Welcome to the second year of Fantasy Krikkit, h2g2's own cricket competition. In 2007, me[Andy]G's Over and Outs almost swept the board, winning both the domestic trophies and only being pipped to the title in the World Twenty20 Special by a player who wasn't even a h2g2 Researcher. It was a different story in the domestic Twenty20 Cup, however, where summerbayexile finally got his underperforming team playing to get the trophy their line-up, on paper at least, deserved.

The 2008 season has just finished, with me[Andy]G again doing the double in both the Championship and the ProPhortyPhifty. And again, he failed to win the Twenty20, finishing third behind Trout Montague (or vice versa) and winners New Pork Hankies. It has become clear that the Over and Outs are definitely the team to beat.

Latest News!

I've had a vague idea that we might have a winter international competition - you can find details here.

What's New

For the benefit of experienced FK captains, here are the main changes to the competition:

• Scoring. The scoring system has been revamped, with players scoring points for each run scored rather than for completed half-centuries and centuries alone. Only wicketkeepers now gain points for catches taken.

• Squads and Transfers. The old squad system has been abandoned, and mid-season transfers limited. There is, however, a full transfer window which opens during the domestic Twenty20 Cup.

• Players. As in the FK Twenty20 Special, there is now a separate category of 'all-rounders' for you to choose from. Apart from this, selection has been simplified. The limits on number of spinners and overseas players have both been dispensed with.

• Captains and Keepers. The powers of both have been reduced, with captains only scoring double for 'bonus' points.

• Special Competitions. Extra points, money or both may be earned during the season through mini-competitions to tie in with Test, ODI or Twenty20 competitions. Details will be announced at intervals through the season, so please make sure you are subscribed to all relevant pages.

You can see the current teams and standings over on the FK 2008 Teams and Standings page. Funny, that. News updates will take place over there, so if you are playing, please ensure you are subscribed to it.

Picking Your Team

Team lists have been produced for you to select your players from. Decide how much you want to bid for each player and email your team list to fantasy[dot]krikkit[at]googlemail[dot]com. Whoever bids the highest gets the player; in the event of a tie, the first bid received wins. Each team receives £20m to spend on players at the start of the season; please bid only in multiples of £100,000.

Your team must consist of five batsmen, a wicketkeeper, three bowlers and an all-rounder. This leaves you one extra player, who may be either a bowler or an all-rounder - the choice is yours. You may pick up to three players from any one County, as long as you do not have more than one from the same County in any one discipline. From your final team, you must select one player to be your captain, who will score extra points for you.

Bidding, bodding and bedding will take place on the following dates:

• Round One: 17 - 21 March
• Round Two: 24 - 28 March
• Round Three: 31 March - 4 April

After the end of round three, there will be an 'open market' for you to have the opportunity to fill any gaps in your team. All teams must then be finalised by midnight on Sunday, 13 April in good time for the season to begin.

Please note that the board reserves the right to refuse any bids for players that it considers to be too low.

Scoring

Points are now scored as follows:

• Batting. One point for each run scored, with a bonus of 25 for a fifty and 75 for a century. These bonuses are not cumulative, and no extra bonus are given for higher landmarks - in other words, a double hundred would earn the player a flat bonus of 75 points.

• Bowling. Twenty points for each wicket taken, with a bonus of 50 points for a five-wicket haul and 75 for ten in a match. These bonuses are cumulative, so if a bowler takes seven wickets in the first innings and three in the second, he'd score 125 bonus points in addition to the 20 for each wicket.

• Fielding. Wicketkeepers only score five points per catch or stumping.

• Captaincy. Your nominated captain scores double bonus points for batting and bowling landmarks as above. Choose your captain carefully, as you are not permitted to change him until the transfer window.

• Exceptional Performances. The Krikkit Board may occasionally decide to award bonus points to teams or individuals if the circumstances justify it¹.

Points scored by players participating in Test and County matches will go towards the Krikkit Championship competition; those scored in ODIs, Pro40 and FP Trophy will count towards the PhantasyProPhortyPhifty. No other matches will count towards the totals, unless notified by the Board for special competitions.

Transfers

Due to changes in the way the game is administrated, the Board has decided to limit the availability of transfers over the coming season. Each team will now be able to make just three transfers to and from the player pool during the season. There are, however, some exceptions.

Transfer Window

The domestic competitions take a pause for Twenty20 cricket from 10 - 28 June and, while FK will have a slogfest of its own, this is the time when most transfer activity will take place. First, you may select up to five players to leave your team. The Board will declare its valuation for each, and you may choose to accept or reject its offer. All released players will be placed back into the pool, and you may bid for replacements in the same way that you did at the beginning of the season. You may also change your captain during the transfer window, and at no other time. All teams must be finalised in good time for the main domestic competitions to begin again on 29 June, and transfers will be effective from the end of the Twenty20 tournament.

Team-To-Team Transfers

Any transfers involving another Fantasy Krikkit team are considered to be free, and do not count towards your three for a season. In effect, this means that you may buy players from or sell players to other teams as many times as you like during the season. If, for example, you sell a player to another FK team and replace him with a player from the Board's pool, this will not count as one of your three transfers because the transaction has involved another FK team. You may negotiate the deal between yourselves and simply let the Board know the outcome.

Unavailable Players

At the Board's discretion, you may replace players who have are no longer available to score points for your team. If one of your players picks up a long-term injury, retires or comes to the end of their contract (in the case of some overseas players), you may be allowed to make a transfer without penalty².

Note that transfers will only take place at a time suitable for the Board, and any loss of points as a result of inconvenient timing is just plain bad luck.

Previous Competitions

2007's Final Tables
2008's Final Tables
World Twenty20 Special Results