Arctic_Wolf
Club Captain
I think fielding needs to improve with some forward dives and tapping it back, boundary catches and throwing it up in the air and catching it or throwing it to your teammate.
running Diving catches in the outfield
Fielders need to be quicker
Keeper needs to have quicker response to edges or stumpings
There should be slow pitches in the game too and there should more ones, two's and threes.
Need to bring slog sweep back and improve late cut.
Need to make slower Ball or slow deliveries actually slow pace and fast pace deliveries challenging.
Maybe hit a crack and hit the gloves or something.
Add button to duck cause I can't duck under a bouncer.
You can duck a short ball, always could . It's left stick button with pro controls or right stick button with standard/arcade controls. (Xbox, obviously convert accordingly for your platform if different.). You can choose from 2 or 3 different options in the settings if you use pro controls too.
Yes to nearly all of this for me. The fielding slide that seems to be the only way to currently stop the ball always drags legs over the boundary giving away fours, so a forward dive with tap back inevitably has to come in sooner or later (make that sooner). Also fielders fielding just inside the rope and taking a big step back (giving away four) to throw really wouldn't do that, they'd skip a stride forward and throw it in. These things cost runs which affect close outcomes in a large number of games.
Keepers and bowling end fielders are very slow to react. We've all seen the general lightning quick reactions of a lot of keepers when they receive a ball back in, in real life if a chance is on. the current wind-up of a backswing and then forward into the bails is ridiculous. Surely the developers can't think that is representative of reality? Actually @MattW - what are the controls for making the bowlers end break the bails, because I can make the wicketkeeper do it, but not the bowlers end?
As for the fielders speed, it was increased a few patches ago, but has slowed down again recently and you can visibly see a jogging style of running as fielders amble after the ball like it's going to be an inevitable boundary. I've said before, they should speed up/accelerate if anything. Replay in your mind real life fielders in a big match and those last two-three strides where they think they've got a chance of stopping a boundary. They're generally flying at the ball full sprint and it's exciting.
Another thing on fielding. Lately I've seen fielders (on semi-auto), running along the boundary line and getting caught for a few strides on the rope!!! Still running, but caught on the rope and of course missing the fielding opportunity.
Also, what's happening with the catching game in the outfield? I'm seeing AI teams, right on the boundary, tapping the ball back in and it's great! How do we do it? I thought maybe we'd be able to choose TRIANGLE (PS systems) and it'd tap it down to the ground, but no. Only the X catch option and the inevitable stepping on the rope!
Finally on catching, they could seem to make some sort've game option based on the catchers skill, where you have to time the button press for a certain range of distance from the fielder.? Or a meter that goes from red-orange-yellow-green-yellow-orange red? Anything that makes a quick game of skill. It is a skill isn't it? Currently it's press X in the middle and 100% guaranteed catch. Not that I'd like random drops either as in C'19.
I do get it. Fielding is not as exciting as batting and bowling and is lower priority. Understood, but if they can make the least interesting facet of the game better, it'll bring the overall package up significantly.
Ordinarily a catch wouldn't be guaranteed at all. Timing, center positioning of the catch reticle (if near the edges it usually increases the risk of a drop) & the various player skill & catching ratings would also affect an outcome. Unfortunately, however, about 3 patches ago now catching was much more varied & if anything it was the other way with too many drops, but the AI ended up bugged & it became unintentionally like the old Ashes Cricket 17 catch all system & the AI simply stopped dropping anything. It also made the pro catch system too easy as well. (It was as if the game just wasn't seeing individual catching stats/skills anymore & everyone was stuck on max skill or the random number generator wasn't active either so nothing was being dropped.)
There was a slight improvement to this in the last patch where it's not a 100% catch all bug but it's far from perfect & the AI still catches too many chances based on their skills & it's still too easy as a human with drops being rare even if messing up with the catch reticle etc.