Cricket 07 is a 2006 cricket simulation computer game developed by EA Canada and HB Studios and published by EA Sports. It is available for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2. The game was released on 26 November 2006 in Europe and in Australia on 16 November 2006. The cover art for Cricket 07 features English cricketer Andrew Flintoff. This is the last cricket game published by EA Sports. This game has garnered massive popularity among the cricket playing nations and many patches have been produced to update the game.
Gameplay options
In-game screenshot of Cricket 07, showing an ODI match between Australia (in green) and Namibia (in blue)
Cricket 07 features a number of game types, including limited overs matches (50, 20, 10 or 5 overs), 4-day first-class matches and full-length test matches (5 days). You may select different pitches and different weather conditions in different venues. Several international venues are available, including the Eden Gardens in India and Lord's in England. The venues vary in conditions and pitch type, and these can be changed by the player.
Expanded features of EA Sports Cricket 2007 include improved player control and easy stroke play, along with the introduction of the Ashes section. There was also an addition on commentary as Mark Nicholas joined Richie Benaud. The game gives players the option of entering different international and national contests, including full seasons and tournaments:
World Championship: Control up to 16 international teams playing Limited Overs cricket for the World Cup trophy.
World Series: Control three to five teams playing in a day/night tournament in venues around Australia.
Players can compete for The Ashes between England and Australia. The following options are available:
Ashes 2005 scenarios: Players choose a team and play out scenarios from the 2005 Ashes series. On completing challenges, players are able to watch highlights videos in the Extras section.
2005 npower Ashes series: Players choose either England or Australia and take them through all the warm up matches, ODIs and Test matches in the 2005 Ashes series. This is created as a balance in the form of an England-hosted tournament.
2006-07 3 Mobile Ashes Series: Players choose either England or Australia and take them through all the warm up matches, ODIs and Test matches in the 2006-07 Ashes series. This is created as a balance in the form of an Australia-hosted tournament.
Licensing
EA Sports lost the licensing for most of the teams for Cricket 07. Only Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand licensed player names and kits. All other team names are generic; however, they can be edited in the Team Management option or with a roster. Also, Australian players are blended into World squads of 2005 ICC Super Series, but all the names are generic. The following national teams are available:
The PlayStation 2 version of Cricket 07 received "favorable" reviews, while the PC version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[2][3]
