How to Pick a Fantasy Cricket Captain and Vice-Captain
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Ten of your eleven picks can be right and the team can still finish mid-table, because the two players whose points are multiplied were the wrong two. The captain and vice-captain decide more fantasy cricket contests than any other choice. Here is a method for getting them right more often.
Why the captain matters so much
On most fantasy cricket platforms the captain earns double points and the vice-captain one and a half times. The Points System page in Drem’s Fantasy Help menu shows the exact multipliers for your contest. Whatever the numbers, the logic is the same: a captain who scores 80 is worth as much as two ordinary players scoring 80 each.
That changes what you are looking for. You do not want the best player. You want the player most likely to be involved in the match for the longest time.
Four questions to ask about every candidate
- Is he in the playing eleven? Wait for the line-ups. A captain who is rested scores nothing, doubled.
- Where does he bat? Openers and number three face the most balls. From number six down, a batter may not reach the crease at all.
- Does he bowl? A player who bats in the top five and bowls his full quota has two separate chances to score.
- Do the conditions suit him? A spinner on a turning pitch, a swing bowler under cloud, a power hitter on a small ground.
The four types of captain
| Type | Why pick him | The risk |
|---|---|---|
| Top-order batter | Most balls faced; big scores come from here | One good ball early and he is gone |
| All-rounder | Scores with bat and ball; rarely blanks | May bat too low or bowl too little |
| Strike bowler | Wickets carry heavy points | Bowls only a limited number of overs |
| Keeper-batter | Runs plus catches and stumpings | Depends on where he bats |
Over a season the all-rounder is the steadiest captain. The top-order batter has the higher ceiling. Bowlers win you contests on the days the pitch helps them and cost you on the days it does not.
Match the choice to the contest
- Small contests (head-to-head, a handful of teams): take the safe, obvious captain. You only need to beat a few people, and consistency does that.
- Large contests (thousands of teams): the obvious captain is in most teams, so if he scores well everyone benefits and nobody gains. Here a less popular captain — a differential — is what lifts you up the table when he comes off.
Captain and vice-captain should not be the same bet
If your captain is an opener, choosing his opening partner as vice-captain doubles down on one thing: a good start for that side. Split the risk. Pair a batter from one team with a bowler or all-rounder from the other, so that whichever way the match goes, one of your multiplied players is in the game.
Format changes the answer
- T20: innings are short, so batting position is everything. Openers and death bowlers are the strongest captaincy options.
- ODI: there is time for a number four or five to build a hundred, and for a spinner to bowl ten overs. The pool of sensible captains is wider.
There is more on this in our comparison of T20 and ODI fantasy cricket.
A worked example
Take an evening T20 on a flat pitch with dew expected. Team A will bat first; Team B is likely to chase. Your shortlist has four names:
| Candidate | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| Team B opener | Bats in the powerplay, chases on a dewy outfield | Popular — most teams will have him |
| Team A all-rounder | Bats at four and bowls four overs | Bowls second with a wet ball |
| Team A spinner | Took wickets last match | Dew makes the ball hard to grip |
| Team B death bowler | Bowls first, on a dry ball, at the death | Only four overs to work with |
In a small contest the Team B opener is the captain: the conditions favour him and you do not need to be different. The vice-captain should come from the other discipline — the Team B death bowler, who bowls before the dew arrives. In a large contest you might reverse them, because far fewer teams will have a bowler as captain. The spinner, despite last week’s wickets, is the one to leave out.
Mistakes that cost the most
- Choosing on reputation instead of role in this match.
- Naming the captain before the toss and not checking again.
- Making a tail-end bowler vice-captain because he took wickets last week.
- Copying the most-selected captain in a large contest and hoping to stand out.
A thirty-second routine
- Line-ups out? Confirm both players are in.
- Captain bats in the top four or bowls his full quota — ideally both.
- Vice-captain comes from the other team or the other discipline.
- Small contest: safe pick. Large contest: one calculated risk.
New to the format? Start with our guide to fantasy cricket on Drem, then run through the eight-point checklist before your next deadline.
Frequently asked questions
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