TOP ARTICLES

OF 2013

Welcome to our Cricket Yorkshire Best of 2013 supplement. Whether you’re a regular on our editorial website, cricketyorkshire.com, or are discovering us for the first time, I hope you enjoy these articles.

What a fantastic year. Thanks to all of you, our audience is continually growing and we’ve a range of projects and developments planned over the next twelve months.

We’ve interviewed the Yorkshire County Cricket Club first team, coaches, broadcasters, authors, club cricketers and personalities in every corner of the game.

Our Cricket Yorkshire Tour took us all over the county watching all standards of play imaginable; uncovering stories as we went.

Best wishes for 2014 and if you’d like to connect up with Cricket Yorkshire on social media, there’s a range of ways you can do that:

Twitter: @cricketyorks Facebook: facebook.com/cricketyorkshireSoundcloud: soundcloud.com/cricketyorkshireYouTube: youtube:com/cricketyorkshire

John FullerCricket Yorkshire

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FROM BRADFORD UNIVERSITY TO THE IPL

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PACEMAN BOWLING MACHINE

JAMES LEE - FACING YORKSHIRE

CHAMPIONING THE CLUBMAN

CRICKET GAME APP-ETITE

Zafir Patel recalls swapping Bradford University for the Indian Premier League…

CricketYorkshire.com offers up an extensive review of an affordable bowling machine, The Paceman, which could prove a real hit.

Ex-Yorkshire County Cricket Club seam bowler James Lee writes about second chances and a five-wicket haul before lunch against his old county in the 2013 season-opener.

Rik Andrews explores the typical characters with-in the fabric of club cricket.

CricketYorkshire.com casts a critical eye over the best cricket game apps out there. Which involved hours and hours of gametime. And munchies...

CONTENTS

Zafir Patel recalls swapping Bradford University for the Indian Premier League…

It was a bitterly cold winter’s evening at Headingley but a great chance to talk to Bradford University pharmacy student Zafir Patel who ended up winning a contract in 2012 with the IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils.

It’s a quick handshake from both Zafir and his mate Fahid Rehman before we head into Headingley Cricket Centre and perch ourselves upstairs to talk cricket. Both have finished a marathon training session and are about to embark on another – such is the routine for aspiring first-class cricketers.

As it happens, Zafir’s companion, Fahid, is no slouch either with a bat or ball in his hands and has similar aspirations to make it big in cricket. He picked up the Gordon Bowers Young Player of the Year award at the Bradford League’s awards dinner and has since signed for Earby CC in the Ribblesdale League for 2013.

But for Zafir, an extraordinary opportunity snowballed from the summer of 2011 when he got the chance to impress for Baroda. Patel has been involved in age-group cricket for a number of years with Baroda and they asked him to come over and play a few games. His standout performances caught the eye of Delhi Daredevils and Patel was invited to a training camp.

FROM BRADFORD UNIVERSITY TO THE IPL

In a training match that mixed ten wannabe Delhi Daredevils with the real deal, Zafir dismissed Naman Ojha, Aavishkar Salvi and Sridharan Sriram, impressing with his variety and slower balls.

Delhi Daredevils coach Eric Simmons had a word after, promising to keep in touch while Patel kept him updated on his training with Lancashire and Durham.

That might have been that except an answerphone message out of the blue one day prompted cause for celebration. Zafir remembers the moment he found out the good news:

“We had a uni tournament in Derby…we were just preparing to go to Derby, I opened my email and checked my phone. I’d had two missed calls and a message from somebody in India saying they were offering a contract!”

Cue calls to his parents and mates though he sheepishly admits it was Fahid who got to hear first. As it turned out, Patel didn’t end up playing a game – a disappointment you might think – until you factor in the pace bowling competition like Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell, Agit Agarkar and Varun Aaron.

Appearances as a substitute fielder a few times meant there was a chance to sample the roar of an Indian Premier League crowd pitchside and as Patel freely admits, for someone hoping to catch

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his break in professional cricket, soaking up the experience and taking on board the advice was invaluable:

“Just to sit down at the breakfast table with players like Morne Morkel and Jayawardene. It’s amazing what these guys talk about and they have so much cricketing knowledge.”

“It was a really big learning curve to just down and share the dressing room with these guys.

Not that the questions were always one-way: “Morne was asking how do you bowl out of the back of the hand and does it give you shoulder problems. I was talking to Eric Simons and TA Sekar (former India fast bowler and Delhi Dare Devils mentor, who used to run the MRF Academy). It was a really big learning curve to just down and share the dressing room with these guys.”

We move on to 2013 and how to use that IPL experience to kick on to the next level. The firm impression is that Zafir Patel is cannily taking opportunities on any and every continent where he can find them.

After January exams for his pharmacy degree in Bradford, he’s now taking a break from studies to pursue cricket. A possible stint in South Africa and then on to India to play a couple of one-day games for Baroda are high up on the agenda.

It’s then back to the UK for the start of the English domestic season where he’s hoping to play for Leeds-Bradford MCCU, having made the provisional squad for 2013. It may yet transpire that he ends up bowling against Yorkshire at Headingley in that opening three-day match in early April.

As if that’s not enough, Patel is also going for the Unicorns squad this season – which would mean steaming into bowl against Somerset, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Middlesex and yes, you’ve guessed it, Yorkshire.

He maintains a strong link with Durham CCC having trained with them pre-Christmas and another stint with an IPL team is not beyond the realms of possibility either. He confides that he’s “keeping options open and in touch with the right people.”

Presumably one of the best cricketing contacts at the ambitious 21-year old’s disposal is his own dad, Rashid Patel, who was a left-arm fast-medium bowler for Baroda and India. Patel senior played a Test and ODI for India but bagged a pair against Richard Hadlee.

We move on to a discussion on how he’d describe himself – which incidentally is an allrounder rather than a bowler who bats a bit or a tail end, walking wicket.

Characterised as having a decent slower ball in his armoury in the build up to his IPL stint, Patel’s equally enthusiastic about the mantra of bowling a basic line and length, getting his yorker right.

If the nuts and bolts are important – as well as the party tricks for the shorter formats – so too is that magic commodity of pace and Patel has already been clocked in the respectable mid-eighties.

Now in his early twenties, Zafir is at the stage where working hard on fitness might eek out another few clicks or yards, as is the vernacular, but equally vital is the fine tuning by coaches to his bowling action.

It’s been entertaining catching up with the softly-spoken fast bowler who swapped his periodic table for the glamour of the Indian Premier League. We wrap things up with a final question on which cricketer Zafir looks up to. The name that springs to mind immediately is Baroda and India’s left-arm fast bowler Irfan Pathan:

“I know him quite well personally as I grew up with him. I’ve known him since I was seven or eight. To see him do so well at a young age has obviously been an inspiration to me.“

If Patel can manage to emulate his Baroda teammate in the coming years, one imagines he’ll be pretty happy with that but for now, another net session awaits.

We part company, but not before Zafir’s fellow Leeds Bradford UCCE bowler Fahid has stocked me up with essential supplies of donuts and skittles for the journey home. Perhaps not the most obvious diet for the modern cricketer but welcome nonetheless.

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PACEMAN BOWLING MACHINE

CricketYorkshire.com offers up an extensive review of an affordable bowling machine, The Paceman, which could prove a real hit.

Every now and then, a product comes along that’s potentially a game changer. So, the antennae were naturally twitching on hearing about The Paceman.

Bowling machines are a staple of club cricket life but for many clubs, the tantalising prospect of investing in one has been prohibitively expensive. Costs differ on model types and brands but the budget end is around £400 up to £2,000.

A delve into the choice out there on the market reveals that there’s actually quite a range from perhaps the best-known and expensive, BOLA, to more niche offerings like Stinger, Flicx and Kanon. The Paceman has been developed by Dimension Sport in Australia and strides confidently into this specialist area of cricket training equipment.

Its point of difference is based around both a very competitive price – £350 give or take – allied with its positioning as a piece of cricket kit you can set up easily at home to practice.

Under close scrutiny, its khaki coloured plastic housing and tripod suggests it could be a little flimsy but it’s robust enough to comfortably pump out balls at ten-second intervals.

The tripod fittings ensure The Paceman is full adjustable to allow you to spear yorkers into the toes or equally set up short-pitched bowling. The way it’s been manufactured makes it feel more like a piece of garden equipment and less like a finely tuned cricket coaching tool.

Believe it or not, this isn’t a criticism, it’s an advantage. People can be sometimes be afraid of using technology and the ease in which you can alter trajectory, speed as well as low-hassle set-up in five minute means it’s more likely to be used.

It can offer variable bowling speeds up to 90kph, or about 56 miles per hour, which is where it might face criticism for the serious cricketer who wants to face higher speeds over 22 yards to simulate competitive action.

But then again, it was never intended for that audience segment. it’s fair to say that while it can be used for older cricketers, the core market is geared towards junior cricket; namely 6-15 year olds.

Having said that, facing The Paceman at shorter distances can easily replicate higher speeds and test the sharpest of reaction times – so whether you’re a pub cricketer of dubious ability or a seasoned amateur in an ECB Premier League, it can still help hone technique or just offer a fun cricket activity.

Aside from changing the angle of delivery, the twelve-ball feeder allows a manual or auto feed while we liked the fact that it is light and mobile, easy to assemble then store away.

Another tick in the box is the fact that The Paceman offers inswing and outswing bowling; again the strength is in its simplicity of just adjusting the angle of the machine. There is no option for spin bowling at present but a shrewd bet would be to watch out for a future model offering flippers, googlies and chinamen on demand.

Perhaps a less obvious but entertaining use for The Paceman is as a tool for catching practice. It could make for intensive reflex sessions to mimic a stint in the slips. Alternatively, set it to fire out flat or steepling catches for fielders to test their mettle.

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It’s partly about mindset and coaching habits when purchasing a training aid. Whether fielding or batting, getting the most out of the equipment can make for more enjoyable and varied sessions.

A mention too of the yellow, dimpled Paceman balls used in conjunction with the bowling machine. They are much lighter than standard cricket balls, which is a bonus if you happen to get hit and less likely to smash a hole in the next door neighbour’s fencing.

The advice is not to use other types of ball with The Paceman or risk a malfunction or the ball delivered at a puny 1mph. Believe you can buy packs of extra balls if you so wish and retailers will offer different deals. One thing’s for certain it’s highly unlikely you’ll want to train with just the one ball…

Cricket Yorkshire had the good fortune to have a bat against one of these Paceman machines and it was highly entertaining. It needs getting used to in terms of the rhythm of the delivery but then you’re soon shaping your cover drive into a finely tuned groove.

Or missing alternate balls and waving the bat around hopelessly like an inebriated jedi warrior in my case.

The Paceman machine runs on a mains supply but if you aren’t likely to be near to one to kick off your cricket, there’s the option to get your hands on a portable battery kit which will last an hour.

I caught up with Phil Slater of Dimension Sport; the company behind the Paceman bowling machine. Phil plays C grade cricket with Ashbourne CC in South Australia and was instrumental in the concept and design.Three years ago, the idea began to take shape with a model being ready for the Australian market in September 2012. It came from Phil’s own experiences of practising at home by bouncing a tennis ball off a wall to simulate practice. Which got the old grey cells in hyperdrive and in turn spurned a product idea.

He’s keen to stress it’s not direct competition for the BOLA, a more professional machine, instead seeing the Paceman as a mix of recreational and junior cricket, designed to improve the quality of

practice in the home environment: “The Paceman was never intended as a club-level machine.”

Since this initial review was written, plans have been put into motion to bring in future models with several machines in development which will entail bigger machines with higher speeds (bigger motors) that take the weight of a cricket ball; again perhaps cheaper than BOLA but starting to cater for the more serious and perhaps, in time, professional cricketer.

Phil had one diamond quote up his sleeve as he racked up his phone bill by calling Cricket Yorkshire’s mobile from the other side of the world: “What we’ve got with the Paceman is something that has the potential to increase junior participation more than any other product since the bat.” You heard it here first folks but ultimately, you be the judge.

My own take is that The Paceman is perhaps geared more towards a younger audience practicing at schools, clubs or under supervision at home but is excellent value and looks an innovative design.

I haven’t tried some of the other brands out there but anything that encourages focused practice gets a thumbs-up – so players can tailor how or what they are trying to improve on, without relying on a bowling putting it in the right area.

Having trained at nets at school then university then various clubs for years, my own experience is that plenty of clubs think that just having nets will improve your game. Bowlers don’t train like it’s a serious game, overstep the mark bowling regular no balls and don’t try and think out the batsmen.

Batsmen flay wildly at deliveries and go aerial rather than getting their head down and trying to practice a particular shot or match scenario. Integrating a bowling machine into practice can’t be recommended highly enough, whatever the brand, as part of a wider training schedule.

Expect this product to fly out the shops as it neatly breaches the divide between the serious cricketer in a school or club environment and someone batting or fielding at home.

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JAMES LEE – FACING YORKSHIREEx-Yorkshire County Cricket Club seam bowler James Lee writes for CricketYorkshire.com about second chances and a five-wicket haul before lunch against his old county in the 2013 season-opener.

Growing up through the junior ranks with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, it was clear to me that my ambition was to have a career playing cricket for the White Rose county.

In 2007 (aged 18), I was offered my first professional contract and progressed nicely, during the latter part of 2009 managed to break into the first team, and consistently found myself in the first eleven squad.

However during 2010, I struggled and had a couple of injuries and never found any sort of form, this slump of form continued into 2011 and mid-way through that season I personally knew that I wasn’t doing enough to warrant a place on the staff and began to re-evaluate my career path.

Only wanting to represent my home county at that point, I decided the time was right to pursue a new career. After many conversations with friends and family, I became interested in business and finance.

My Dad (who works for Lloyds Banking Group) gave me a lot of information and I quickly realised that to be successful in that type of area I would need a good university degree.

My early cricket success had caused me to lose focus on my education and I did not complete my A levels at school, so despite having good GCSEs I realised that I would need to work hard to get back on track.

I spent a year at Leeds City College doing a Business Access to Higher Education course, with the knowledge that a pass with distinctions would be necessary if I was going to get into a top university.

After a year’s hard work on the Access course, I was accepted on to Accounting and Finance BSc at the University of Leeds.

After finding out that I had been accepted at Leeds, many people started to make me aware of the MCCU scheme there. At this point, I was very sceptical and in my head I wanted to put cricket behind me and focus fully on my new direction; but after a phone call from Nick Davis (Leeds/Bradford MCCU Manager) persuading me to come along, I decided to give it a go.

Having not played at that level for eighteen months, and knowing how poor I had been for at least three years previous, I took it upon myself to put everything I could into it; wanting to give myself the best chance to prove to everyone that doubted me (even myself at times) that I was good enough to compete at first-class level.

I took it upon myself to put everything I could into it; wanting to give myself the best chance to prove to everyone that doubted me.

I searched out an old friend in Mark Lawson, a

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CRICKET YORKSHIRE MEMBERSHIP

fellow ex-YCCC player, now a level 3 coach working for Pro-Coach Yorkshire, who I had a number of sessions with during the winter to improve the state of my game.

During the winter, the fixtures were released for the coming season and I was made aware that we would face Yorkshire in the first game; I remember the moment when I found out, the rush of emotions: excitement, nerves, apprehension, even worry of further embarrassment.

As the dust settled, I viewed it as a positive; a chance to prove to them that maybe they made a mistake, and a chance for me to rub shoulders with some of my best friends on a cricket field again, even if we were on opposing teams!

The morning of the 5th of April quickly came around, and I found myself stood at the end of my mark ready to bowl the first ball of the day; I remember my last thought before running in being ‘I hope this goes straight!’

It luckily did and I was on my way.

The first ball of the second over, Lees edged to second slip and Reece took a great catch. In my third over, Gale was trapped LBW and Sayers edged to gully and all of a sudden 15 minutes in I was stood there with 3 for spit and I’d hardly even paused to take a breath.

At the start of my second spell, the score was 60 for 5. I started this spell poorly, however a bit of luck for the wicket of Rafiq got me right back on track, and two balls later, I had Liam Plunkett trapped LBW for my 5th; I couldn’t believe it; a five-for in First-Class cricket before lunch!

I didn’t remember my celebration for my fifth wicket, however at lunch I received a few texts from friends taking the mickey. After seeing it on Sky Sports News later, I must admit I seemed to do some sort of impersonation of a fish out of water.

During the middle session, we struggled and they rebuilt through Ballance and Sidebottom. The evening session came around and the second new ball came just after Sidebottom fell. I came back and managed to pick up the remaining two wickets without much bother.

Walking off the field with a seven-for (the first of my career in any cricket) was an amazing feeling and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life, and the fact that it was at Headingley was the icing on the cake.

It was a shame that we went on to lose the game after such a great start but personally, I was elated that I managed to go there and do well, and hopefully prove to people that I do have the ability to perform at that level, and succeeding to dismiss Andrew Gale for a duck was particularly pleasing.

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Become a Cricket Yorker in 2014! Our Cricket Yorkshire membership offers outstanding value for any cricket fan at £20 for the year. We’re finalising the 2014 pack, but to give you a flavour, 2013 included: - £15 Barrington Sports Voucher - Goodies from Yorkshire Tea - Cricket Yorkshire bat sticker and wristband - Wisden Guide to International Cricket- Entry to the massive CricketYorker prize draw

www.cricketyorkshire.com/cricketyorker

CHAMPIONING THE CLUBMANRik Andrews explores the typical characters within the fabric of club cricket.

The Clubman

I have a confession to make. I am not a ‘clubman’. Never have been and never will be. If there is an excuse to make about avoiding work parties or ground duty then I have made it.

From made up dead relatives ‘Sorry, my Great Uncle Giles has died’ to cases of Victorian diseases, ‘My Scrofula is playing up,’ I have used them all. And now I have the ultimate excuse: a child.

It’s not because I don’t want to help. Well it is that, but it’s also because I can’t help. I’m more of a hindrance when it comes to anything practical. I am the typical desk monkey and although that means I’m useless at DIY, my hands are as soft as a baby’s bottom. Touch them, it’s a real treat.

If I have a problem at home, the girlfriend will get her toolbox out and if it’s beyond her skills then a ‘Dad’ will be dragged from their home to fix it.

I would rather buy a new house then attempt to try and fix anything in my current one and I don’t think I am alone among the younger generation in having this attitude.

The ‘make do and mend’ mindset of the babyboomers which was a necessity for them has not been passed down and local cricket clubs will bear the brunt, if we are not careful.

But DIY isn’t the only role that I shirk at the club. I’ve decided to categorise the different breeds of clubmen, as if they were some sort of exotic bird:

The Handyman

They can turn their hand to anything. And these hands are as big as mallards. One minute they are bodging the electrics, the next they are replumbing a toilet. The list of tasks that they carry out around the club is immense and it’s all for free! They often smell of sawdust and oil.

My father falls into this category, at a previous club he spent the winter almost single-handedly

building an extension. Sadly he failed to pass on any of these skills to myself, if I build a house out of lego it is generally condemned by the council.

It’s unclear whether the handyman spends all his time at the club to avoid their wife.

The Groundsman

The man who ensures you have a game on a weekend. There are two sub-types here; the professional and the semi-professional.

The professional is often a retired gent who can come down in the week and run the mower over the pitch, he may even have his own equipment that he uses. He takes great pride in the pitch looking like a billiard table and is actually slightly peeved that 22 fat men will spend Saturday afternoon churning it up.

I knew a groundsman who, following a week of rain, spent all Friday and Saturday ensuring the ground would be fit for a cup match on Sunday. He managed this but got a call from the captain half an hour before the start to say the game had been called off on Thursday. How he laughed.

The semi-professional has had ground duties foisted upon him. They have jobs and families but they for some reason volunteered at the AGM because nobody else did. They are regretting it now and by July they will have been served divorce papers.

I have heard tales of a former Rugby League legend who became so obsessed with the state of the ground he was keeping that he was seen on his knees cutting the square with a pair of scissors. At midnight. Naked. (I made the last bit up.)

The Captain

Generally the best player in the team, or the oldest, or the only who wears spectacles. The captain has to carry out many unsavoury tasks during the week running up to a game.

Spending all Tuesday evening arguing with a group of cantankerous old goats about selection, trying to replace the players who drop out

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between Tuesday – Friday and most importantly getting everyone out of the pub before the designated start time. Often can be seen on the edge of despair.

El Presidente

The big man, usually an ex-player of some repute.. The role of president is largely ceremonial in nature but that doesn’t stop the current imcumbent strutting round the club like Ray Illingworth with a God complex (or an even larger God complex). As far as I can see, the president’s job is to present trophies at the presentation evening, drink heavily during games and undermine the captain by claiming they’d still be able to do a better job.

The Poindexter

A recent addition to the league of clubmen, the poindexter is tasked with dragging the cricket club into the twenty first century. This is not an easy task.

Setting up a website, twitter account and facebook page can often be met with a certain amount of scepticism from older members of the club. When I say scepticism, I mean hostility. Downright hostility.

Rather than see it as a great way to raise the profile of the club, attract new players and raise sponsorship, it may be that the main concern is that somehow it will be ‘hacked’ and that a Nigerian businessman may empty the clubs coffers.

The last clubman is not even a man! But it’s the most important person at the club…

Where would we be without the person who provides the wonderful cakes and sandwiches week in, week out that allow us to trot around the field of play? I’ll tell you what because I have seen it. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

A couple of times we’ve struggled to find a willing wife / girlfriend / mother to prepare teas so the job has been taken on by one of the players.

Imagine if you will, somebody having to leave the field of play to put together the limpest sandwiches you’ve ever seen. The fillings were amazing, you had the choice between cheese slice or ‘billy bear’ ham. There was a surfeit of party rings and nothing else. £3! You could hear the laughs from Lancashire.

At the other end of the scale was a tea I once had at Laisterdyke CC. We put together a decent score and retired to the club house for tea. What we saw was an amazing array of pies, pasties, sandwiches, cakes and even chip butties! Our aging opening bowler, a man not know for turning down food, tucked in and before we knew it he’d consumed enough to kill a baby elephant.

It seems he had forgotten he was about to trundle in and as made his way to the end of his run up after his first ball, he was prodigiously sick. He received no sympathy and was in fact made to bowl ten overs on the bounce.

It’s clear that there are many people who make a club tick and we should give thanks to all of them. But I want to take this opportunity to thank the other people at the club, the ones who do nothing, the ones who turn up on a Saturday and disappear straight after a game. Without you, we’d never raise a team.

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CRICKET GAME APP-ETITE

CricketYorkshire.com casts a critical eye over the best cricket game apps out there. Which involved hours and hours of gametime. And munchies….

Perhaps you’re a casual gamer, a cricket fan on the move or a scorer with a love of technology? Whatever your interests and your device, welcome to the very latest review of cricket apps out there. In this article, six cricket game apps to keep an eye out for.

Ground Rules

i) Must Be Free…

Each app reviewed had to be free. Yes, I know, that is besmirching the good name of apps out there that are paid-for but this isn’t a review of every single cricket app ever created.

ii) Apple, not Android

Day-to-day, Cricket Yorkshire is happily hotwired into iLand. So, for the purposes of this delve into the exciting world of cricket applications, a variety of Apple gadgets were roped in for the challenge. The iPhone 4S, iPad Mini and iMac was the hardware hat trick. Availability via Google Play is mentioned next to each game.

If you plug ‘cricket’ into Apple’s app store, (editing

the search for free apps only) at the time of writing that made for 167 search results. A drop in the ocean of the world’s largest collection of mobile apps, which totals some 775,000 on iOS devices.

The apps chosen in this review are the ones that caught the eye either for sparkling ingenuity or at the very end, heinous, derisive comedy value. Many have fallen by the wayside in an exhaustive search to cherrypick the best of the best, you lucky people.

Cricket games is the largest category for cricket apps and as a long-standing gamer, the one where dodgy graphics, unrealistic gameplay got short shrift. Let the Battle of the Cricket game apps commence...

STICK CRICKET SUPER SIXESStick Sports LtdApple & Google Play

The opportunity to test your batting mettle against the state-of-the-art Bowlomatic 3000, described as a ‘sadistic bowling machine hell bent on wiping you out’ comes around less than you’d think in our office.

Stick Sports are past masters at addictive, intuitive gameplay that will reel you in and ensure you a)

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get rumbled at work for that super-extended lunch break b) become a master at the screen toggling commands to hide illicit, pixel-based batting.

Graphics are quality given the type of game; we’re not talking Halo 4 but it’s as good as any other cricket game I’ve seen and emphasis is on a fun cricket game you can pick up and disappear into in a matter of sixty seconds. Coincidentally, the time it generally takes for this bowling-machine-with-attitude to rattle my timbers, again and again.

Level one gives a helpful hint where the ball is likely to bounce; a hint that would be welcome when I stride out to bat of a weekend. With a left or right button to hit and hints from the evil robot of ‘Hit too early,’ you’ll soon literally get into the swing.

You get a level with no stumps as a warm up, another with golden balls worth six runs each and before you know it, whole weeks have leeched away and you’ve eaten four pencils and the office stapler rather than put down the iThing for five minutes.

The robot gives you three lives and my best score is a shoddy 169 which some child can probably surpass in a heartbeat while eating a farley’s rusk and chuckling menacingly.

VERDICT: Thumbs up.

BEACH CRICKET FREENextWave Multimedia IncApple & Google Play

This is a sleeping giant of a cricket game; originally dismissed by yours truly as dreadful, it quickly became apparent that Beach Cricket is actually a not-to-be-missed gem.

First tick in the box is customisation. Pick your team, edit team and player names so in the blink of an eye, I was re-enacting Yorkshire’s pre-season tour of Barbados against Northants.

The free version only allows a crack at the Sunny Grove venue, with tranquil bay held back for those who pay for the pro version. Sunny Grove is presumably a beach in some sunshine-splashed destination like Australia and players names have a decidedly fishy tone to them from L.Tuna to the

captain, D. Shrimp.

First impressions. Slightly going against the grain in terms of my general opposition to anything that isn’t realistic gameplay but it’s absolutely classic that the players are in the oddest attire you’ll ever see on any cricket field in the world.

If this is beach cricket, it must be circa 1980 or else this is how Aussies actually dress for a few overs with sand underneath the toes. There are combat trousers, whacky fashions and the umpire (who bears a canny resemblance to Jason Gillespie) is in an orange tracksuit top.

Gameplay is a synch. Batting allows you to move the batter left and right by dragging your digit. Punch a cover drive with a swipe of your digit or use the ‘power’ button to try and slap it for a maximum.

You’ll face all manner of devious challenges, intentional or otherwise. Spinners who turn the ball square or fielders whose attempts at catching involve pretty much diving out the way. This is, however, quibbling at the (un)subtle layers of a brilliant cricket game.

Batting doesn’t always produce the shot you thought you’d played but that only adds an element of the unknown, as if a lobster appearing on-screen to signal a six wasn’t quirky enough.

Games are entertaining five-over slogfests with bowlers being controlled by tapping on a sliding power scale for speed and a directional arrow for, well, direction. A yellow cursor then appears for where the ball is set to be delivered to that you can drag wherever your tactical genius takes you.

Yorkers, slower balls, dipping doosras are all possible with little need for your inner geek or a manual the size of a telephone directory.

VERDICT: Absolutely brilliant. Definitely have a crack at this cricket game app.

NB: There is also a Street Cricket Free version by the same developer. Worth a look too but less imaginative and seemingly straight driven sixes only possible maximum which seems a touch daft.

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WORLD CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPNextWave Multimedia IncApple & Google Play

A more polished game aimed at the IPL generation from the people behind Beach Cricket and Street Cricket. It’s actually three games in one. World Cricket Championship, World Premier League & Fantasy Cricket League.

World Cricket Championship is an international, five-over encounter. You tap on each player name to edit which might be a faff too far for the time-lean commuter on the move, for example, so Player01 to Player11 on each side is probably a generic step too far.

Bowling allows for direction, speed and then the usual cursor placement as well as field settings and the option to bowl over or round the wicket. It’s a realistic game, complete with action replays and believable graphics.

Again, everything is customisable in each game type and World Premier League is an IPL-style contest with imagined squads like Leeds Lancers against Chennai Champions. You can either play the game, nuts and bolts, as is or edit your teams to ensure Yorkshire are playing Sydney Sixers in a re-run of the T20 Champions League.

The difference between World Premier League and the third option, Fantasy Cricket League, seems to be negligible apart from power points.

If you immerse yourself to the point that you want to purchase points and power ups from the in-game store, you probably need to break for a cuppa but the option’s there.

VERDICT: Excellent trio of games for the casual gamer looking to swat sixes in between lessons, university or business meetings.

ULTIMATE FLICK CRICKET SEASONSKirupa Shankar L.Apple only

What’s that? You want a no-fuss cricket game app you can start playing in seconds. Well, it doesn’t get easier than finger cricket. Control the batting by flicking the finger at different speeds and angles to score runs. Free, single player options include ‘Tournament’, chasing down the target in two over powerplays.

UFC T2 World Cup allows you to pick a digit or team to do battle with from the usual Test nations. Kind of like the ICC Champions Trophy but with, er, fingers. The screen edges are divided into zones which demark OUT, six, four, two etc and swipe to your heart’s content…

Sound a bit dull? True, it’s not tactical mastermind but the best games are easy to master the gist of and before you know it, you’ve developed chronic repetitive strain injury.

VERDICT: Innovative escapism

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IPL CRICKET FEVER 2013IndiagamesApple & Google Play

If you eat the IPL for breakfast, know Virat Vohli’s average to three decimal places and are comfortable calling sixes DLF Maximums, this app is a must-see. Quick Match mode allows you to pick an IPL franchise although the free version locks you into a three-over battle at Bengaluru on the easiest setting.

After you’ve said ‘no’ to buying Knights and Dragons app for free (sigh) and politely refused the Full, paid-for version (double sigh), it’s game on.

What this does very well indeed is to bring the authentic, IPL-endorsed action to life. This isn’t some cheap knockoff with Pachin Menpulkar playing for Mumbai Railways although the lack of cheerleaders is a crushing disappointment.

Batting incudes a moving scale to try and hit the ball at the perfect time while elements like free hits lend authenticity. What’s more, the Parle 20 20 Cookies ad next to the wicketkeeper on the ground will have you hankering edible treats in no time.

As with many of these type of games, the functionality is much-of-a-muchness. Players can choose the ‘power’ button to go all Chris Gayle on the bowlers but the margin for error is reduced accordingly.

IPL Cricket Fever 2013 is the benchmark for this type of cricket game ticking the boxes for graphics, realism and ease of use. The easy mode is probably too easy given even I can start launching sixes and bowling heavy’ balls at will but those wanting free apps can’t have it all.

The daft commentary, sponsored by commercialoverkill.com is absent which, from this corner of West Yorkshire at least, is a bells-and-whistles-plus.

VERDICT: Top notch IPL action in all its glory

CRICKET WORLDCUP FEVERIndiagames LimitedApple & Google Play

It is baffling that the same developers that produced the IPL cricket app above also put their name to this but presumably Cricket WorldCup Fever was an early effort. Look away now if you’re not in the mood for scathing criticism.

Quick Match and Power Play options are open for freebie users. Pick a country, number of overs and venue and away you go. The music is reminiscent of 70’s boogie night disco, not a reason to shie away from this app. One day format and ‘easy’ difficult levels are locked down.

Venues are the likes of Kandy and Ahmedabad rather than Hertfordshire or Hull but that’s no bad thing, especially if you’re playing in the depths of the UK winter and can’t afford a holiday. The graphics are the best thing about tbhis game but sadly, that’s not enough to redeem it. The eye catching screenshots mask major issues.

Pet hate: Absurd, non-licensed names. Andrew Cross, Clastair Look, K Bittersen giving you a flavour of this nonsense. Not everyone can produce apps with full backing of the international cricket boards but don’t go making up farcical first names to boot.

The generous option to watch a video of Kingdom Age irritates, as does the mahoosive button to buy the full version of the app. Free apps need to offer paid upgrades but making it difficult to navigate and play the free version is not endearing.

The option to use their batting tutorial is a plus but in a nutshell, tap left or right to move batsman, choose a lofted or grounded shot, slide to take a

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run and slide to direct the shot.

Cricket Yorkshire opted to play as England against the Aussies, this being Ashes summer. An over from Nitchell Pohnson (no I’m not making that up) was enough to quit the app, vowing to delete it from every device the moment this article is written.

A deliberate, kamikaze run prompts umpire Billi Bored to call for an entirely unnecessary third umpire who correctly adjudicates that I was run out by miles. Not before the commentary gives a completely, unrelated piece of guff about the ball clipping the pads. This is reviewed by over 20,000 across Google and Apple stores, giving it a surreal four-star rating, proving that sometimes power in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing indeed.

VERDICT: An app only to download for pure comedy value or to berate

IDEAS FOR FUTURE CRICKET GAME APPS

The savvy reader will have noticed that not all types of cricket game apps are mentioned here. What about the cricket management games? Well, the short answer is that there are no good ones that I could track down.

There were several, Cricket Manager and runCricket, but they were either truly baffling or just rubbish. A few ideas for games developers to wrap their grey cells around…

ICC 2014

FIFA 13 by EA Sports is a paid-for app that for £2.99 will entertain you for months. It’s a slick, powerful games engine that allows you to manage a football team, belt and braces and also play the matches themselves. Cricket is crying out for an equivalent and would be a sure-fire, nailed-on winner. Decent Cricket simulations do exist like Cricket Coach 2012 but not as apps.

Cricket Sims

You can create cities, kingdoms, tribes, you name it, so how about a cricket team environment as a sims-style game? You build the stadium, employ the staff, do finance, marketing, design the kit, pick the players, manage the franchise or county, on and off the field, in minute detail. Copyright Cricket Yorkshire, just saying…

So there you have it. Our guide to cricket game apps. Perhaps something here to tempt you over the Christmas period.

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