I restarted my game, I went looking around reading up about the patch for the difficulty levels and stuff. Armed with a bit of experience now, I figured I'd try and do better as the 16 year old.
Did ok, 141 in the first FC innings, then out for 1 in the second. Fall from grace indeed. Hit a few in the OD games, 44 and 32. I was far too impatient in OD games, slogging or doing stupid shots.
So I went into the FC vs Hampshire with a mission to shut up shop and be a reasonable batsman instead of a ridiculously aggressive one.
Hampshire smashed 458 in their first innings and we were 20-1 before I came in at number 3.
I was dropped in the slips on 3, was a top edge off a cover drive (my main and probably sole offside weapon for some reason), the slips fielder had to dive for it but it didn't stick. Bragg was the other batsman and he played the holding role, pushing me into a very aggressive rapid 30 off 20 balls, mostly because Hampshire left the off-side wide open for my cover drives.
I reached 50 off 68 balls, but the brakes came on pretty quickly thereafter, spinners came on and bar one huge six through the off-side I mostly blocked and eked out singles. There was a reason for this though, and that was fantastic AI. See, having scored well in my first three matches I had a high front-foot rating, but a crippled back foot rating. The AI rotated their pace bowlers to aim short balls at the body and off-side, only bowling one good pitched ball. They also filled gully, point and the leg side with fielders in the hope of getting an easy catch. This forced me to learn on the job, I quickly learnt how to cut the ball between gully and point, I was fine with hooking, it was just now I wasn't just getting the odd ball at the body it was a full over wide and short, often on the other side of the wicket for the edging angle. In the back of mind I was always waiting for the yorker that never bloody came!
I'm not quite *that* stupid though, so I mostly left the ball, only hooking short body-balls and slightly wider off-balls, I didn't chase the extremely wider ones. My AI mates on the other hand weren't quite so clever, Bragg got out to a plumb lbw, the next batter hit a first ball slog into the covers and was caught for a duck, the next (Allenby) was bowled playing a defensive leg block to a wide-off ball (muppet!) and the next got lbw to the spinner too, so it was me and Wagg at the crease.
I hit 100 runs, with very few boundaries. After I went past 100 though I was mistiming a lot of shots, tiredness maybe? I inside edged one that didn't carry to the keeper and one slightly past the wicket, and had a huge LBW appeal for a ball that went past my defensive block. They were fourth time lucky though and got me plumb LBW playing onto the leg side to a slower ball, out for 117 runs that came off 181 balls (contrast with 50 off 68 to see how much I slowed down!)
We were all out 280 something, awful batting performance. Second innings is on now but I'm taking a much needed break. 181 balls is exhausting, that 100 was hard work and blessed by some luck with the edges. I really need to learn to use more of the field, I can actually cut spinners now! But my sweep is hit and miss and I'm still too scared of the on-drive for risk of edges!
By the way anyone else getting ridiculously amazing batting scores in FC games if you simulate to player? The tail in particular are happy to whack hundreds if the top order collapses!
, if it is possible please share big wheel of the innings 
