It's 6.30am, and I'm 20 overs in to a first class career match. I haven't bowled and I've hardly touched the ball, but I've had a genuinely fantastic time.
I only started fielding because I was at first slip, and I thought I'd just give it a couple of overs to see if I could get a catch. But I'm finding watching the game from slip (and lately, out saving 1 on the 3/4 for the spinner) is so much like watching a real game from those positions that I just haven't wanted to quit.
The batting ai has looked pretty good so far. Basically it's very been very believable most of the time, with the occasional oddball shot. They defended the straight ones, banged a few bad balls, and played a few shots I genuinely admired.
Field placings started out fine, but we've been giving away singles at deep midwicket and deep cover off the spinner for no good reason since about the 10th over. And I guess actually the 10th over of a first class match is not the likeliest time to put your tweaker on, though it's not unheard of.
Anyway I'm sure BA don't intend people to play this as an rpg so no doubt there are some very rough edges to ai vs ai interactions, but I'm really impressed by some of the stuff I've seen in these 20 overs.
