Ashes Cricket 2009

Ashes Cricket 2009, is a cricket video game developed by Transmission Games and published by Codemasters in the UK and by Atari in Australia. It has been released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. A Wii version, developed by Gusto Games, has also been released. The Wii version was released simply as Cricket in Australia. A sequel, International Cricket 2010 is released on June 18, 2010.

The game is licensed by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board), Cricket Australia and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), owners of the Ashes Urn. It includes all the official players of the Australian cricket team and the England cricket team, however, the other teams are not licensed.

Overview
According to the game, the game includes an intuitive, interactive bowling control scheme and dynamic and intuitive batting, with greater coverage and shot choice than previous games. The game also features official Hawk-Eye visualisations during play.

The game features two player co-op play, with up to four-player versus matches. The Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions also feature full online multi-player. The Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions also feature a coaching mode where they can learn the disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding from Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne.

The game features commentary by Tony Greig, Jonathan Agnew, Shane Warne, Ian Bishop and Sir Ian Botham.

Game Modes

 * The Ashes
 * Test Cricket
 * One-Day Internationals
 * Twenty20
 * Customisation
 * Legends Coaching

Teams

 * 🇦🇺 Australia Australia (Licensed Players)
 * 🇧🇩 Bangladesh Bangladesh †
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England England (Licensed Players)
 * 🇮🇳 India India
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland Ireland †
 * 🇰🇪 Kenya Kenya †
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand New Zealand
 * 🇵🇰 Pakistan Pakistan
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa South Africa
 * 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
 * West Indies
 * 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe †

(† Only on PS3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions.)

Grounds
Following stadiums are available although some are locked initially. Stadiums are unlocked as the game progresses and feature geographically-accurate conditions and climates, as well as true-to-life crowd noise and atmosphere. Players can expect swing in England, bounce in Australia, extra turn in India and extra speed in West Indies.

ENG

 * Lord's Cricket Ground (London) (Middlesex)
 * Edgbaston Cricket Ground (Birmingham) (Warwickshire)
 * Headingley Stadium (Leeds) (Yorkshire)
 * The Oval (London) (Surrey)

WAL

 * SWALEC Stadium (Cardiff) (Glamorgan)

AUS

 * MCG (Melbourne) Referred to as "Melbourne" on the Wii version.
 * SCG (Sydney) †
 * The Gabba (Brisbane) †

NZL

 * Eden Park (Auckland) Referred to as "Auckland" on the Wii version.

SRI

 * Sinhalese Sports Club Ground

IND

 * Eden Gardens (Kolkata) Referred to as "Kolkata" on the Wii version.

RSA

 * Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg) Referred to as "Johannesburg" on the Wii version.
 * Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town) †

WIN

 * Sabina Park (🇯🇲 Jamaica Jamaica) Referred to as "Jamaica" on the Wii version.
 * Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua & Barbuda) †
 * Queen's Park Oval (🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad & Tobago) †

PAK

 * National Stadium (Karachi) †

ZIM

 * Harare Sports Club (Harare) †

(† Only on PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows versions.)

Demo
The Demo consists of a 6 over (3 overs per side) Ashes Test match at Lord's where the player is able to choose whether to bat or field. The demo was released for the Xbox 360 on 24 July and for the PC on 30 July, there was no Demo released for PlayStation 3. A "demo extender" enabling the number of overs to be increased was quickly released.

Patch
A patch was released on before 23/09/09 for the PC version. A beta patch for PC was released on 21 September 2009. A second beta (beta version 2) for the PC was released on September 28, 2009. An official announcement on December 12, 2009 confirmed that there would be no further patches for the PC, and that there will not be any patch released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. This has primarily been due to the game developer Transmission going into receivership.

The patch for the game was confirmed to be in progress during a Q&A conducted with Codemasters Producer Jamie Firth by Planetcricket.net. Among the issues addressed in the upcoming patch is the prevalence of run-outs, as well as excessive run rates, edged deliveries not carrying, and incorrect bowler speeds. The estimated dates for the release of the patch were initially "...within two weeks.

Reception
Official PlayStation Magazine awarded the game an 8 out of 10. IGN UK scored it at 8.2, The Guardian and Times newspapers each giving it 4 out of 5 stars. Planetcricket.net gave it 7.5. SPOnG.com's Tim Smith awarded the game 85%. In the Game there is a Legends Mode (not in Wii version) where Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne give you tips on Batting, Bowling and Fielding. There are also Batting and Bowling challenges which you can complete. The 360, PS3 and PC version ranked at the top of the all format UK charts according to Chart Track during the first week of release. The Wii version ranked first during the week beginning 15 August.

Other Notes
In the game, Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir is noted as a left arm orthodox bowler. He does bowl this but he is mainly a left-hand fast medium bowler.