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International Cricket FAQ v1.1
Last Updated 15th December 2000
Author: Lee Davis-Thalbourne/Kirby1024
Website: http://kirby1024.tripod.com
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Contents:
1. Introduction
2. FAQ Update History
3. Barebones Objective
4. Batting
5. Bowling
6. Fielding
7. Team Selection
8. General Tips
9. Interesting things to try
10. Credits/Legal stuff
11. Next Installment
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1. Introduction
OK. This is probably one of the least played games in my NES
collection. I find it fun on occaisons (and it's the only way
I'll play cricket :) I thought that making a FAQ on this game
might help others who have inherited this game from friends
whose NES bit the dust or bought it out of curiosity from
secondhand game stores. (which is pretty much the only two
ways you'll likely find it)
As for the actual avaliability of this game, well, I'm still
trying to figure that one out. I know that it was released in
Australia, and I'm fairly sure it was released in all countries
in that zone (which from memory is Italy, England, Australia
and New Zealand). Unfortunately, apart from that, I'd have no
idea. If you're an American who somehow managed to get this
game (and if you have, tell me how!), you'll likely be wondering
how the hell to play this. Well, I really can't tell you
everything about cricket, but the section 3 is the barebones
of the objectives of the game, if you've never seen a cricket
game before, and I've placed handy control sections at the
start of the three control sections to get you started.
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2. FAQ Update History
1.0 First release. All the basic information is in here.
I'll likely put in some extra stuff when I get it
1.1 Placed a lot of extra info, fixed a few errors with the
controls.
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3. Barebones Objectives
It's hard to describe cricket in a few paragraphs, but here
goes:
In Cricket, the objective is to score runs. Unlike baseball,
where there are four bases, there is merely a strip of grass
called a pitch. Running from one end to the other counts as
one run. At each end of the pitch is a set of three sticks
called the stumps. A batter can be run out if the ball hits
these stumps before he reaches them.
While the batter is attempting to score runs, the Bowler and
the Fielders are trying to get them out. The bowler is
trying to do this by hitting the stumps himself (this is
known as being "bowled out".
The Fielders have two ways of getting the batter out: By
catching the ball on the full (or, in some variants, with
one hand on the first bounce), or by hitting the stumps
before the batter reaches them
There are usually 11 batters (and a 12th man who goes in when
10 have been taken out. There are always 2 batters (one at
each end of the pitch), which is why there is a 12th man.
Once all 11 batters are out, the inning ends, and the teams
switch around. Depending on the mode of play, this may happen
several times throughout the game.
For more information, these links may help:
An Explanation of Cricket:
http://www.ozsports.com.au/cricket/cricket_exp.html
http://control-lab.et.tudelft.nl/~haver/cricket/cricket.html
Marcello Tonarelli: The Noble game of Cricket:
http://members.spree.com/sip/mtonarelli/index.htm
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4. Batting
Batting is probably the easier of the modes to play on this
game.
Screen one (where you will actually hit the ball),
the controls are as follows:
Left/Right: Move your batter (Not doing this will cause
you to miss the ball a lot)
D-Pad + A/B: Which direction you will hit the ball
A Button: Hit a ball low to the ground
B Button: Hit a ball high
That's it. With those three, you can hit nearly every ball
in any direction. However, doing this takes considerable
amount of practise, and it's often wise to practise this
in the Practice mode.
Screen two (The field) the controls are as follows:
A Button Start running
B Button Cancel run (they will run back to their end)
You can't control how fast they run. This has already been
predetermined for you, in the "Running" statistic. Quite often
one batter will run slower than the other. Keep this in mind
when trying to figure out when to run and when to stay
When playing against the computer, remember that they will
never change their fielders. When you find a direction that
scores easily, try to remember that, and duplicate it as
often as possible, as this will mean you will have an easy
source of runs. In the same vein, if you get caught out by
one particular direction, try not to use that direction as
much as possible, or the game will be over far quicker than
you wanted it to :)
However, there are no rules when playing against a human
player. All human players are different (duh), and most are
smart enough to realise when you've found a hole in their
fielding. Also, A human's bowling will not be as predictable
as a computer's bowler. You'll need to learn what they favour,
and you may be bowled out a few times before you get it.
And even then, a smart player will know never to fall into
a pattern. You just have to do the same thing :)
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5. Bowling
The bowler is critical for stopping your opponent from scoring
runs. A good bowler can stop an opponent from scoring huge
amounts of runs, as there is usually a set limit when it comes
to balls that can be thrown.
The Controls for Bowling are as follows:
A Button: Bowl the ball towards the right
B Button: Bowl the ball towards the left
D-Pad: Choose the type of bowl
The types of bowls are as follows. Note that this is what I've
found from playing this. I'm not a complete expert on this:
Left: Off Cutter
This spins it to the left (I think. That's my
experience anyway)
Right: Leg Cutter
This spins it to the right (again, I think)
Up: Long
This causes the ball to bounce closer to the wicket.
This is a great thing to use as a surprise tactic with
a fast bowler
Down: Short
This will cause the ball to bounce further away. I don't
use this that often, but again it's great to surprise a
person with
You are not confined to just the four ways. You can combine
the Up/Down with the Left/Right.
When bowling, remember that using the same bowl over and over
will allow an opponent to adapt quite quickly. You must use
a variety of bowls so that your opponent cannot adjust. Also,
Don't stick with the same bowler all the time. Change him often
as each bowler bowls slightly different. Usually, the computer
will change them for you at the start of each over, but you can
choose a different person. This applies to humans more than the
computer, but you should always do it
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6. Fielding
Fielding is the second half of a team's defense. Good
fielding can stop runs from being scored, and will often be
the ones who catch a person out. Combined with a good bowler,
They can shut down a batter
The controls for the fielders are as follows:
D-Pad: Move the fielder around
A Button: Dive for the ball/Throw to wicket-keeper
B Button: Jump for the ball/Throw to bowler
Some important things to remember are that the computer will
usually choose the fielder closest to the ball. This can be
a blessing and a curse, for often it takes a while for the
computer to make up it's mind. Also, if a fielder is close
enough to where the ball will fall, the computer will
automatically place the fielder there (very handy!).
A few quirks with the computer can make fielding very frustrating.
You, for some reason, have no control as to which wicket you
can throw to. As a result, you can have a wicket throw that
you know will get someone out, but it goes to the other wicket,
allowing the batter to get the runs.
Remember, Once you the ball is in a fielder's hands, and
there is no other activity for a few seconds, the game will
go to the next ball. This is quite useful, as it can stop
those awkward standoffs
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7. Team Selection
This should never be rushed. You need to have a well balanced
team in order to do well. You must pick 11 people, and of
those 11, I recommend:
At least 3 batsmen
2 Spin bowlers
1 Medium Bowler
2 Fast bowlers
1 Wicket Keeper
2 All Rounders
Your Batsmen should be up near the front of your batting
lineup, but not all clumped up. Leave at least 1 for the
last batter, in case you didn't quite do as well as you
thought.
Experiment with the bowlers, Five is more than enough, and
you can change the ratios as much as you like. If you take
one out (to make 4 bowlers altogether) always add an extra
batsmen
All Rounders are useful because while they aren't
spectacular in any one thing, they can do everything. They're
useful as surprise bowlers, as well as batsmen.
Here is a list of all the players in the game. Instead of
going by country, I've chosen to list them by Position, so you
can compare them better. At the end, I've placed the totals of
all the countries:
AUS=Australia ENG=England IND=India NZ=New Zealand
PAK=Pakistan SA=South Africa SL=Sri Lanka WI=West Indies
Batters B=Batter
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Name Country Pos Bat Bow Fie Run Tot
A Boulder AUS B 17 1 15 11 44
M Sailor AUS B 17 1 14 13 45
D Boost AUS B 15 1 13 15 44
J Dean AUS B 18 6 16 10 50
G Swamp AUS B 15 1 13 13 42
M Joseph AUS B 16 8 9 12 45
M Stein ENG B 15 6 11 14 46
T Jacob ENG B 18 4 11 12 45
K Dasler ENG B 15 3 15 13 46
Y Walter ENG B 18 3 12 11 44
J Taylor ENG B 16 5 8 17 46
E Ritchie ENG B 19 4 9 12 44
B Kami IND B 19 3 15 15 52
J Hingst IND B 16 6 10 15 47
L Kuyrstz IND B 18 4 7 16 45
G Varda IND B 15 3 10 14 42
R Sarasvi IND B 14 5 8 13 40
A Amputch IND B 17 5 10 14 46
F Gallen NZ B 16 2 15 15 48
E Devlin NZ B 15 4 10 15 44
M Evans NZ B 18 1 7 16 42
L Graham NZ B 16 3 10 14 43
T Lowe NZ B 17 4 8 13 42
W Hughes NZ B 15 3 10 14 42
Z Khan PAK B 18 2 13 13 46
W Aqbar PAK B 17 6 10 14 47
T Ashraf PAK B 18 4 7 15 44
I Durmani PAK B 17 5 14 12 48
E Fujia PAK B 19 4 9 13 45
F Burl PAK B 20 1 8 12 41
H Finlay SA B 19 3 10 14 46
E Goldby SA B 18 6 10 17 51
N Peden SA B 17 3 10 15 45
R Mostet SA B 20 3 8 18 49
M Begg SA B 16 3 12 16 47
I Peglar SA B 15 6 15 11 47
H Justice SL B 19 2 10 16 47
P Lynch SL B 15 3 10 17 45
W Willis SL B 18 1 14 12 45
I Ferris SL B 13 6 10 14 43
J Murphy SL B 17 0 14 13 44
R Martin SL B 13 3 15 13 44
H Justice WI B 19 2 10 16 47
P Lynch WI B 15 0 12 20 47
W Willis WI B 18 1 12 15 46
I Ferris WI B 13 4 9 16 42
J Murphy WI B 17 2 8 15 42
R Martin WI B 13 0 14 15 42
Bowlers F=Fast M=Medium S=Spin
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Name Country Pos Bat Bow Fie Run Tot
M Ewes AUS F 9 14 10 14 47
R Bruce AUS F 1 17 10 15 43
C McDirt AUS F 9 15 14 12 50
M Spotley ENG F 6 17 12 14 49
K Dooner ENG F 7 18 10 13 48
R Vevers IND F 8 15 15 13 51
K Savi IND F 5 19 9 12 45
I Vinges IND F 9 15 12 10 46
R Collie NZ F 5 15 15 13 48
T Pape NZ F 4 19 9 12 44
W Abdul PAK F 7 16 10 14 47
C Hussan PAK F 6 18 10 12 46
H Burhi PAK F 5 18 14 12 49
P Booth SA F 8 16 10 14 48
M Lord SA F 5 20 11 13 49
C Pape SA F 6 17 10 13 46
L Jones SL F 6 19 8 11 44
R Marley SL F 4 15 9 13 41
M Lurie SL F 8 17 8 11 44
L Jones WI F 6 19 9 13 47
R Marley WI F 4 18 8 17 47
M Lurie WI F 8 17 6 16 47
T Oldman AUS M 3 16 11 8 38
S Avery ENG M 6 19 10 8 43
P Thied IND M 6 17 12 9 44
L Swami IND M 5 18 11 11 45
L Reade NZ M 8 15 12 10 45
T Hulley NZ M 6 17 12 9 44
G Ramesh PAK M 8 18 11 9 46
L Dalpat PAK M 9 19 10 8 46
A Snunka SA M 5 16 14 9 44
W Van Ame SA M 5 19 11 8 43
L Winston SL M 9 15 12 10 46
W Everton SL M 5 18 13 9 45
L Winston WI M 9 18 10 10 47
W Everton WI M 5 17 13 12 47
Y Williams WI M 9 14 12 12 47
P Tail AUS S 8 14 9 7 38
W Milton AUS S 6 15 10 7 38
K Smyth ENG S 7 18 13 8 46
A Sheep ENG S 8 17 13 9 47
I Jones ENG S 6 16 15 10 47
R Silke IND S 8 16 7 9 40
O Keille NZ S 5 16 14 7 42
F Pullar PAK S 6 18 12 8 44
U Mann SA S 7 17 12 7 43
Y Hali SL S 7 16 12 8 43
Y Hali WI S 7 17 12 13 49
H Walsh WI S 9 13 13 13 48
Wicket-Keepers WK=Wicket-Keeper
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Name Country Pos Bat Bow Fie Run Tot
I Hilly AUS WK 10 1 18 13 42
M Caven ENG WK 8 6 18 13 45
O Kazret IND WK 8 4 17 13 42
M Raven NZ WK 3 6 17 13 39
R Harwina PAK WK 5 3 20 9 37
P Pynn SA WK 6 4 18 10 38
H Wild SL WK 10 7 17 11 45
H Wild WI WK 10 4 17 16 47
All Rounders A=All Rounder AS=All Round Spin
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Name Country Pos Bat Bow Fie Run Tot
S Mars AUS A 13 13 15 10 51
H Mervyn AUS A 11 14 8 9 42
K Kirk ENG A 12 13 10 11 46
D Payne ENG A 12 12 11 12 47
M Jagan IND A 11 13 10 10 44
W Vuchi IND A 12 13 14 7 46
H Pierce NZ A 13 11 11 11 46
R Neath NZ A 11 14 10 10 45
U Motz PAK A 10 14 9 11 44
R Huish PAK A 12 14 8 9 43
N Bird SA A 11 15 9 10 45
P Bolte SA A 12 15 7 11 45
Y Williams SL A 9 11 9 11 40
O Warner SL A 11 11 7 12 41
O Warner WI A 11 13 11 14 49
P Gerard AUS AS 11 15 4 8 38
L Towers ENG AS 10 14 11 10 45
P Zumi IND AS 9 14 8 10 41
E Roep NZ AS 13 17 7 9 46
I Cooke NZ AS 10 18 8 10 46
P Kaping PAK AS 10 12 12 10 44
A Persi SA AS 12 12 8 9 41
H Walsh SL AS 9 13 11 10 43
Country Totals
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Name Country Pos Bat Bow Fie Run Tot
AUS Totals 179 152 189 177 697
ENG Totals 183 175 189 187 734
IND Totals 180 170 175 191 716
NZ Totals 175 165 175 191 706
PAK Totals 187 172 177 181 717
SA Totals 182 175 175 195 727
SL Totals 173 157 179 191 700
WI Totals 173 159 176 233 741
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8. General Tips
* The computer has no imagination. He never changes the field,
so if you find a good place to hit, stick with it!
* Practice Batting always. The better you are, the easier it
is to repeat good hits
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9. Interesting Things to try
Especially in old NES games, there are many things that you
can normally do without game cheat devices that can add a bit
of extra entertainment value to a game. My brother Nick is
a dab hand at finding these things, so I decided to put up a
few of the ones he found in this game:
* It is actually possible, if you are the Fielding team at
least, to stall the end of a ball. Because the game only
starts the next ball after the ball stops moving for around
2 seconds (we haven't timed this), if you can keep the ball
moving, then the next ball won't start. This is supremely
useful against people who are really impatient (just 30
seconds of this can frustrate these sorts of people)
* Batters have the ability to do this as well, although it's
a tad riskier. The batter has to stop moving as well, so by
constantly pressing A, then B (ad nauseum), then they can
achieve the same thing. Be warned, a good player can stop
this short by timing his throw at the wicket so they can
get you out.
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10. Credits/Legal Stuff
Thanks to my brother Nick, who played with me so I could write
this, and then became better than me and learned the game inside
out so I didn't need to play it anymore :)
Thanks to Nintendo, for allowing a game with such little world
market into shops
All the contents of this FAQ document (excepting links to
other websites) are protected by International copyright laws.
Essentially, this means that you may not copy and/or publish
any part of this FAQ without my express written permission.
There are only three sites that have permission to publish
this FAQ document, and they are:
GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com)
Lee Davis-Thalbourne's Personal Pages (http://kirby1024.tripod.com)
Gameadvice (http://www.gameadvice.com)
They are also the places where the latest version will be
found. If it is found elsewhere, please contact me.
Oh! If you do find any errors in this FAQ, or wish to point
something out to me, or just want to say how good this is,
please don't hesitate to contact me at kirby1024@hotmail.com
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11. Next Installment
Wow, That was a big update. I've almost nothing to add next
time! (Perhaps I should have added fewer teams :) ) I'll
likely be adding minor corrections, perhaps a few more hints
and tips, and probably a few more interesting things to do.
Stay Tuned!
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