User:Dave of Darwin/Sandbox

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Battrick is a free Internet browser-based Cricket management game inspired by the football management game Hattrick. From its humble beginnings during a throw away conversation on a message board, Battrick - largely under the hand of its creator Allan Fairlie-Clarke (Battrick username BT-allanfc) - has now grown to be the largest free cricket management game on the Internet.

In Battrick, users take over a cricket team in the lower levels of their chosen country's league system and aim - through training, tactics and transfers - to improve their team and obtain glory in one or more of the several competitions in the games.

In Battrick, there are currently eight countries (the most established real life Test nations) each with their own league & cup competitions, and now National and Under-19 sides. The countries are: England, Australia, India, New_Zealand, South_Africa, West_Indies, Pakistan and Sri_Lanka.

It costs nothing to play Battrick; everything that's needed to manage sides is on the Website and changes take effect from the moment orders are given. It's been designed so that you can spend as little, or as much, time managing your club as you wish. A membership package is available for those willing to pay, offering additional services like team logos and access to more statistics, although no in-game advantage is given.

Matches are played in real time with ball by ball match commentary provided. The game follows a structured timetable over sixteen real life weeks (a fourteen week season with four weeks off-season) with matches played at times appropriate to each individual country. At any time gamers may re-set their team line-up for forthcoming matches, perhaps selecting a strong batting line-up one week and a balanced batting-bowling XI the next. It is also possible to set a bowling order and to say which batsmen or bowlers will play aggressively or cautiously match by match.

Other Features
Batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers or highly cherished all-rounders can be bought and sold on a virtual transfer market. Gamers can communicate in a forum called "Sledging". Friendly matches can be arranged between teams knocked out of the cup. New teams start with an arena of 6500 seats and standing room. This can be expanded at a price as the game goes on. Each team starts with a token (virtual!) budget of 50,000 pounds to spend on new players and arena expansions but you can train players up for lucrative sale and win prize money for a good finishing position in your league etc.

Competitions
The types of matches/competitions are currently in three different forms. They are:
 * OD League matches
 * OD Cup matches
 * OD friendlies.

and from season 5:
 * FC League matches
 * Twenty20 Competition in the 4 weeks at the end of the regular season and for the National and U-19 teams Test Cricket

The Battrick league system involves eight team divisions organised in a pyramid-esque structure. The eight teams play each other both home and away meaning each side plays 14 games in a league season. Four points are awarded for a win, two for a tie and none for a loss. Where teams are level on points they are separated by the Net Run Rate (NRR) system. The pyramid structure means that while there is one top division in each nation, with four second divisions (Labeled II.1, II.2 etc) and sixteen third divisions and so on, the number of divisions multiplying by four with each additional level. As of June, 2006 each country has four divisions except for Australia, New Zealand and India which have five and England which has six. To have the chance of promotion to the level above (obviously not applicable with the top division where the OD League Championship is awarded to the top side) a team must first win their division by finishing top of the group. Their league record is then compared to the other division winners at that level; if they are in the top half they are promoted automatically, but the teams in the bottom half of the list must win a one-off play off match away against a team in the level above. In the divisions of the level above, the 7th and 8th placed teams are automatically relegated, replaced by the sides who achieved automatic promotion. The 5th & 6th placed teams will then provide the opposition in the play-offs with the remaining lower level division winners.

A cup match is part of a straight knock-out cup competition which involves the top 75-80% of the country's teams. Qualification and seeding for the cup is based upon the final league standings at the end of the previous season. The draw is organised so that the highest remaining seed is drawn away to the lowest remaining seed, the 2nd highest remaining seed against the 2nd lowest remaining seed at the latter's ground and so on. There is the possibility that the seeding system may be scrapped in favour of a random draw at some stage, although no date has been placed upon this. Once a team is knocked out of the cup they are then able to challenge any available team from any country in the world to a friendly game, the only way you can currently (and, most likely, will ever be able to) play sides from outside your chosen nation. These friendly games are purely played to keep players in form and for enjoyment as opposed to being for any competition, although some friendly cups are unofficially organised by users.

As you can see all of the games are currently in One-day_cricket format. However First Class (FC) matches are set to be introduced in time for season five. These will be three day games following the format of play used in Test Matches and domestic leagues such as the English County_Championship. The FC matches will be played in league competition only - it is still to be decided if this will be combined with the OD League System or be a separate pyramid. Once the FC games are introduced, there will be matches playing on five of the seven days of the week. The season lasts for eighteen weeks with 14 for FC and OD competitions and some of those 4 weeks off for a new Twenty20 competition.

Miscellaneous
Battrick is currently in its fourth season and has over 7,000 active users. National teams were created during the second season of the game. Senior and Under-19 teams coaches were voted for via elections on the Battrick message boards, allowing them to form the national squads and compete against the other Test nations. The first ever International OD matches took place in Battrick on the 23rd of November 2005.