NEW: Cricket Predictor Changes at Superbru
We've all been there. Sat staring at our laptop or phone making picks for the IPL, T20 blast or whichever other cricket tournament it may be at a given time of the year. Bragging rights are of course a must when it comes to Superbru, but it feels tricky to play with confidence that you'll beat your pool mates when looking to decide exactly how many wickets or runs the Kolkata Knight Riders are set to defeat the Rajasthan Royals by.
Just as with all of our other predictor games, the question we're essentially asking you when you play our cricket predictor tournaments is not only which team will win a given fixture but also how close that fixture is likely to be. We've decided that the notion of 'closeness' is not always accurately reflected by runs or wickets alone and will therefore be introducing a new format that will be in place for our next tournament - the new South African t20 league named the Mzansi Super League - and all others in the future.
Rather than asking for a specific number of runs or wickets a team will win by, after picking a team to win you'll now have to choose between three options: Close, Comfortable or Easy.
We have crunched a whole lot of data (the last 4 years of major T20 tournaments) and come out with the following T20 thresholds for each category:
Note: These thresholds will be widened for ODI (and other One Day) tournaments
In batting second victories, it's always the lower of the wickets or balls thresholds that will decide the outcome. For example, a win by 8 wickets but with only 1 ball remaining will count as Close, as will a win by 1 wicket but with 14 balls remaining.
Ties resolved by super over will be scored as 'Close' for the winning team. If the tournament doesn't use a tie-break mechanism like a super over, in the very rare event of a tie, players picking Close would score Margin Points but nobody would score a Win Point. We'd rather make an exception like this than build the choice of a tie into the user interfaces and scoring as ties are so unusual (and so unpredictable) that we think we'd be doing everyone a disservice by tempting you into that option.
Lastly, in weather-affected matches that end up being decided by the Duckworth/Lewis method, all margin points will be scrapped and points will simply be issued for picking the winner as you can't apply a full 20 or 50 over prediction to a match that has to be reduced some time after it has started. For one day matches that are reduced from the start due to rain, it is likely we will still apply thresholds so long as a certain number of overs have been played - this will be made clear ahead of any One Day tournaments starting at Superbru.
There will be a fantasy Superstars game for the MSL at Superbru in addition to the predictor, though this is yet to be made available due to today's ongoing player draft that is deciding which teams the likes of Chris Gayle will be representing.
Our MSL T20 predictor is available for you to join now though, and you can do so here.
We hope you're all as excited for these cricket predictor changes as we are and that the game can add some extra excitement to numerous upcoming tournaments. Feel free to leave any questions you may about the Sachin system in the comments below.
Just as with all of our other predictor games, the question we're essentially asking you when you play our cricket predictor tournaments is not only which team will win a given fixture but also how close that fixture is likely to be. We've decided that the notion of 'closeness' is not always accurately reflected by runs or wickets alone and will therefore be introducing a new format that will be in place for our next tournament - the new South African t20 league named the Mzansi Super League - and all others in the future.
Introducing the Sachin system
As you may recall from The General informing you about changes to our football scoring system earlier this year, each scoring change is given a name here at Superbru. The 'Wenger system' is now firmly in place for each of our football games and since we're on the hunt for a cricket predictor format that is also about keeping things simple, easy and most importantly, enjoyable, we've decided Sachin Tendulkar is the man our new system will be named after. The 'Little Master' certainly made things look really easy and if the Sachin system proves to be half as enjoyable to play as Tendulkar was to watch, we'll feel this change has been a great success.Rather than asking for a specific number of runs or wickets a team will win by, after picking a team to win you'll now have to choose between three options: Close, Comfortable or Easy.
We have crunched a whole lot of data (the last 4 years of major T20 tournaments) and come out with the following T20 thresholds for each category:
Note: These thresholds will be widened for ODI (and other One Day) tournamentsIn batting second victories, it's always the lower of the wickets or balls thresholds that will decide the outcome. For example, a win by 8 wickets but with only 1 ball remaining will count as Close, as will a win by 1 wicket but with 14 balls remaining.
Ties resolved by super over will be scored as 'Close' for the winning team. If the tournament doesn't use a tie-break mechanism like a super over, in the very rare event of a tie, players picking Close would score Margin Points but nobody would score a Win Point. We'd rather make an exception like this than build the choice of a tie into the user interfaces and scoring as ties are so unusual (and so unpredictable) that we think we'd be doing everyone a disservice by tempting you into that option.
Lastly, in weather-affected matches that end up being decided by the Duckworth/Lewis method, all margin points will be scrapped and points will simply be issued for picking the winner as you can't apply a full 20 or 50 over prediction to a match that has to be reduced some time after it has started. For one day matches that are reduced from the start due to rain, it is likely we will still apply thresholds so long as a certain number of overs have been played - this will be made clear ahead of any One Day tournaments starting at Superbru.
Points
As previously mentioned, things will be kept simple. You will score 1 point for selecting the right winner of a given match and an additional 0.5 points if you manage to nail the correct closeness threshold - a bit like our Sevens predictor game. Pool Bonus Points will be scrapped.Mzansi Super League
The Sachin system will make its debut with a brand new cricket tournament next month! If you haven't already heard, a fresh South African t20 tournament will begin on the 16th November featuring six franchises - Tshwane Spartans, Cape Town Blitz, Jozi Stars, Durban Heat, Paarl Rocks and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants.There will be a fantasy Superstars game for the MSL at Superbru in addition to the predictor, though this is yet to be made available due to today's ongoing player draft that is deciding which teams the likes of Chris Gayle will be representing.
Our MSL T20 predictor is available for you to join now though, and you can do so here.
We hope you're all as excited for these cricket predictor changes as we are and that the game can add some extra excitement to numerous upcoming tournaments. Feel free to leave any questions you may about the Sachin system in the comments below.
The crucial picks will become the Comfortably or Easy choices. This effectively replaces the 5 or 6 wickets or 15 or 20 runs, which still gave a slight hedge if the underdogs won by 5 or fewer if you went 15. Conversely you instead got the within 20 points margin bonus for a 40 run tonking by the favorites. I often went 17 runs to cover both outcomes. I also occasionally went 7 or 8 or even 9 wickets to nab the Closest Bonus, but that entertaining high risk/high reward option has been 'Hit for Six' by this new 'Slashin' Sashin' system. It makes it more 'Geoffrey Boycott-esque' and plodding with few
By ensuring players can receive a 'maximum' amount of points for a correct pick rather than worrying about pool mates, skilled brus will be fully rewarded when they predict a game well instead of often missing out on important bonus points because they happen to have been one run further away from a result than a pool mate. Regardless of how well a bru may know their cricket, it's near-impossible to say with any certainty that a game will be won by an exact amount of runs or wickets. We're confident that by grouping those two factors along with the new consideration of balls remaining, the way in which points are rewarded at Superbru will be a better reflectio 17 Oct 14:40
It makes it more 'Geoffrey Boycott-esque' and plodding with fewer gains possible, only 0.5 compared to say 1.5 pts. Is this about keeping more pickers hopes alive towards the end of tournaments? But is achieved by neutralising the more clever tactics of historically more 'canny' and successful Brus? You are reducing the choice of weapons in some more able Bru's armouries. Who fancies a round of golf with 3 clubs instead of 12?
I also like the new idea for making it easier to pick in the cricket comps. You could also make it even simpler by dropping the “balls remaining” as I don’t think this is necessary and widening the parameters, as follows - Close win - 1-3 wickets or 1-20 runs Comfortable win - 4-7 wickets or 21-49 runs Easy win - 8+ wickets or 50+ runs Then the scoring - 3 points for spot on prediction 2 points for prediction 1 result class away from the result 1 point for prediction 2 result class away from the result I’ve played cricket games on other sites that adopt this method and it just works.
The ranges you've suggested there would realistically be more in line with 50 over ODI's. We're still crunching the numbers for those to be tailored specifically for the different requirements of the longer version. 18 Oct 08:29
Back to cricket for now... 18 Oct 10:08
So we're really simplifying that pick process and making the game easier to play, consequently increasing the chance that you'd be in with a shot at getting the Maximum points haul for a match if you've applied your cricket knowledge well, which should make it a lot more fun and competitive to play. 18 Oct 08:52
Let's not take too much of a detour off-topic here, but your comments are certainly noted and we'll keep them in consideration when we revisit the rugby discussion at SuperHQ soon. 18 Oct 09:03
I wonder why Vrystaat dont have a team
I think this should also attract brus over to participate in cricket.
The skilled brus should statistically fair better irrespective of the scoring system.
It's something we considered when we designed the Cricket Superstars game, but decided against as it would throw the scoring balance off-kilter with too much weighting at the top end. 15 Nov 11:06
Good luck with your next picks! 30 Nov 14:31