Cricket Coach 2011

Hit your PC for six, with Rockingham's Software Ltd's detailed Cricket simulator.

Cricket Coach is an extraordinarily detailed simulation game franchise game that will appeal to real life players and fans of the sport. This review will focus in particular on the 2014 iteration of the game (which is released in time for the 2015 International Cricket World Cup), but will make general references to the franchise.

Cricket Coach boasts a cult like following, and its level of statistical detail of domestic first and second teams and international sides showcases how it is perfect for the statistic obsessed fandom of the cricketing fraternity. Even past players like Viv Richards and Ian Botham make appearances as the game showcases the in depth statistics of past players and present cricket stars (over 6000 real life cricketers are included). In comparison to other sports simulation games, it bears similarity to Football Manager rather than FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer, as its focus is on strategy and planning rather than in game control and direct interactions.

The 2014 version features an improved game machine that makes the simulation quite realistic. 2014 Cricket Coach also boasts variations in ground sizes and realistic visual depictions of day and night matches that adds value to the in game aspect of the software. The game offers an AI enhanced assistant manager (a real life coach's answer to prayer!) who can trawl through the dizzying plethora of stats and figures to assist the coach in player selection. A variety of options are available for controlling the batsmen, like "hit and run" and "keep strike" which further enhance the life likeness of Cricket Coach, as well as the levels of defensive skills of various batsmen based on real life player abilities. Pedantic "armchair" coaches will be delighted with the detailed scheduling calendar option which enables a tour or series to be planned in meticulous detail beforehand. The game makes a distinction between T20 cricket and One Day International Test Cricket, in fact you can appoint a different captain for T20 games, as well as enjoy the hugely popular Indian and Australian T20 club leagues.

In conclusion, the detail of Rockingham's Software Ltd's Cricket Coach is staggering and will reward the most determined and persistent of players.

Pros

• Amazing breadth and depth of stats
• Widest possible selection of players and teams
• Realistic simulation
• Offers different ground sizes, game strategies etc

Cons

• Flat 2D graphics
• Very steep learning curve
• Overwhelming barrage of information at times