i think they have a minor effect, but it's maybe inconsistent. but it's very difficult: if i'm bowling to a defensive player but it's an absolute road and i'm serving up dross should they smash me round the park? if it's grassy and cloudy and hooping like a banana should the attacking player rein themselves in?
i think the AI could have been designed better from the ground up, but i say this after the fact based on the outcome and the minor peeks behind the curtain we've got in the beta, rather than as some AI guru... as I say we are where we are. within the constraints we have i believe there is still an excellent game underneath that we are getting closer and closer to.