Some Newbie questions

[Amateur]

Hi all,

I have read around the forum a little bit and seen some cool stories and points discussed. But I have some burning questions that are playing on my mind since I bought the game and started playing last week.

I am on an England career mode - Doing okay, struggling in the ODIs but tests seem to be going well. I really like to bring some young guns through like Borthwick, Woakes, Stokes, Taylor - and I have given guys like Ali and Kerrigan a chance as well. Now my side obviously suffers as I get shot ofthe likes of KP, trott, Swann and Prior. Is it worth doing this?

I have had a couple of improvements through the training, but what I need to know is if for instance, playing Borthwick every test will pay dividends in the long run? Boy does he and Kerrigan struggle at the moment! I was thinking that it may be down to the clubs to improve them and I am not really going to get very far as England coach, but thought I would ask before I keep going on as I do not want to waste my time taking an approach that does not exist in the game!

Second question is picking the squad - I am a bit old school and will allways go for who is lighting up the domestic game or making runs and/or taking wickets in general, particularly if they are a "youngster". Is this the best approach to selecting squads? I cannot see any skills bars or anything like that, yet my ODI team sometimes drop star ratings even if I am picking the guy scoring all the runs over a old KP or Trott for example?

Finally I saw a tip about watching the matches and getting a feel for if a batsmen is just getting a bit unlucky or genuinely is not international class as may be the case - Well I can't find the notes tab the tip says to use? As I am in the process of building my England squad it would be good to use this feature rather than a little notebook/small brain. So if anyone can tell me where that is, it would be much appreciated!

Hope you do not mind the questions. I am very much enjoying the game and hope to be semi decent at some point in the not so distant future!

Cheers

[Sheharyar]

I am glad you are enjoying your time playing it.

Firstly yes as your player plays more international matches their skill level will go up but that is the point of the game to invest in those players who can become world class players after few years to take your team up in the rankings. You asked, is it worth doing it? The answer is it depends on the quality of new players. But when you have Trott, KP and swann already high on their skills with experience and their age 32,33 its good to use them to get your team up, as you do not want to get too low in the rankings in the meanwhile giving new players chance in t20s or dead rubber series to get a look at their abilities. But when your experienced players age touches 34, 35 you can start the transformation phase slowly. These early 2,3 years with experienced players like KP,Trott or Swann will allow you to have more new players(coming from the game engine) to look at in the future and induce them into team slowly so that they can develop properly and not at the expense of team performance.

Secondly, the highest wicket takers and run makers do have one thing which is form, but it is not necessary that they will be world class in the future, so its good to have a look at international level and then making decision. But if a bowler is taking more first class wickets then Anderson and you replace Anderson with him just because of that then you are not considering the international experience and the skill level of Anderson, this decision wont benefit your team. After giving a bit of experience you can permanently include upcoming bowler after Anderson turns 35 as his skill level will start to decrease.

Skills are not shown in the game because then it would be no fun as this will eliminate the element of surprise and your ability to judge.

For the option of Notes, click on player name and on the left you can see options like records, batting form, bowling form, personal. Click on the personal and you can see the option of notes down at the bottom.

[sasnoz]

a players salary is a good idea of his ability

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

The only slight issue with an ageing squad is that within a year 2-3 key guys could have all retired.
Best thing for this is to have some younger guys who can play during the dead rubber test and ODI so you can get an idea of how they'll progress when the likes of Swann etc all retire (even though IRL he already has!).

I'd completely agree with Sheharyar's point about not just going with the highest wicket taker, batsman in county form alone.
Take them on a tour as your 5th/6th seamer but I wouldn't put them straight into the team.

I've found recalling ppl who haven't played international cricket for a year or too sometimes helps - Cameron White, Marcus North, Phil Hughes all make my Test touring squads as they have massive experience and can quickly plug a gap better than perhaps a debutant.

[Amateur]

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Much appreciated.

That clears up quite a few things for me and I guess makes quite a lot of sense too. It does make me think though how Borthwick is struggling so much - when do I cut him loose? If I keep giving him game time and bowling technique slots, will even the average player blossom in the future?

Another thing worth asking is the captain..does he have as big an influence as in real life or is a token gesture in game?

Thanks again for the earlier help. It is great to get an understanding of how it works in game

Cheers

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Much appreciated.

That clears up quite a few things for me and I guess makes quite a lot of sense too. It does make me think though how Borthwick is struggling so much - when do I cut him loose? If I keep giving him game time and bowling technique slots, will even the average player blossom in the future?

Another thing worth asking is the captain..does he have as big an influence as in real life or is a token gesture in game?

Thanks again for the earlier help. It is great to get an understanding of how it works in game

Cheers

Keep persevering with Borthwick - he's done wonders in a Yorkshire for me.

I give the captaincy to the player whose most in form - never seen any reason not too really