Difficulty: Veteran (custom sliders between med & hard)
As I trudge off the field after a mammoth 370 from 293 in my second first class game, I can't help but feel so much needs to change to make Ashes Cricket a game I return to again.
Rated just 47, I received a call up to my English county following some impressive club performances; one of which was a 307* in the second innings of a three day club match. The thought of surpassing that score by some distance in the same season against first class opponents did not cross my mind.
Why was I able to accomplish this so easily? Bear in mind I only played on pro difficulty in previous editions and surpasses 200 just twice.
1. Bowling - Accuracy is nowhere near where it should be. The volume of full/short and wide deliveries mean no pressure is built throughout the innings. When they do bowl a good length ball, it often angles down leg side providing further scoring opportunity. Any 'good' deliveries can simply be defended or left without any need to score from them. Lets see some consistent bowling that builds pressure with the poor delivery thrown in on occasion.
2. Fielding - I'm not too sure what's happened with fielding positions on this game. Having read some of the reviews I believed fielding to be responsive to your playing style and reactive to scoring areas. For the majority of my innings, fielding consisted of a 'ring' with a fine leg. As a result, it was far too easy to guide any poor balls into the gap or over the top knowing it didn't need to be timed perfectly. Also, once I passed 300, the field reset to the aggressive 4 slips no point setting. I'd like to have seen a few boundary riders once set to make me think differently about which shots to play.
3. Batting - I actually started my club career with scores of 1,0,1. Once I figured out which shots to play, batting has become all too mechanical. There are far too many shots I can play knowing there's little or no risk in a dismissal. Not even the hint of an edge when i drive at a wide one outside off stump. Timing the ball doesn't seem overly important either when playing square of the wicket, it just tends to trickle away while the fielder runs through quicksand trying to reach it.
As for the fact that unbeaten 50's/100's don't even get registered in statistics or the SP points are the same regardless of performance, this game still needs much work to become one I can't put down. And believe me, that's exactly what I want and expect from this game!
