Cricket Captain 2022 is the latest version of the famous Cricket Management Series that comes from the publisher house of Childish Things. 2022 is a year filled with enthralling International Fixtures, including the much-awaited T20 World Cup in Australia. As the T20 fever is gripping Cricket freaks globally, the main focus in this edition of Cricket Captain has been laid on the shorter formats, especially the 20-over simulation. In this Cricket Captain 2022 Beginners Guide, we are going to do a detailed walkthrough of Cricket Captain 2022, the Game Modes that it has to offer, and the amendments that have been made in this edition.
Gameplay Overview
As the name suggests, in Cricket Captain 2022, users need to captain their side to victory. In fact, they need to handle both the Captaincy and Management duties. As the Captain, you are expected to make all the on-field calls starting from the Toss, to deciding the batting order, rotating your bowlers, and, setting your fielders, you have to do it all.
As the coach, you are expected to train your players to improve their match performance, use physios to help them recover from an injury, negotiate contracts after they expire, sign new players, and most importantly, select the squad before every Tournament and Playing XI before every game. With each passing Season, the game is becoming like its Football Manager counterpart as users are more inclined towards playing career rather than just Tournaments or Competition.
While the ICC Events including ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Cup are free-to-play, you need to purchase the full version of the game to play Career Mode. Users can even experience the joy of the Domestic circuit in each country under the Free version of this game. Additionally, Super Over as a format has made its debut in this edition. We will talk in detail about all the Game Modes in the next section.
Understanding the Game Modes
Well, there are three Primary Game Modes in Cricket Captain 2022, viz, Career Mode, Tournaments, and Internet Game. While the Tournament Mode and Internet Game are completely available in the Free Version, you need to purchase the Full Version of the game to enjoy the Career Mode to its complacency.
1. Career Mode
In Career Mode, users need to take control of a First Class County Side and may choose to captain the National side from Match 1 or earn it with time. The real-Time Progression system helps users track their progress in their First Class or Domestic League Career. Career Mode Events are available for 6 Nations in Cricket Captain 2022:
- English Career-Take control of either an English First Class County side or a side of the newly added competition, The Hundred. All squads have been updated as per the latest teams.
- Australian Career-Take control of either an AustralianFirst Class side or a T20 side that features in the Australian Big Bash League(BBL).
- Indian Career-Take control of either an Indian First Class Team or a T20 side that features in the Indian Premier League(IPL).
- New Zealand Career-Take control of a First Class Team from New Zealand.
- South African Career-Take control of either a South African First Class Team or a T20 side that features in the South African T20 League.
- West Indies Career-Take control of either a West-Indian First Class Team or a T20 side that features in the Caribbean Premier League(CPL).
2. Tournaments
In Tournament Mode, you get to handle the captaincy and management duties across all major ICC Events and Series. There are 5 sub-categories of events under Tournaments:
- All Time Great Series– A Tournament involving all the legendary players in each National side, from present to past.
- 20 Over World Cup– The T20 World Cup Tournament.
- One Day World Cup– The ODI World Cup Tournament.
- Champions Cup– Resembles the ICC Champions Trophy Competition.
- Custom Match Series– You can start your own custom series by choosing the sides to play as and against, and, deciding the Series Format and the number of matches to play from a customized list of choices.
3. Internet Game
Talking about Internet Game Mode, you can challenge players from around the world, online with your Domestic and International Side in this Mode. However, make sure that your game version is up-to-date to play online.
Decoding the in-match real-time systems
- Progress bar: By sliding the progress bar up or down, you can put the batsman/bowler in an offensive or defensive mode.
- Link Aggression: A batsman can be fed in ultra-aggressive mode by linking the aggression, but the chance of being out is also increased.
- Settled Bar: The Settled bar mercury level rises with each delivery that your batsman faces.
- Stamina: Green stamina indicates a fresh bowler, whereas Red stamina indicates a fatigued bowler.
Cricket Captain 2022 Beginners Guide: Tips and Tricks
Here’s a bonus section from us that would help the newbies get a hang of all the in-match aggression, progression, and fielding system and explore some of the captaincy cheats that would help them rise to glory. What follows next are some useful Captaincy and Management tips from our experience of playing the game.
1. Adjust the Progress Bar based on the match situation
As discussed earlier, toning up the Progress Bar would put your batsmen in an Offensive Mode. Now, when to tone it up or down should depend on the format, game situation, and the playstyle of your batsman.
- If you are playing the T20 or the Hundred, you must push up the Progress Bar by 3 levels at least.
- However, if you are playing a 5-Day Game or an ODI game, let the Progression Bar stay as it is. You may even set the Progress Bar to zero in 5-Day games. This would significantly reduce your chances of getting out.
- If you are beaten by the bowler, check if the conditions have turned cloudy. If so, you must lower your aggression to save your wicket. Now suppose the Default playstyle of your batsman is Defensive. Lowering the Progress Bar by 1 unit would be enough. However, if the playstyle of your Batsman is Attacking/Offensive, then you must tonne down the Progress Bar by 3 units.
- If a batsman is Settled(as indicated by the Settled Bar), and you observe him play and miss two to three times too frequently, and the conditions are the same and the bowlers are the same, it may be assumed that the batsman has become tired or lost focus. Therefore, depending on how many bars he is at, reduce the aggression bar by one or two to avoid losing the wicket of your in-form batsman.
2. Always keep the Aggression chain-linked
Supposedly, the Link Aggression system sets your batsman in an Ultra-Attacking Mode. However, it hardly matters in the context of this game. Even if you keep it unlinked, your batsman would continue to play as per the inputs of the Progress Bar. Hence, keep the Aggression chain linked as it is by default.
3. Replace your Bowler when his Stamina levels turn Red
Just as we stated in the above section, Red Stamina indicates that your bowler is extremely fatigued. You won’t be facing this situation in a T20 game but this scenario will always turn up in the ODI and 5-Day Matches. Make sure to replace your bowler immediately when the Stamina bar starts becoming Red as this would elevate his chances of getting injured.
4. Bring back your in-form bowler whenever you are going for runs
It is always important to rotate your bowlers to make it difficult for the batsman to pick. In addition to that, one must always keep a tab on the form guide of his bowlers. If the opposition batsman goes bonkers against a certain bowler for an over or two, then there is no use bringing back that bowler for another over especially when the batsmen are settled against him. In this situation, make sure to go back to your in-form bowler to put a break on the momentum.
5. Resort to Custom Field Setup
A Custom Field Set-up lets you manually move the fielders to desired places. Hence, it should always be the go-to option. The game has designed some fielding presets for the powerplay and non-powerplay phases. You can always resort to those for help but make sure to place the outer ring players in the positions desired by you.
- For example, in the ODI non-powerplay phase, covering the entire off-side including deep third, deep mid-wicket and deep fine-leg is not a very smart choice. Runs can be scored freely behind square and behind point with this setup. Instead, you can station the inner-ring players on the leg side, one at gully, one at mid-off, one at long-on, and one behind at the Covers. This would expose the off-side so ensure that the boundary line on the off is well-guarded by fielders.
- For T20Is, whatever field plans you go out with, make sure not to keep the Progress bar of your bowler up by more than three levels. If the opposition batsmen are going too hard at you, tonne it down by 2 levels or even to as low as zero. This would somewhat prevent the outrage.
- For 5-Day Matches, go for Attacking Options on the initial days. The game allows you to keep 4 fielders outside the ring in this format. But, out of those 4, make sure that a minimum of two players are stationed at the slips. If the Batsman is Settled and scoring at a brisk rate, only then should you resort to Defensive options.
6. Choose your Squad wisely
Before any Tournament/Series/Career Mode Game, it is important that you choose your squad according to the Form Guide and Stats of your players.
- An in-form player is an automatic addition to your squad in any format.
- Suppose the format is T20, then a batsman with an average of 30-40 is decent enough to make it to your XI. You also need to see if his Striking Rate is good. However, the same is not the case for One Day Internationals.
- Similarly, a bowler must have a Bowling Average of 20 or less to be a fit for the squad, especially in T20Is.
It is important that you select your squad based on the individual statistics of your players.
7. Play according to the Conditions
In Cricket Captain 2022, it is equally important to read the conditions while playing:
- Say, for instance, you won’t get Perfect All-Rounder in this game. You will either get a good bowler who can bat or a batsman who can bowl as well. The only fix for this issue is playing a squad according to the conditions. If the conditions are such that you need an extra quick bowler or a spinner, go for a Bowling All Rounder and vice versa.
- Do not bring in a Medium Pacer unless it’s cloudy. Medium Pacers go for a lot of runs in Cricket Captain 2022. They do get a variable amount of swing though when it’s overcast. Hence, one must refrain from using one unless the conditions are cloudy.
8. Review judiciously before renewing Expired Contracts in the Career Mode
Before Renewing Expired Contracts, you must look for 3 things:
- The Player is a fit for your squad or not, based on its stats. (A Bowler with a 19.46 Average gets more preference over a bowler with a 22.38 Average).
- Whether the concerned player has injury concerns or not.
- Whether he has marked himself unavailable owing to National Duties.
For instance, Jofra Archer is out with an injury. Then giving him a Contract won’t be a smart choice if he doesn’t feature in your squad. The same fundamentals should be taken into consideration during Recruitment.
9. Coach your Players by feeding Practice Sessions
Although some might feel that it is better to find a better replacement rather than coach a player, Cricket Captain 2022 lets you do some really cool stuff. You can now convert a top-order batsman to a middle-order batsman and vice-versa.
When you are about to Coach a Player, there are two things that you must remember:
- When coaching your player(s) make sure to give Practice Sessions (Batting/Bowling) instead of coaching individual traits. It is by coaching that you can bring your players back to form and the best way to do so is by giving Practice Sessions.
- Coach only the players who make it to your Squad, by reviewing their statistics. There is absolutely no use in Coaching unwanted Players.
Final Thoughts
Here is a bonus tip for all. While batting in the opening Session of a 5-Day Game, always lower your Progress bar to as low as zero. This is because you are rewarded with in-game points based on your First Innings score. The Second Innings score doesn’t matter in this context as you are rewarded based on the Match results and Innings One score. Since lowering the Progress Bar reduces your chances of getting out, it can ultimately let you stay among as many runs as possible.
Overall, the game has a really insane engine that makes it a realistic and cool way of enjoying our favorite sport. However, the DRS system has not been incorporated in any of the versions of Cricket Captain. If they add that in the 2023 version along with some amendments, then this game could potentially breathe fire into the world of Mobile Cricket.
That’s all from us for the Cricket Captain 2022 Beginners Guide! Did you find our Cricket Captain 2022 beginners guide helpful? Do let us know in the comments!
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