After a well-intentioned yet ultimately disappointing detour into the NBA Jam-inspired, super-powered swashbuckling of 2018’s Big Bash Boom, Big Ant Studios has made a confident return to the more traditional cricket game crease with Cricket 19. Using the core engine and feature set of 2017’s Ashes Cricket as a base, Cricket 19 breathes life into its presentation, smartens up its AI, and bolts on a compelling new scenario mode, making it look and feel more authentic than a broken-in Baggy Green — complete with a few frayed edges.
Although it’s dropped the ‘Ashes’ brand from its moniker, Cricket 19 is still the officially licensed game of this year’s contest between Australia and England and thus all of the men’s and women’s squads from each country remain in this year’s game. Joining the existing Australian grounds from Ashes Cricket are the five English grounds to be featured in the 2019 series, each of them realised with convincing detail from the vibrant red slab that is The Point at Old Trafford, right down to the Father Time windvane that’s perched high above Lord’s.
