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Cricket for geeks: Online game reviews

Coulter-Nile is keen to take it up to England this weekend. (AP Photo /Ashwini Bhatia)
Roar Rookie
11th April, 2016
5

The summer down under has faded away and the world T20 is over. Where do the cricket obsessed in Australia get their fix?

Sure the one day series in the West Indies isn’t that far away but it’s not here yet. We are fortunate that technology provides the answer and the answer is the online cricket management game.

There are a number on offer and they have varying degrees of difficulty. All of them can require as little time as an hour a week for the casual player. All of them can turn into a deep ‘time sink’ to while away the quiet moments in your life.

The format of these games are all somewhat similar. When you sign up you receive a random team of players with questionable skill and overall value. Each manager picks his team from their squad of players and assigns them orders which broadly govern how they will try to play.

When your team plays you are able to ‘watch’ your game progress by viewing commentary. This is similar in format to the written commentary which is available at websites such as ESPN and the like. It’s surprisingly compelling to watch it all unfold.

Meanwhile, in between games managers have the opportunity to improve their players via training or by purchasing better players should they have the funds to do so. Managers are also responsible for financial decisions made by the club such the size of the team’s home ground and its facilities.

The oldest of these games is Battrick (BT) which has been around for over a decade. Battrick is perhaps the simplest of the online cricket games.

The interface for giving your players instructions is straight forward. This is one of the weaknesses of Battrick. The player development is equally limited with each manager restricted to just ten ‘nets’ with which to train their squad although player can be given more than one net.

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The real positive of Battrick is that it is the only online cricket management game which offers first class matches. The others only offer one day and T20 fixtures. For this reason, and the fact that it is the oldest of these games, it remains the most popular.

The player base is steadily shrinking however as a result of the lack of fresh development being undertaken by the creator of the game.

Next one of the rack is From the Pavilion (FTP). In terms of match orders FTP is very similar to Battrick although it substitutes first class matches for a ‘youth squad’ which also plays one day matches.

The area of player development is where FTP really shines. Managers can allocate each player a training schedule which matches the role they play in the team. Batsmen train as batsmen, Bowlers train as bowlers and all-rounders do a bit of both. Anyone can train as fielders, keepers or for general fitness and power.

Further enhancing this system is each clubs training facilities. The more money a manager allocates to their training academy the more effective it becomes. This actual effectiveness is determined by comparing the amount each team allocates across the entire competition.

If your team allocates more than the average team does to their academy, your teams players will improve slightly faster than a team which allocates less. In effect it acts as a ‘money sink’ which in turn stops the player transfer market from being horribly inflated. It’s cleverly done.

Lastly the new kid on the block is Stumped. Stumped has only been going for a couple of years and is the smallest of these games. Like FTP it offers one day, T20 and youth games but no first class matches although there is some talk of first class in the future.

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Unlike Battrick and FTP, Stumped has a very versatile match interface. It allows managers a much greater range with which to instruct their players to behave and should a manager choose they can select the bowling order in specific detail.

The match engine commentary itself is also much superior to its competitors. It provides managers with greater information about what is actually happening on the field. Unfortunately, this is balanced by the random element in the match engine appearing to be quite ‘loose’ which allows for some results which frustrate managers on a fairly regular basis.

In terms of player development, it’s a mixed bag on Stumped. In one sense it very cleverly allows managers to ‘train’ their coaches thus improve the amount they improve the players they train. Stumped also allows players to improve just by playing matches which is also very sensible.

On the negative side player skills start diminishing very early on. This results in some truly farcical outcomes in which players in the mid-twenties actually decrease in specific skills despite playing regularly. It’s a shame as there is so much which Stumped gets right but the miscalculation regarding the training is a deal breaker for many people.

To conclude, if you are keen to try out one of these games, stick with Battrick if you want it simple. Try FTP if player development is your thing. Stumped provides a good match experience and it’s the only one which still has ongoing development.

Beware though as it’s the most complex and it’s not without its issues.

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