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Strategies for the International Game |
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Ashes Tour 1998 |
Match Tactics |
Bowling |
Batting |
Injuries |
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The ultimate test in
International Cricket Captain is leading your country in an
International season. Here are some useful hints to help you through
that gruelling Ashes Test and One day international series. |
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Right. You've got your
work cut out to get the 100 points you need to become England
captain. It'll take a while to achieve, and quite a lot of work, but
follow the Ultimate
ICC players guide and
your chances will be dramatically improved. |
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Alternatively, become
England manager right away by entering your name as Alec. The
downside to this is that you have to be called Alec for the rest of
the game. Obviously, if your name actually is Alec, then this
is no problem at all, really. Also, it's more fun and satisfying to
earn your right to become the national captain without cheating. Moral decisions out of
the way, becoming number one in the world rankings is no easy task.
Once you've got there, however, the hard work is mostly over and
it's usually quite easy to stay there. |
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Typical International Season: |
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*Exceptions to this
guide are Tests against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, which take the form
of a one or three match series. One dayers are unchanged. |
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Home |
Away |
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Three One Day
Internationals |
Five Test Matches* |
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Five - Six Test Matches* |
Five One Day Matches |
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Winter Tour
Season 1998-1999: The Ashes |
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In ICC, the first major
international tour for the England boys is against the Old Enemy -
the Aussies. Player selection will obviously depend on current form
and so on, but following is a rough guide to a fairly successful
squad. |
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Batsmen: Selection from: |
M Atherton (o), M May
(o), M Butcher (o) J Crawley, G Hick, A Stewart, E Smith (o)
(younger backup opener),
G Thorpe, N
Hussain |
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Wicket Keepers:
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One or two from:
S Willis, R Russell, M
Speight |
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All Rounders: From: |
I Austin
(believe me, he's good),
A Hollioake, R Croft
(Spinner #1)
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Bowlers: From:
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D Brown
(first name on sheet)
D Cork, A Fraser, A
Caddick, P Tufnell
(Spinner #2),
P Martin, D Gough |
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Further additions to
this list would be in-form players who, for example, top the bowling
or batting averages for the season, and perhaps some good young
players. However, this may be a bit too much of a risk in the first
winter tour - wait until new players have had a season or two of
county experience before they make the step up to international
level. |
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It's my experience that
Atherton never does as well as you expect - his skill level
is around an average of 35 rather than 40. However, it's still worth
picking him because he's the best opener in England. Michael May
does surprisingly well too - but only for a while. He tends to get
found out against stronger international sides. Butcher, as
is well documented, can become a world class all-rounder. It might
be worth giving him the reserve opener slot just in case - don't
forget to give him a batting and a bowling training point, though.
Finally, Ed Smith is only 20 at the beginning of the game and
already has an average of 44. He can, with a bit of nurturing,
become a mainstay at the top of the England order. |
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The England middle order
can be quite weak, as was seen in the corresponding real life Ashes
series. Put Stewart in at three, as a 'safety net' if the
openers fail - in the game, he's classed as an opening batsman. The
number four slot can fall to Hick or Crawley,
the latter being more effective against the spin of Shane Warne. I
suggest Hick, however, on the count that he can stick around and
make big hundreds, so you need to give him time. Five has to be
Thorpe, taking the cake from Hussain, who misses out due
to lack of experience. |
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Number six, for tests at
least, goes to Adam Hollioake. A top batsman who can bowl a
few balls as well ensures you don't go into the first Test with just
four bowlers. Seven goes to the wicket keeper who has to be Simon
Willis. May not be great all the time, and perhaps needs a bit
of experience, but I'd still be inclined to pick him on raw
potential alone. Number eight needs to be Dougie Brown, who
is a top quality bowler who can wield a bat with some respect.
Numbers 8-11 are changeable depending on conditions. |
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England
1st Choice XI |
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1 |
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MA Atherton (c) |
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2 |
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MR May |
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3 |
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AJ Stewart |
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4 |
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GA Hick |
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5 |
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GP Thorpe |
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6 |
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AJ Hollioake |
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7 |
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SC Willis (Wk) |
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8 |
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DR Brown |
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9 |
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ID Austin |
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10 |
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D Gough (1) |
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11 |
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ARC Fraser (2) |
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Stick Ian Austin
in at 9. He's a top wicket to wicket bowler who is very economical.
The only thing against him is lack of international experience, but
I'd overlook this. Darren Gough gets my vote at number 10 and
Angus Fraser completes the line-up. These two highly
experienced, top class pace bowlers open the attack with some force.
On wearing pitches, you may want to consider replacing Austin with
Croft or Tufnell to give a spin option, otherwise,
give Atherton one or two overs if the pitch starts to turn. |
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MATCH TACTICS |
[Top] |
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However, it's not a
cake-walk against the Aussies. From 1-11, every player is high
quality, backed up by the team averages: |
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Player
Name |
Test
Averages |
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Bat
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50 100 |
Bowl |
wkts 5w |
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Matthew Elliott
(o) |
48.11 |
4 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
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Michael Slater (o) |
47.41 |
10 |
7 |
4.00 |
1 |
- |
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Mark Waugh |
41.33 |
28 |
11 |
36.32 |
41 |
1 |
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Steve Waugh |
49.67 |
34 |
14 |
36.17 |
80 |
3 |
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Mark Taylor (o) |
41.89 |
34 |
15 |
26.00 |
1 |
- |
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Ricky Ponting |
38.07 |
3 |
1 |
4.00 |
2 |
- |
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Dean Jones |
46.55 |
14 |
11 |
64.00 |
1 |
- |
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Ian Healy (wk) |
26.98 |
18 |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
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Michael Bevan |
29.73 |
6 |
0 |
23.30 |
27 |
1 |
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Greg Blewett |
40.60 |
7 |
4 |
69.25 |
4 |
- |
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Glenn McGrath |
3.93 |
0 |
0 |
23.46 |
155 |
8 |
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Shane Warne |
14.46 |
2 |
0 |
23.95 |
264 |
11 |
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Paul Reiffel |
22.34 |
3 |
0 |
26.38 |
91 |
5 |
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Jason Gillespie |
12.29 |
0 |
0 |
22.20 |
32 |
2 |
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Michael Kasprowicz |
8.00 |
0 |
0 |
31.14 |
14 |
1 |
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It's best to take your
time and formulate plans to each batsman or bowler by looking at
their averages, strengths and weaknesses, then assessing how
successful you have been by looking at their match stats. For
example, you might assess how good an attacking off stump line is to
Matty Elliott by looking at how many plays and misses were made.
Check wagon wheels to see where runs are being scored and set fields
in accordance. In short, be careful and use all resources at your
expense. What makes a good player great is the ability to make the
right decisions in accordance to the situation. |
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Bowling |
[Top] |
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A bit of good luck
always helps. Hope that you win the toss more often than not on very
good pitches, but try not to panic if you don't - make good use of
the new ball by giving all your pace bowlers a go with it. Remember
to vary your attack, especially if you're struggling with Waugh and
Slater in a 200+ partnership. Check batters' preferences as you
would in county matches and keep your eye on bowlers' stamina levels
- you don't want to injure Darren Gough by bowling him into the
ground. |
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Use session breaks to
recuperate then come back fully fit and ready to attack for a few
overs with your quicks. The batsman settled rating decreases during
breaks, and resets to nought at the end of the day. Use this to your
bowlers' advantage. There are less overs per session in test matches
so bowlers, if rotated sufficiently, should be fresher than in
county games. Constantly change from level five attack to level zero
defence, from pace to spin, and occasionally from full-timers to
part timers. |
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Don't discount the value
of part-time bowlers - they can be very useful as something
different at the end of a session or a day, and the better ones can
snaffle some wickets for you. Mike Atherton in the skeleton team
above would be a good spinner to bring on when things are getting
tight. He can also, as first choice spinners can, rush through a few
overs leading up to the new ball. Remember to be moderately
defensive in your field settings though, preferably in proportion to
the skill of your spinner. |
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Batting |
[Top] |
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Batting is hard. In many
ways, it's tougher than bowling against the hostile Aussie attack -
Glenn McGrath is the ultimate miser and Warney can turn the ball on
any wicket. You ideally want to win the toss and bat, bat bat in the
Australia because the weather is superb and the wickets are great
Test match pitches. Even if it's a bit cloudy, still bat and get the
runs on the board. The only exception is very cloudy weather where
you may want to bowl first and really attack with your new ball
bowlers and take advantage of overcast conditions. |
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In Tests, defend on
batting levels zero (Atherton) or one (May, Butcher etc.) for the
first hour or so to see the shine off the new ball. Pick up the pace
in the hour leading up to lunch by moving up to two batting marks.
Move one batter (Athers) back down to one mark just after lunch and
gradually raise to two when fully settled and three for half an hour
before tea. If you've still only lost one wicket, attack after tea
on two marks at first and three when settled. If a part timer comes
on, consider pushing up to three or four marks and make use of the
locking aggression feature. Ideal situation at the close of play on
a good wicket would be 260-3. |
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Of course, this is
assuming everything goes smoothly. Losing wickets changes everything
- look to defend on two marks until fully settled then raise to
three. Bat in partnerships with one man attacking on three marks and
one going steadily on two (preferably a less attacking batsman).
When you get down to the all rounders with an established batsman,
go as normal but look to start attacking when numbers 10 and 11, or
perhaps when 9's in if you have an extended tail. This means three
or four marks. If a rabbit's in at 11, give your established batter
five attacking marks. |
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Warne, Top Aussie spinner |
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The ultimate first
innings score is 500+ which gives you loads of runs to attack like
mad for a bit. This doesn't happen often against Australia, though -
perhaps once a series if you're lucky. In my experience, 375 puts
you in a good position providing you deliver in a solid bowling
performance. Don't worry too much if you only get 300, but
definitely worry at 200 or less. Batting first means you can apply
the pressure bowling on the final day if the match goes that far.
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Same principle applies
batting in the second innings - but be careful not to collapse as
often happens when playing quality test sides. If you lose a couple
of quick wickets, consolidate for a while defending and increase
aggression only when settled. Treat your tailenders as the rabbits
they are and keep them at one or two aggression marks - never go up
to three unless you want to perish! A good second innings score is
hard to judge - remember not to be rash and don't be too
disheartened with a second innings lead of just 200. Don't forget
your opponents will have to bat on a 4th or 5th day pitch which is
usually spinning. |
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Injuries |
[Top] |
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Injuries can be killers
with regards to your team performance. When on tour with England,
it's not too bad, with reasonable breaks in between Tests. Usually
all players are at 100% fitness level for every game due to week
long rests. However, thoughtless over-bowling and long batting
stints mean injuries can, and often do, occur though with a lot less
frequency than in county games. Maximum injuries at any one time
usually limit to two, but this can still be greatly detrimental to
your team. Try to replace like for like if you can - opener for
opener, batsman for batsman, keeper for keeper etc. to attempt to
achieve some sort of consistency. |
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This means it's all the
more important to select the right men in your touring squad. Ian
Austin can be replaced with Cork and vice versa, Willis for Russell,
Gough for Caddick etc. However, the occasion may warrant the
selection of inexperience as the most preferable option. Don't worry
too much about this but try and protect them a bit because you're
not sure of their potential. |
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