Scorecard! results: 'It's more judgement than luck – so take your lead from Fraser'
George Peters has become the first winner of Scorecard, The Independent's interactive cricket game in which readers pit their wits against Angus Fraser, the former England bowler who writes for the newspaper.
The 25 year-old from Hertfordshire, who works for a media agency in Holborn, central London, accurately predicted several outcomes in the last week's first Test against Australia, in which England clung on for a nail-biting draw. Among his astute guesses were that James Anderson would face the final ball of the day (Fraser had guessed it would be Anderson's partner at the game's climax, Monty Panesar).
Every day during the Ashes matches this summer, players of Scorecard are being invited to assess six predictions about that day's play by Fraser. Three predictions concern names, and three concern numbers. If a reader's predictions are more accurate than Fraser's, they acquire runs or wickets.
Four further games of Scorecard will coincide with the remaining four matches of the series. Winners of each game will win match tickets and entry into a prize draw, where an overall winner, picked at random, will be given the chance to watch England play in a Test match in South Africa.
"I think the key is to look closely at Fraser's prediction and make subtle changes," Peters said. "It does require a bit of judgement rather than being purely about luck. For example, he guessed that the first catch of the final day would be taken by the Australian wicket-keeper. So I had a look at who they had in the slips and got it right."
Peters said England should take comfort from pulling off a draw despite being outplayed for four and a half days. "We can't get too excited but there's hope. Much as I love him I'd drop Monty for [Graham] Onions. I'm not convinced about [Steve] Harmison's frame of mind. If I had to guess I'd back England to win the series 2-1, just".
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies