We almost tiptoed past the 11am transfer deadline without a peep... but nope. Saturday morning brought a flurry of dropouts and emergency call-ups, triggering DEFCON 1 in the Captains’ WhatsApp chat. Fantasy managers who got click-happy early doors—sorry, but The Scout’s legal team (aka a photo of Harvey Specter) says liability is not in the vocabulary. Somewhere in the T&Cs… probably written in invisible ink.
1XI Update:
Brave effort against Old Brentwoods but when the other side’s players earn more per match than your average crypto investor, it’s hardly a fair fight. Still, there were flickers of brilliance:
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Harry Robinson 
2 wickets and climbing the reputation ladder.
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Tom Willats 
Finally remembered which end of the bat scores runs—59 fluent, classy, long-overdue.
2XI Drama:
Set a tasty 222, then held Walthamstow to 214 like absolute legends. Squeaky bum time? Oh yes. But 10 sweet points in the bag. Highlights
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Michael Gray and Mohit Bhagwani - classy for their 50s.
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Freddie Robinson: making bowling look breezy again.
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Mo bows out like Bond at sunset— timing his final strike to perfection as the credits roll to a standing ovation. (Read that again with the Bond music going through your head - gives it a more dramatic effect)
3XI Island Adventure:
A field trip to Canvey—sun, sea, and sadness. Just 2 points brought home as Horndon chased down the total faster than you can say "The Scout doesn’t know what he’s talking about".
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Ravi Sandaname, Will Robertson, and Will Pearn made it to double figures. Everyone else? Didn’t quite make it.
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Sam Stannard keeps collecting wickets like he’s got a stamp album.
4XI Chaos:
Hornchurch Athletic lit it up with 250+. Seriously, what were they feeding those top 4—rocket fuel? Three out of four hitting fifties – mmmm!!
Highlights:
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Jordan Pickett (40), Kevin Sangwine (24), and Ash Roope (21) led the resistance.
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The hosts replied with 174. Not a bad effort, but no third batting point. So close, yet so spreadsheetishly far, we could have rounded up.
Fantasy League Headlines:
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Kya Ladd: Still cruising at the top with a 261-point lead. She’s basically the Verstappen of the league.
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Player of the Week: Mohit—152 points and a heroic swansong.
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Manager of the Week: Tom Willats with 487 points (and likely a smug grin), edging out second place by just 4.
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Manager of the Month: Dave Willats 
, big follower of The Scout gospel. Proof that blind faith sometimes pays.
We now march boldly into August. Big weekend ahead, big games coming, big ideas brewing for Friday’s theme. I’m already sensing something gloriously offbeat… Latvian folk dance cricket formation, anyone?
Until then, go hydrate, update your fantasy squads, check if a triple captain is still available, and tell your team they’re doing great—even if they’re not.