Owzat Games International Cricket - A Brief Review

Slowcoach

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
Australia
I am going to review a cricket simulation you should all know about, it's called International Cricket, and is made by Owzat Games.
It is by far the most accurate statistical simulation of cricket I have seen, much better than the sims usually used on this site.
Over time Career Averages and Strike Rates and Economy Rates plus number of Boundaries and Sixes will be spot on.
The game is available for purchase with a number of add ons from here:


The game is a dice simulation of Test and ODI cricket using a number of 6 sided dice but there is an Excel helper available for download from the Home of British Sport's Replay Gaming website which rolls all dice and keeps score for you.
The helper is available from here:


The game uses a unique interaction between batsman and bowler, the bowler rolls 2 six sided dice and consults his bowling card which determines the quality of the delivery, and the batsman rolls 2 dice and consults his card to determine the quality of the shot, the results are then read off a table which determines the outcome of the ball.
Bowlers have unique card with deliviry types which reflect their style, and most have a few deliveries with bonuses which contribute to their strike rate of balls per wicket.
Wasim Akram for example has bonuses for Swing and Yorker balls, whereas someone like Merv Hughes has Movement Off the Pitch and doesn't swing the ball.
Shane Warne Spins the ball more than Kumble, and some spinners have Well Flighted balls which ignore modifiers for a Good Batting Wicket.
A batting card features grades from A to H, with X as well, these determine the quality of the shot, with some batsman also having a Big Hit on their card for extra sixes.
Shots can be downgraded by a bowler's bonuses, with a good ball combined with an X result for the shot generally being trouble for the batsman.
There are 4 modes of batting aggression (Defensive, Normal, Looking For Runs, and Hitting Out) which effect run rates and averages, Hitting Out being good for simulating T20s.
Fielders and Keepers are also rated for their abilities, with Roger Harper receiving the highest rating, and someone like Phil Tufnell being among the worst.
Pitch and Weather conditions also come into account, with pitches wearing and changing character over the course of the match.
Every Test player who played 5 or 6 Tests has a unique card in the game, and since 1988 pretty much every Test player you can remember is carded.
There is also a Player Generator available to download which allows you to create new player cards based on their stats.
New cards are released in January every year for reasonable cost for current players who's Career stats have changed plus new players who debuted in the past 12 months.
It's a great game and far more accurate than the simulators most of you use on this site and well worth the money, worth checking out if you have a love for cricket simulations, I have played them all and this is by far the most enjoyable.
 

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