Athapaththu - 60

Fielding - Yashasvi Jaiswal & * Sam Curran - 40
Fielding Bonus - Sam Curran - 10

Weewkl List In Full

Chamari Athapaththu 303
Sam Curran 290
Nicholas Pooran 257
Nat Sciver-Brunt 225
Phil Salt 133
Pathum Nissanka 116
Kane Williamson 110
Annabel Sutherland 91
Wanindu Hasaranga 87
Heinrich Klaasen 79
Adam Zampa 50
Liam Livingstone 14
Liam Dawson 0

Jamie Smith dnp
Jos Buttler dnp
Harry Brook dnp
Babar Azam dnp
Rishabh Pant dnp
Jasprit Bumrah dnp
Yashavi Jaiwal dnp
Ravindra Jadeja dnp
Travis Head dnp
Suryakumar Yadav dnp
Saim Ayub dnp

Overall list In Full

Chamari Athapaththu 564
Sam Curran 290
Wanindu Hasaranga 273
Nicholas Pooran 257
Nat Sciver-Brunt 235
Babar Azam 189
Rishabh Pant 181
Adam Zampa 173
Pathum Nissanka 160
Phil Salt 133
Jasprit Bumrah 112
Kane Williamson 110
Annabel Sutherland 91
Heinrich Klaasen 79
Yashavi Jaiwal 72
Ravindra Jadeja 69
Travis Head 48
Liam Dawson 26
Liam Livingstone 14
Suryakumar Yadav 10
Saim Ayub 0

Headlines

So much movement hard to extrapolate too much at the moment.
TPS has a big early lead with another quite large gap between 9th and 10th.
Interestingly GP moved from 9th to 2nd with RDJ moving in the complete oppostie direction.

Weekly Scores

GingerPele 316
RT 304
The Prof Sr. 303
Sussex 257
Arthur 183
The Professor 116
Andy 110
DFM 87
DD 79
RDJ 0
MIB 0
Red Devil 0

Overall Scores

The Prof Sr. 564
GingerPele 326
Arthur 306
Red Devil 304
DFM 299
Andy 299
The Professor 272
Sussex 257
RDJ 250
DD 127
MIB 72
RT 10

That must be my highest ever position. I accept it's early doors... But even so!

Impressive start from Prof Senior.

Only Jamie Smith remains inactive thus far in 2025 - an unprecedented feat. Who was cream of the crop this week?

Weekly Top 5

1. Ravindra Jadeja - 419 - Nothing like a returning Test player absolutely creaming points on the domestic circle and Jadeja's 12 wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy was just that. Scored points across the board and has registered a catastrophic total for the week.

2. Liam Dawson - 371 - Multiple T20 games in a week doesn't always correlate to big points, but Dawson made sure it did this week. 7 wickets from his three SAT20 games coupled with a 11 ball 25 sees a huge total for the Eastern Cape player.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 193 - 5 wickets for the Sri Lankan in the ILT20 competition. Seems to have got back into his rhythm for the Desert Vipers. In so doing, he became only the second Sri Lankan to get 300 T20 wickets....and plenty more to come.

4. Sam Curran - 168 - Put in a decent shift for the Desert Vipers this week. 2 wickets seems disappointing but backed it up with 38 runs and decent economies.

5. Jos Buttler - 118 - 2023's highest point scorer had an injury beleaguered 2024.....but debuts this week inside the weekly Top 5. Probably best not to talk about the form of the other ten blokes around him though.

Overall Top 5

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 620 - Just 56 points from Athapaththu's single Super Smash game this wee. That being said the 132 point gap between her and second is the greatest on the list.

2. Ravindra Jadeja - 488 - Catapults up the table courtesy of his Ranji Trophy form. Has spent the last two years in and around the Top 5 and this week puts him right back in the mix once more.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 466 - Does just enough every week to hold onto bronze position. Once of only two players to have held the same spot for the last 3 weeks and one of only 3 players to have retained their position from last week. Odds on him being there next week?

4. Sam Curran - 458 - Despite finishing fourth in the weekly totals he still manages to drop two spots down to third.

5. Liam Dawson - 371 - Comes from absolutely nowhere to gatecrash the Top 5 this week. Can't rest on his laurels as Pooran is just 5 points below him and Nat Sciver Brunt another 39 behind that.

Top 3 Averages

1. Ravindra Jadeja - 244
2. Sam Curran - 229
3. Chamari Athapaththu - 206.67 (Down from 282)

Some huge swings, as is only natural for week 3. Athapaththu drops the most whilst Dawson moves his average up from 10 to 123.67.

Top Players By Format

*=New Name

Red Ball - *Ravindra Jadeja - 488
One Day - Nat Sciver-Brunt - 225
Short Form - Chamari Athapaththu - 620

Top Players by Discipline

Runs - Chamari Athapaththhu - 180
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam - 40
Strike Rate - *Nicholas Pooran - 100

Wickets - *Ravindra Jadeja - 240
Wicket Bonus - *Ravindra Jadeja - 60
Economy - *Ravindra Jadeja - 90

Fielding - Sam Curran - 70
Fielding Bonus - Sam Curran - 10

Weekly List In Full

Ravindra Jadeja 419
Liam Dawson 371
Wanindu Hasaranga 193
Sam Curran 168
Jos Buttler 118
Nicholas Pooran 109
Nat Sciver-Brunt 92
Annabel Sutherland 91
Kane Williamson 60
Chamari Athapaththu 56
Adam Zampa 40
Rishabh Pant 38
Harry Brook 27
Heinrich Klaasen 25
Babar Azam 13
Phil Salt 12
Suryakumar Yadav 10
Liam Livingstone 0

Jamie Smith dnp
Jasprit Bumrah dnp
Yashavi Jaiwal dnp
Travis Head dnp
Saim Ayub dnp
Pathum Nissanka dnp

Overall List In Full

1 Chamari Athapaththu 620
2 Ravindra Jadeja 488
3 Wanindu Hasaranga 466
4 Sam Curran 458
5 Liam Dawson 371
6 Nicholas Pooran 366
7 Nat Sciver-Brunt 327
8 Rishabh Pant 209
9 Babar Azam 202
10 Annabel Sutherland 182
11 Adam Zampa 173
12 Kane Williamson 170
13 Pathum Nissanka 160
14 Phil Salt 145
15 Jos Buttler 118
16 Jasprit Bumrah 112
17 Heinrich Klaasen 104
18 Yashavi Jaiwal 72
19 Travis Head 48
20 Harry Brook 27
21 Suryakumar Yadav 20
22 Liam Livingstone 14
23 Saim Ayub 0

Headlines
DFM + RDJ's huge totals seem them shoot up the list
Arhur is the biggest dropper as he goes from 3rd to 8th.

Weekly Scores

DFM 538
RDJ 457
GingerPele 183
Red Devil 168
Sussex 136
RT 128
Andy 75
The Prof Sr. 56
Arthur 52
DD 25
The Professor 0
MIB 0

Overall Scores

DFM 837
RDJ 707
The Prof Sr. 620
GingerPele 509
Red Devil 472
Sussex 393
Andy 372
Arthur 358
The Professor 272
DD 152
RT 138
MIB 72

ooh!

not like me to be top at this early stage.... cheers Prof

just a quick question, though.... I had 213 points for Hasaranga this week and 97 for last week... what am I missing?

I also had 355 points for Dawson this week, plus the 26 from the first week for 381 in total

I remember I got a bit puddled last year over something, but can't remember what it was.... was it shared run outs or have I just made that up?

it might have been catches in separate innings.... damn this useless brain full of porridge and dead neurons

I have neglected the shared run rule since 2018....you only pointed it out last year and I have stoically kept to my way

sorry to be a pest

Seems like Saim Ayub will miss Champions Trophy as well and I might have to wait for April or further (not sure when Pak plays next after CT) until he starts scoring points for me this year. Sensible decision though if PCB do not rush him because many a times injured player comes back on field without proper rehab after a injury.

Meanwhile Yashasvi will not get in playing 11 in CT as well. Have to wait for IPL till he too gets a game.