Brian Lara / Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2005 - Facts

Each weekday Codemasters release a Fact of the Day about Brian Lara/Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2005 within their official forums. To make to easy for you to scroll through the facts we have put them all together here:

There’s eight different pitch types and even footmarks which change progressively; this can be used as a guide to put spin on the ball.
We’re photographing and recording pitches in each of the major countries to get pitch colours, bounce, grass etc all correct.
All round excellent gameplay: there’s fully intuitive batting, bowling and fielding in the game, and each is as important as each other.
Adding to the televisual style of presentation, Brian Lara International Cricket will also utilise cutting-edge broadcast devices, including Hawk-Eye – fully licensed from its creators, The Television Corporation.
Brian Lara International Cricket unlockables include a classic squad of 20 with the greatest names from cricket history – WG Grace included.
If you want to get your skills up to international standards, there are Practice nets to get in shape.
In the Friendly match option, you can play a One Day International, Test Match, or Double Wicket game.
Double Wicket cricket, included in the ‘Friendly’ section of the game, is a very accessible way to play BLIC2005 quickly, featuring two batsmen and two bowlers (so it works well as a two- or four-player game). You choose which players you would like (a batsman and a bowler, or two all-rounders, would be good – at least one player handy with a bat and one with a ball) and then the amount of overs playable and how many penalty runs any wickets cost. Then you play the game as usual. If the opposition get a wicket it just means that the batting side are docked runs (the penalty runs mentioned before).After the set number of overs, the side that was previously bowling comes in and they play their overs at bat. Best score, after the penalty runs have been taken off, wins.
Choose ‘One Day International’ in the ‘Friendly’ section of the game and you can change the default number of overs (50) to create a 20:20 match instead.
There’s over 800 players animations in the game, fully motion captured.
There will be a four-player multiplayer game available (2v2), with the chance for each gamer to join or leave the game at any point.
There will be full use of the modern technology that’s used in the cricket coverage on TV – more on this very soon, when I can say more – but I’m sure you can guess what innovations will be alongside Hawkeye to add to the ‘TV-style’ coverage.
Further to the classic section I was mentioning yesterday – in BLIC2005 you will also be able to replay classic matches, such as the first Ashes test from 1889.
There’s six Game Modes: Friendly, Tournament, Challenge, Coaching, Custom, and The Pavillon
Talking about game modes, ‘Challenge’, as mentioned on Monday, will have two major parts – the classic matches, and the Beat the All-Stars section.
In the Classic Match scenarios, part of the Challenge mode, we have initially gone for 10 classics.
The ‘Pavilion’ section of the main game menu will contain all of your stats, the cricketing records (so you can try and bet them), and all of the unlocks and rewards available in the game
In the classic match section you get to take over at a critical point and see if you can pull off the same cricketing feats as happened in real life.
Certain key players will have fully artworked faces rather than all of them having generic features. You will be able to recognise them quite easily!
In BLIC2005 the commentators will be: David Gower Jonathan Agnew Bill Lawry Ian Bishop Tony Greig Jeff Thomson
Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 will be the first cricket game to ensure that batting, bowling, and fielding all have fun gameplay (rather than just the batting like most cricket games).
The footmarks on the pitch change progressively throughout each game, and can be used as a guide for spinning the ball.
Brian Lara Criket will have a plethora of well-known cricket sponsors – ad hoardings, teams, bats, balls and helmets will display that distinctive logo or touch to make the game experience even more immersive and encompassing.
In the ‘Custom’ section of the game you can create your own ‘best of the best’ from all the players in the game, both current and classic.
While there will be a speedometer after you have bowled of course to tell you the speed you bowled at, to control the speed while you bowl, you select the type of ball you want to bowl (using the controller buttons on PS2/Xbox, not sure on PC yet) and then the speed of the ball depends on your run-up, a what point you release the ball, the swing, if your bowler is ‘finding his groove’ (how bowlers come into and go out of form throughout a match) and the pitch conditions after the ball has left his hands.
The pitch point marker works differently to previous cricket games in that it is active throughout the run-up rather than being set before the bowler starts his run. This allows for late adjustments to the line and length you are bowling right up to the point when the ball is being released from the bowler’s hand.
The Customise menu of BLIC2005 will include a Player Editor, to edit exising players in the game.
Batting AND bowling can be controlled up until the ‘last second’ – just as in real life and just as it should be.
Key to the difference between top quality, average, and tailend batsmen in Brian Lara 2005 is in the foot movement range associated with each batsman type and the range of shots available to them. The better batsmen have much better foot movement, allowing them to play shots that tailenders would struggle with, and they also have many more shots available to them (as in real life).
Each player is accurately rated in all batting skill areas … which affects their timing for each shot type. So as you can see there are a multitude of factors that effectively determine differences between the varying levels of batsman skill whilst playing the game – and we’ll have them in the game.
There’s no streakers and no pigeons in the game sadly.
In the Practice Nets section you can select the batsman and/or bowler you want to be – so if you’re facing a fearsome fast bowler in your next match, you can practice your batting against him before the game starts. Alternatively, you can also pit your bowling wits against the world-class batsman that you can select, who might hit you for six in next round and find his weak-points.
While Online play isn’t supported in this version of the game, multiplayer can make up for it, with the Double Wicket match supporting up to 16 players at the same time (eight teams selected, two players per team).
There are 17 One Day International teams in the game.
One of the classic matches isn’t a match as such; you get an innings, as Sir Gary Sobers, to attempt to make six sixes in one over.
Their are nine variables you can choose when setting up a one-off match: Difficulty (meausred by village green to test match) Match Length (in overs) Stadium (chose between all the stadiums in the game) Time (day, night, day/night) Weather (adds moisture the air, for example) Pitch Type (Aussie, northern hemisphere, dry Windies pitch etc – that kind of thing) Ball Degradation (how quick the ball ages) Ball Type (the usual balls included) Ball Condition (how old the ball is to start with)
Bowling incorporates four different types of delivery, along with an extra two special deliveries.
One of the classic matches will be Don Bradman’s farewell innings v England (OK, it’s not the ‘Gentlemen of England’ but I’m sure you’ll let us off) – you also have to get a 100.
While playing a game as the bowling/fielding side, you automatically field the ball to the most dangerous end of the wicket (the one that will most likely result in an out), rather than having a choice of wickets to aim for. That doesn’t mean the CPU does everything for you though…
As throwing the ball from a fielder will be controlled by a meter shown on-screen. Throw it within the zone and it’ll go to the wicket keeper/bowler (whoever is protecting the stumps). Throw it when it’s on the line and you’ll hit the stumps (obviously the further you are away from the stumps, the smaller the line). Miss the zone in the meter altogether, and it’ll be a misthrow or overthrow.
In classic matches you can play as either team involved in the original match, so, for example, if want to try and stop Bradman getting his farewell century or Sobers getting his six sixes, you can try.
There are 3 completely licensed stadiums in the game – The Oval, Egbaston and the Rosebowl, while the others are very recognisable even though the names aren’t the same (for example, the ground shown in the screens last week).
The Tournament mode will include the World Cup, and the Champions Trophy.
All statistics and records in the game are supplied by our official partner – Wisden
Umpires will have the correct names and some are modelled accurately.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there will be 10 test match teams in the game. There are more ODI / non-test sides in the game…
You can play a full ‘tour’ series against the opposition, choosing the number of ODIs and full tests you would like to play against them.
There will be a demo – probably around May time.
The stats screens for the game engine will include the scoring ‘wagon wheels’ as used on TV.
You can play a full ‘tour’ series against the opposition, choosing the number of ODIs and full tests you would like to play against them.
In the tournament section of the game all kits will be perfectly recreated and licensed.
There are 16 players per squad plus additions in World Cup, classic players and more…
The stadiums list will including the 2003 World Cup venues.
The game will include all-time bowling and batting records (Lara’s 501 for example) – and if you beat it you will become the record holder in the game’s Hall of Fame, unlocking rewards along the way.
The tournament section includes a mode similar to the Super Series – containing three ODIs and a six-day test.
In series’ you can play up to six tests and six ODIs
You can save up to three career players in the game.
In the ICC ‘World Series’ you select a team and you pit your skills against specially customised teams from around the World including African, Asian, Northern and Southern Hemisphere XIs, and ultimately the World XI.
In the Challenge mode you can play the ‘World XI Challenge’, a gradually harder and harder task as you play as every international team against a World XI.
More about the career mode:
- Create your own Career Player and represent your nation in every available mode
- Set your player’s specialist skills and attributes and earn stat points to improve your player
- Select your real licensed kit manufacturers and bat types and weights
- Hit milestones and unlock Career Player Trophies
In challenge mode you can select your World XI, and play against a Classic XI side – which is the best team in history…
In the Customise section you can create your own XI from all of the players featured, design your own tournaments and leagues, and edit an existing player’s name and attributes.
There are 15 stadiums to choose from in the Exhibition mode.
In the World Cup and Champions Trophy modes you can elect to start at any point; you can do the full tournament or start at the Super Sixes, Semis or Final in the World Cup, and in the Champions Trophy you can start at the Round Robin stage, or the Semis or Final.
There are ten trophies to win for your trophy cabinet.
Boring fact but one for those with superior technology – the game can run at 50hz and 60hz mode.
As I’m looking at a new version of the game this afternoon I’ll wait on Fact of the Day, so have a screen today (these aren’t going out on general release so I’ll have a few to show over the next few weeks exclusively for you) of Shoaib Akhtar instead. View Screenshot
Some of the equipment licences for the game include Hunts County, Newberry, Gray Nicolls, Gunn and Moore, Slazenger, Duke, and Morrant. There will be more…
There will be NO manual appealing in the game. It will be future versions but not in this iteration
The meter at the bottom left of the screen is the confidence meter – for a bowler if the confidence is high (and he’s a highly-rated bowler) he can throw in a few surprise deliveries that will not be shown by the marker on the pitch.
The confidence meter also affects the batsman – depending on skill the batsman, when he’s done a few very good shots and is high on confidence, he can get out of tricky bowling situations (the ones detailed yesterday), and also smash away balls easier.
The in-game cut scenes include the batsmen and bowlers eyeing each other up and sledging each other, after deliveries.
The cut scenes after the batsman is hit by the ball are particular good – see him limping around the wicket, or rubbing his arm – looks very good in the game.
In Display Options within the game engine (so while you’re playing) you can turn on/off the replays, hawkeye, batting meter, bowling meter and radar – so you can tailor the in-game action to what you would like to see.
An obvious one but after every wicket the batting side can choose the next batsman – it’s not decided by your team sheet. So you can have a night watchman if you want one…
The 14 bowling styles I’ve seen so far – available in practice mode and I’ll assume available in the main game as well: Left arm: chinaman, fast, fast-medium, googly, medium, slow orthodox Right arm: fast, fast medium, leg break, medium, medium fast, off-break Leg break: LB, LB googly
I’ve counted 39 types of bat in the game – from Duncan Fearnley, Gun and Moore, Hunts County, Kookaburra, Newberry, Gray Nicholls and Slazenger.
You can unlock special abilities for your career player by winning certain trophies (I’ll provide a list of these as they are finally confirmed).
When starting a career player the first screen will give you the chance to name your player, along with options on whether he will be a bowler/batsman/all-rounder, the country he will play for, the batting position, his head shape, his height, and his weight. Height and weight makes a difference to his cricketing style
In the career section, after choosing the name, type of player, country etc (covered yesterday) the next screen with be based on what type of player your career player will be. If he’s a batsman you have 900 points (TBC) to play with racking up your player’s specific stats, All-Rounders have 600 (TBC) and bowlers have none (it’ll just skip this screen for bowlers). You can use these points to up the players skills in Attack, Defence, Front Foot Play, Back Foot Play, Offside Play and Legside Play. It’s then to the Bowler’s Stats screen…
Continuing the career mode set-up – after selecting your batting stats, the next screen is for the bowling stats. 200 points (TBC) to play with if you’ve going to be a bowler or 100 points (TBC) for an all-rounder (the screen is skipped for batsmen). You then decide on the which hand you’ll bowl from (left, right) and also the style (fast, medium, offspin or legspin). And then it’s on to the fielding stats…
Final screen for imbuing (good word!) your career player with skill points is ‘fielding’ – where each player, no matterwhat primary skill, gets 50 points (TBC) to assign to reflexes, throwing, fitness and/or speed.
After assigning all of the points to your career player (see the last three facts of the day) it’s finally on to the Kit Bag, to choose the bat you want each career player to play with – as before you’ll get a choice of 39 bats from seven manufacturers. You also get the choice at this point of whether you want face paint for your player as well!
The 39 bats (TBC) available to the career player in the game are: Duncan Fearnley – Gold, Batwing, Hammer, Cobra Yellow, Cobra Orange and Cobra Blue Gunn and Moore – Purist Original LE, Maxi Original LE, Hero Original LE and Maestro Control Original LE Hunts County – Glory Custom Classic, Tsunami Custom Classic, Steelback 5 Crown, Insignia Custom Classic, Mettle 5 Crown and Pulse Custom Classic Kookaburra – Kahuna Ricky Ponting, Kahuna Limited Edition, Diablo Damian Martin, Diablo Limited Edition, The Beast and Ultimate Belta Newbery – Mjolnir, Navarone, Uzi 20/20, Samurai, Zeus and Merlin Gray Nicolls – Gladius, GN Monster, Longbow, Millenium, Phoenix and Powerbow Slazenger – V800 Ultimate, V900 Ultimate, V200 Pro, V1200 Pro and V600 Ultimate
After every wicket you will get the full action replay, available from different angles, including the stumpcam.
There is a third umpire available for close decisions. The umpire on the field will call for a decision from the stands and then the game will replay the action in slow-motion (going back and forth, just like the TV coverage). A call will then be made as to whether the player is out or not out.
Hawkeye will not be just about LBWs – it will also be used to show the path of the deliveries per over, where the ball pitches, along with the runs-scored wagon wheel.

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