Cricket Captain 2019: "Fancying myself as a modern-day Ray Illingworth"

Thomas Blow fulfils a dream of running Yorkshire CCC as he plays Cricket Captain 2019

Cricket Captain has been the most popular cricket management simulation game for more than a decade and now the developers, Childish Things, have returned with another edition.

Cricket Captain 2019 is packed with fresh features. New tactical elements – including an additional batting aggression setting and left-handed wrist-spin bowler type – a broader database of more than 7,000 players, more T20 leagues, new historical scenarios, an improved match engine, the 2019 World Cup and the new Test Championship are all included.

Although the game is called Cricket Captain, you are effectively director of cricket, head coach and captain all rolled into one.

Players can increase or decrease their transfer budgets by spending more or less money on coaching, physios and the youth team. So whether you are looking to splash all your cash on a superstar or bring through a generation of young talent, you get to enjoy the full management experience and certainly feel accountability for the results.

Fancying myself as a modern-day Ray Illingworth, I started with Yorkshire and was given a realistic budget to add to the existing squad with the option of bringing in players from around the world.

After finishing my selections, I dived straight into my first match, losing the toss and being put in the field by Hampshire. Playing at home, I was able to decide on the type of pitch played on, selecting coaching and tactics for each player and setting the tempo for the team.

The game comes with comprehensive statistics and also provides the option to disable highlights and skip certain formats, which gives you the freedom to speed through seasons.

Fortunately there was no sign of civil war or boardroom strife in my version of Headingley; instead this was an entertaining way of whiling away a wet afternoon.

For more information on Cricket Captain 2019, visit www.childishthings.com