Cricket 2005

Cricket 2005 is a sports title published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by HB Studios. It runs on a modified version of the engine used for the Madden 2005 game. EA released Cricket 2005 for Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. The PC download is a demo version that allows the user to play a single match against preset teams.

Single-player and Multi-player

Cricket 2005 was the first game in the EA cricket series to support multiplayer. Multiplayer is available on all platforms, and it gives players full access to all game modes. In fact, players can use the multiplayer component to realize full-blown cricket leagues and tournaments. The single-player component is similar to the previous iteration but added advanced configuration options for leagues and tournaments.

Game Modes

Cricket 2005 by EA Sports has four main game modes: training nets, exhibition, international cricket and domestic cricket. Training nets is a practice mode, and exhibition is a mode that lets the player pair any two teams in a single match or series. International cricket includes five sub-modes: Cricket World Cup, World Series cricket, Knockout tournament, Test series and foreign tour. Domestic cricket includes two sub-categories: Australian state cricket and English country cricket. Australian state cricket has three sub-modes: Full season, Pura Cup and ING Cup. English country cricket has five sub-modes: Full season, Frizzell Championship, National League, C&G Trophy and Twenty20 Cup.

Support

Although Cricket 2005 is no longer supported by EA, it does have a strong mod community that continues to support it with rosters, graphics and other resources.

Cover Art

With all of EA’s sports releases, the cover art is an important distinction. Usually, there is a single box cover for all regions, but the Cricket series is an example of where it varies. The cover displayed Adam Gilchrist in Australia, Andrew Flintoff in U.K. markets and Daniel Vettori in New Zealand.