iPhone App: Flick Cricket

10:15a.m., Sat 4 Sep 2010

Cricket seems like a ridiculous sport to me. I like hitting the ball - hitting a ball as hard as you can is always fun - and throwing and catching seems like a lot of fun too.

But as a yonungester, the problems with cricket were that people seemed to take it enormously seriously, and then slow it down to such a degree that it stops being fun anymore.

As a Yorkshireman, typing these things out loud is possibly some sort of heresy. Ah, well.

The only reason I have any vague idea about what the hell's going on in any cricket match is due to computer games, in particular, Test Match and International Cricket on the ZX Spectrum 48k.

But, most recently, there's a new cricket game that I'm hooked on. It's Flick Cricket on the iPhone and iPod Touch (and, I suppose those new fangled iPadlets).

It's snappy gameplay and it plays perfectly to the strengths of the touchscreen interface. There's more info on the official Flick Cricket site, but here's a quick review and insight into the mode of play, as well as some tips and tricks that I've found have enriched gameplay.

Batting

The view of the cricket pitch is a plan view. The ball travels from the top of the screen towards your wicket at the bottom, to play a stroke you attempt to flick the ball away. And let me tell you, there's nothing more sweet than catching the ball perfectly, hearing the click of willow on leather and seeing the ball speed away for four.

There's three types of bowler: spin, pace and swing, and each need a different approach.

Batting Against Spin Bowlers

Spin bowlers are tricky - the ball travels slowly but kicks left or right on the bounce making it hard to hit. I found it easier to play the ball laterally - that is, to hit across the flight of the ball pushing it directly to the right or left. The ball travels at a constant pace so it's easier to time this kind of shot.

Batting Against Pace Bowlers

The easiest stroke here is to flick straight up, hitting the ball back towards the bowler. The ball moves fat, but doesn't move left or right so it's easier to line up your shot this way.

Batting Against Swing Bowlers

I find swing bowlers are the easiest of the three to play. It's difficult to hit the spin bowler for six since there's no pace on the ball. But swing balls have some momentum to play with and aren't as difficult to hit as those pesky pace bowls. I find hooking the ball towards a 7 o'clock position the most productive shot. Not only does the computer opponent skimp on fielders here, it's also the nearest boundary, so the easiest place to hit for six.

Batting Top Scores

The best I've managed is 125 for 1 from 5 overs, but anything over 100 is an awesome score - it's five 4-run boundaries every over, which isn't to be sniffed at. The computer may move fielders mid-over so it's important to watch and analyse the field for gaps - it's really satisfying to tonk a ball for four in exactly the place a fielder has just vacated.

Bowling

Computer batsmen are weaker against one kind of bowler - watch their names at the top of the screen between balls to see which bowler will exploit this weakness.

The most common kind of 'out' is the catch. Run outs happen, as do straight 'bowleds' (but no LBW in this game). Bowling directly at the wicket is, obviously the best way to bowl an opponent, but bowl directly at the wicket every time and you'll find yourself getting hit firmly and regularly - a variety of line works best.

I've found that you can load one side of the field (I favour the right side) with fielders and only bowl down that side - the computer will rarely, if ever, hit a ball to the opposite side. I load the inner circle, leaving only three players on the perimeter.

The more you've scored in your 5 overs, the more aggressive your computer opponents will be, so bear that in mind.

Lowest Scores

I've managed to dismiss the entire side only a few times. The lowest total I've managed to limit the computer opponent to has been 15 for 5, which included 3 run outs and 2 catches - no straight bowl outs since I wasn't bowling directly at the wicket.

Related Links

• the official Flick Cricket site
• Review of International Cricket (ZX Spectrum)