Where Are You?
There are 12 punters playing for glory in the 2008 Middlesex Averages prediction competition:
NAME | COMMENT |
| GED LADD | This contestant needs no introduction |
| COMEBACKGATT | A regular contributor and moderator on MTWD, CBG did not do so brilliantly last year, but might have got the hang of this game by now. |
| THE DIAMOND RULED OK | A regular contributor and reporter for MTWD. One of the more canny MTWD people, Diamond has previously refrained from entering this competition! Diamond perhaps has a somewhat optimistic side to his Middlesex nature. |
| LOVERBOY | Another MTWD regular who usually refrains from prediction. On this occasion he has decided to have a punt and who’s to say his predictions won’t be spot on? |
| EAMONN COFFEY | Eamonn (like so many MTWD people) is a regular reader but not a regular contributor. Eamonn was a dark horse entry last year and came very close to winning the prize. One to watch.. |
| JANET DAVIS | Janet’s unfailing optimism charms some and irritates others. If Middlesex’s youngsters do consistently well this year, punters will need to watch out for Janet’s score, for sure. |
| CHIANGMAI CHEERS | A regular reader and contributor from across the seas, this is Chiangmai’s second go at this game. Last season his results were nothing to write home about, but who’s to say what will happen this year. |
| BARMY KEV | In what has become a great annual tradition, Kev’s was the last entry to arrive. Clearly Kev uses every piece of information to inform his punts, right up to the last minute. Equally clearly, based on past performance, this approach doesn’t help all that much. |
| HIPPITY THE GREEN BUNNY | The voice of untrammelled optimism, Hippity’s failure to do well at this game does not seem to have affected his optimistic slant towards his heroes |
| DINGY BAGS | An MTWD regular, Dingy Bags is the reigning champion at this game, so definitely one to watch closely. Another one to watch closely is Dingy Bags’ postman, as his prize from last year, dispatched by my own fair hand, is yet to arrive. What a loss!! |
| PISTOL PETE | Pistol Pete has a great track record in MTWD quizzes, but so far has not proved as successful at prediction games. Always one to watch, though, is Pete. |
| DAISY MOPPETT | A dark horse candidate if ever there was one – Daisy seems to have taken a rather less optimistic slant than most – she would say realistic - but that doesn’t make her wrong – merely different. Ged Ladd predicts: Daisy is always one to watch. |
There are also three computed entries, by way of benchmarks:
NAME | COMMENT |
| 1st CLASS AVERAGE | Based on the players’ lifetime 1st class averages. Players that don’t yet have sufficient 1st class experience have standardised predictions: batsman 40/60, all-rounder 30/30, bowler 10/25. |
| MIDDLESEX 2007 | Based on the players’ average in the 2007 season for Middlesex. Those who did not play for Middlesex 2007 have standardised predictions: batsman 40/60, all-rounder 30/30, bowler 10/25. |
| POLL OF POLLS | The twelve real entries are averaged into a “poll of polls” to see if the combined brains of the contestants do better, worse or about the same as the individual contestants |
Here is the position after three matches played. Remember that this is not the most reliable stage of the season to work out how you are getting on. Silverwood has a batting average of 70 at the moment, and Evans a bowling average of just over 11. I’d expect to see those averages (and others) move a bit as the season goes on.
MIDDLESEX PREDICTION GAME 2008 | |||||
| RESULTS PAGE | |||||
| PUNTER'S NAME | BAT SCORE | BOWL SCORE | TOTAL SCORE | RANK-ING | |
| 1ST CLASS AVERAGE | 183 | 79 | 262 | 2 | |
| MIDDLESEX 2006 | 197 | 76 | 273 | 4 | |
| GED LADD | 195 | 79 | 274 | 5 | |
| COMEBACKGATT | 189 | 73 | 262 | 2 | |
| DIAMOND | 259 | 86 | 345 | 15 | |
| LOVERBOY | 202 | 81 | 283 | 7 | |
| EAMONN COFFEY | 209 | 77 | 286 | 9 | |
| JANET DAVIS | 210 | 90 | 300 | 13 | |
| CHIANGMAI CHEERS | 205 | 81 | 286 | 9 | |
| BARMY KEV | 206 | 77 | 283 | 7 | |
| HIPPITY | 238 | 88 | 326 | 14 | |
| DINGY BAGS | 195 | 93 | 288 | 11 | |
| PISTOL PETE | 213 | 79 | 292 | 12 | |
| DAISY | 179 | 77 | 256 | 1 | |
| POLL OF POLLS | 199 | 80 | 279 | 6 | |
Still, it is fascinating to see Daisy in a pretty solid first place, ahead of all of the benchmarks and just ahead of Comebackgatt. Ged himself is a respectable third (amongst the humans) with Loverboy and Barmy Kev tied for the next spot. The optimists (Diamond, Hippity and Janet) unsurprisingly bring up the rear for now. But there is still absolutely everything still to play for.
The base spreadsheet for the game at this stage is published at the Googledocs link below, if you want a butchers at the raw numbers.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwWi9CpG2dshH8n0PprfYIw
If anyone wants to see the full spreadsheet model that includes all the predictions and the formulae for computing the winners, you are very welcome to do so.
Please e-mail Ged at gedladd@hotmail.co.uk and he’ll e-mail you a copy of the spreadsheet.
Ged will continue periodically to publish some current standings on the contestants and benchmarks. For those who like this sort of thing, it should be a bit of fun. And for those who don’t like this sort of thing – you don’t have to watch.
Good luck everyone.
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