Be Excellent To Each Other

as an aside, I sat and played BLIC '07 properly for the first time last night and managed to bowl out Bermuda for 1. That was funny.

Exactly. Completely pointless! Especially when you've spent the last two hours putting together a decent total of 290 or something. It feels like a waste of time.

Other good Warney quotes - "Do you think you know better than Beefy? Try again" And also " You need a bit more Oomph". There is no word that sounds more wrong coming out of Warnes face than 'Oomph'.

Quick Match Breakdown

1st Innings
Bermuda Win Toss and choose to bat

Bermuda - 36 - All Out - 6 Overs
England - 417 - All Out - 34 Overs

2nd Innings
Bermuda - 1 - All Out - 1.5 Overs

England win by an Innings and 380 runs. FFS

You didn't bat out your overs - cardinal sin!

I got bored with the AI setting a ridiculously attacking field and leaving the on-side totally open. So I started hitting sixes and inevitably lost a few wickets. Mainly stupid runouts though.

They still set attacking fields in a Test match on 09 as well, which is irritating. I can understand it for the first few overs when you're trying to get a batsman out before he's well-set, but once I've got a 100 partnership, you should start to think about other options.

So anyway, I'm going to mop up a few more cheevos with 07 then swap it in against the Ashes.

I once had a list of all the venues so I could win once at each venue. Only I did it twice and still didn't get the achievement.

That's when I fucked it off and traded it in.

This isnt the case I've found.

If I have a decent first over ie a couple of fours, they'll go defensive until they get the scoring down, then go balanced, and then I'll hit them again around the park, and then defensive again.

I was thinking more the 'get lots of runs' ones. I'm not looking to max anything

You realise there's a a difference between once and twice, don't you? It probably gave you the achievement then took it back again...

In a Test Match?

*spaz face*

Sorry, I was talking about ODIs. I saw Bermuda and immediately discounted it as they don't play in Tests.

So listen chaps, have any of you actually won the Ashes yet? I think there's a big Achievement for this.

It's an OBE I think.

Yeah!
/

Ive won them, but still ahve to play the 5th test (3-1 in series).
I think it's 100g, but have to wait and see.

There's also one for scoring over 500 runs witha batsman in a series, and taking 40 wickets with a bowler in a series. I however have not got these, unless Jimmy or swanny gets all 20 wickets in the final test. Most of them have been run-outs

I'm still playing the first Test. At this rate I'll have finished the series by the time Forza 3 comes out.

How? The games go so fast! Im usually on my 2nd innings by the end of day 1!

He's OCD and makes sure to include the drinks breaks and lunch in real time.

I do tend to hit the first over for at least 12 runs as they just leave the leg side wide open, and bowl it short. It would be rude not to smash them for 4 and 6.

Not quite, but almost. I don't like leaving it mid-session, unless I have to go somewhere.

Nick: I've usually only scored about 4 runs off the first five overs, to give my openers a few sighters and get them set. Plus you should only score inside the V until your batsmen are in!

[quote="myp"

Nick: I've usually only scored about 4 runs off the first five overs, to give my openers a few sighters and get them set. Plus you should only score inside the V until your batsmen are in![/quote]

But if they bowl it in an area where I can hit it for 4 on the leg side, why not hit it for 4 on the leg side? They never have any fielders there!

*sigh*

Nick, you just don't understand cricket.

Because you're more likely to edge the ball when your batsman isn't confident. Plus I like to play realistically. For example, I never slog it with Strauss or Bell, but am more likely to try to score a run a ball with someone like Pietersen, Flintoff or Prior.

If it's late in the day and I lose a wicket, I bring in a nightwatchman, too.

No, because I want to set a decent score. However bowling a decent line and length against the pooter works, I tore through their batting order for 98.

Edit: And Im only playing it on normal, on hard it will be a different story

See, this is much better - why didn't the Aussies bat like this in the first innings? They're currently 30/0 after 12 overs and need another 514 to win. Plenty of time left in the match, so a positive result will be had either way!

My bowling being better might have something to do with their slower scoring rate, but I've yet to see any comedy runouts or lame dollies to point.

First ever game against the computer... 119 all out off 16.3 overs in the first innings of the first Test. 4 run outs, 3 to the same area. There also seems to be precious little advantage in using the X button to play defensive.

Oh well.

Sorry, what? If you're all out after 16 overs you should be playing a lot more defensive!

My Test has swung from one extreme to the other. I just bowled six overs and only conceded one run from them. I then made an inspired bowling change and Fred bowled an off-cutter that took out Shane Watson's off peg. He managed to score 16 runs from 69 balls. They're now 42/1 after 23.1 overs.

Nah, it's just because I've not played against the computer before, and did some really silly run outs to get rid of my in-form batsmen. The timing for defensive and attacking seems to be roughly equal, with similar leeway. So you may as well do the attacking one since if you get an edge with a defensive shot they seem to carry to slips as well as those of an attacking shot. I might have been unlucky, but I couldn't see the advantage as I got out as often playing defensively as I did going for a bosh.

I've found that edging a defensive shot rarely carries to the slip cordon. Attacking ones usually do.

You know what, this is very early days, and perhaps I shouldn't say too much until I've got a few games under my belt, but so far, this is looking like becoming one of my Bestest Ever Games. I'm loving it to bits, and having so much fun with it.

I've found that defensive shots are harder to time, but this may be due to me rarely using them. I'd prefer a good leave and attack a ball on my stumps.

Just played the fourth innings of my first test and although I was guaranteed to lose, went on a partnershit building exercise. With concentration I could well have actually made a decent dent in the 550 run target (there is no explanation for the Aussie batting performance in the second innings, other than drugs). However, my top five went, each of them edging reaching for slow balls pitched well outside off, hugely unnecessary. So in conclusion, this certainly has promise.

When teambuilding goes too far.

If you let them get 550 did you at least get to try reverse swing?
I havent had to bowl more than 50 overs yet,

Well, at 3.16pm on Day 3, I've wrapped up a 358 run win. The King of Portugal Graeme Swann spun me to victory with six for 38. Katich top-scored for the convicts with 51 from 130 balls. Even Pietersen got a wicket!

So that's centuries for Prior and Bell in the first and second innings respectively, with Jimmy and Swanny getting Michelles in each innings too.

I've finally completed most of the coaching and I must say, I now have a better understanding of bowling (in this and In Real Life too), though the different types of spin bowling are still rather confusing.

I now feel brave enough to start a proper match tomorrow.

Ashes won.

4-1 on normal

100 delicious points, thank you very much.

How did you lose a match?! A hollow victory.

I got reverse swing in over 60 in my first bowling innings. They raced to 200/2 off 20 overs, then I took 7 wickets and then Watson and Siddle shut the doors - took me 59 overs to take that last wicket for 90 runs (over 60 of which were no balls - it was my first day with the game).

The 550 was an abomination - they scored 260 then bowled me out for 130 then got 420 second innings in about 40 overs. All my frontline bowlers started the second innings low on confidence (Can't see why, first innings was a very good performance), and if the ball wasnt pitched full and wide of offstump, it would be clattered for a boundary. And then, they would still get a boundary once an over without giving any chances away which meant that the confidence never increased.

So, on comes Swann who didnt bowl first innings, and my first real problem with this game*. He went at about 25-30 an over, but got a chance every over too - got a pfeiffer but his return was 190/5 off about 12 overs, and despite taking 2 wickets in two balls and being dropped on the third, his confidence never increased beyond timid. However, I could bowl the same balls with pietersen and they'd just get blocked down.

*Spinners. So far every time they have come into the game they have been smashed around (either by myself, or the opposition be it computer or real person) with relative impunity. Yes, I may have lost a wicket to one in an online 20:20 yesterday, but I'd already scored 30 off the over and was going for the achievement, and thats a pretty good return.

I think my issue was probably due to the fielding set-up, probabkly. After a while, the crafty Aussies just put every fielder in saving one, so to score runs I had to get it through the infield, thus making me take a few more risks. It meant I scored a few boundaries, but couldn't get any defensive singles to keep the score ticking over when I wasn't finding the gaps.

I shall have to increase my patience.

does the PC version offer cheevos? I have a wired 360 controller and time on my hands

Re: Riles.

Yes spinners get hit around the park.
I set def 4 and pitch it off the off stump with heavy spin and get a few wickets with him. I managed to catch one at the keeper off him somehow. I tend to go to swanny near the end of a session or after about 20overs, and he tends to get me a couple of wickets, but is quite expensive.
There seem to be more comedy run outs with spin aswell

Especially the tail enders, they swing miss stumps. Ive had swanny on a hat-trick a few times

The batting AI definitely improved in their second innings in the Test I finished last night. No comedy runouts at all, and they scored at around four an over, which seemed a lot more realistic.

The only weird things were Flintoff going for nine an over and Swann going for ten. I'm thinking that because Swann turns it so much it might be an idea to lessen the amount of spin on his balls, as Pietersen doesn't seem to hit for as much.

Re comedy run outs - I fear that this is rubber-banding taking effect in Normal mode. They tend to happen at no sensible time, other than when a big partnership has been built - certainly they are not tied to times when you have the batsmen under severe pressure.

Rubber-banding I'd understand if it was 250/0 at the time, but why were they doing it at 25/5? It seemed that they got the first innings completely wrong.

Bah, since I've not left yet, I am now sorely tempted to get this on the way home. SORELY

You could get the whole series done before you go back to work!

DAMN YOU, VILE TEMPTRESS... er TEMPTER!