Cricketing Timewaster

[Etienne]

Yeah, I was going to comment on that. Of course, apart from those two hat-tricks he did nothing.

[Favourite Worst Nightmare]

Well he did come up with the aqueduct and the sanitation at the training ground. But apart from that, he’s done nothing.

[Levin]

Well that ended up being a bit closer than I thought it would with 5 overs left.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I've given up btw. Just couldn't crack it because of the rising wages ruining my youth prospects.

[Levin]

I'm sorry to hear that Antepli Ejderha but do understand how frustrating it is.

[Levin]

Good win by the Fuzzy Ducks. I think that was by best chance to win the youth. I've not had anyone as good as the two players about to age out come into my team.

I'm going to send invites for new competitions to start in the new year.

[Etienne]

Brilliant, thanks Levin. And well done to the Ducks.

How's everyone poised with one match to go?

[longeared]

Exactly the same as recent seasons; senior promotion bids fell away and we're playing for prize money in upper-mid table. The youth T20 team got relegated as I'm not especially fussed about that side, I had a really good recruit this week and managed to sell for an impressive 218k rather than develop him. I'm going to have one more season trying to get a senior team promoted and if that doesn't happen I'm going to run out of money so at that point I'll burn it down, sell a lot of them and probably take a country switch to rebuild and have the mild entertainment of playing some different opponents.

Thanks for setting up the new OTF leagues Levin.

[jdsx]

Thanks for the good wishes for the Ducks.... I feel a bit guilty because we were definitely not the best team in the tournament, but we somehow managed to win a couple of crucial early games before some of our best players hit 21.

Bit of a mixed bag in the leagues. We seem to be a very third division outfit, as my Twenty20 team is about to get promoted from division 4, but my Youth One Day is going to be relegated from Division 2. Is it worth trying to concentrate on either seniors or juniors in order to make progress up the divisions?

Thanks to Levin for the invitations. I was just thinking it must be my turn to set something up, but the run up to Christmas is my busiest time of year so I'll do the next lot....

[Granthamian]

My thanks also to Levin for running the competitions, and my belated congrats to jdsx for winning. It was my team's turn to sit out the last round so I missed the ending. My teams will play all their competitions in division 3 next season. I too would love to know how to take it to the next level but I don't know how to go about it. I'm thinking (hoping) the older my players get the more experienced they will be and the better they will perform. Only time will tell if that's right - if I can be bothered to stick around to find out. I've still not 100% made up my mind whether to extend my membership when it expires soon - it will very much be a case of flipping a coin I think.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I logged on after getting an email saying my team would be lost. Approx 850k in the bank and 3 of my 4 sides staying up despite my absence. But I'm not tempted to be fair.

[Granthamian]

Just to say I've decided to give the game up. It's the wage inflation that has killed my interest off more than anything - it is just ridiculous! Best of luck to you and your teams

[Antepli Ejderha]

Just to say I've decided to give the game up. It's the wage inflation that has killed my interest off more than anything - it is just ridiculous! Best of luck to you and your teams

That's the main reason for me quitting as well, unless you're consistently getting huge amounts of prize money you have to get rid of your better players as they've suddenly started earning stupid money.

[jdsx]

Managed to sell my new 16yo recruit for nearly $3 million yesterday. Upgraded both academies and pondering what to spaff the rest on now....

[pebblethefish]

Blimey!

In 17 seasons my total transfer income is $285000, so you've managed to outdo me tenfold in one fell swoop. Just how good was this kid?

[jdsx]

Well, he didn't look that good at first glance! I put him on at $200k hoping he would go for maybe $4-500k! Batting was reasonable, tech was average I think, and everything else ordinary. But his rating was 29,099, which is pretty high for a 16yo, meaning that he was likely to be very near the top in each category, so nearly capable batting and reasonable tech. I'm wondering if the fact that they've limited the overall bank balance to $30 million means that there are people with huge war chests who are having to spend money on youths, which has benefited me....

[Favourite Worst Nightmare]

Despite defeat against the Flowers on the opening day of the yoof cup, great to be back in the fold of the OTF league.

My Strollers youngsters are in a transitional stage, so I’m expecting a struggle.

The Ducks sound a threat with their big wad of cash.

What are thoughts on the transfer market in general? I’d had a bit of strategy to sell off youth graduates who weren’t quite going to make the first team in order to generate funds, but it seems you need a very high standard of player to get any sort of return.

[Levin]

I've given up on the market. It takes too much time to find a gem and takes away the fun.

I've u=just beaten the 28th ranked team in the world in the cup! They fielded a weakened team but so did I.

[Etienne]

The Strollers look nailed on to win the senior tournament.

I think you can sell youngsters aged 20 for decent money, but if you wait until they are 21 then yeah you need them to be rated at well over 40k to raise substantial cash. I've had youth internationals not sell or go for 1-2k.

Well done Levin. My affiliate Ayida is going to be playing Wellworth soon. I don't think it will go well for us.

[Levin]

I wouldn't be so certain of that Etienne, my cup game this weekend looks like it may be winnable if I rest players during the week.

[Etienne]

Ah, well you can probably win both. Our team will have my 2 veteran star players, Sewell and Freedman and 9 youth players who can't get in my youth first team.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

My teams are drifting in a managerless void. Is there any way I can resign from the game? I can't see an option when I log in.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I check in every time I get an email, this time I was expecting to find a million plus in my bank account, it's still around 800k.

I'm going to place my best players up for sale now and then leave it alone.

[Antepli Ejderha]

And the firesale has started.

[Favourite Worst Nightmare]

Congrats to Village Flowers on clinching the OTF Youth title. Looks as though the final day matches were a real nail biter for those involved.