2002 for me as well. Adding user player photo's and the extra immersion that brings won it for me.
Still playing it. My save is now about year 2390. It's also quick for simming. You can play through a test match over by over in about 3-4 minutes - and a one day game in under 2 minutes. Do a whole season over by over (not autoplay) in a couple of hours. Great for bringing a team of prospects through seasons where your expectation of winning any silverwear is really low.
Completely agree. Now that my exams are done, I'm planning to dig out 2002, get back down to my Sussex save, and get a career going for Dom Clapp.
What I loved about that version was the way that you could effectively develop a player into whatever you wanted them to be; the only down-side was that Bas Zuiderent, one of my favourite cricketers, was down as a specialist med bowler and absolute rabbit.