''Cricket 97'' is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

game for PCs that was released in 1997. It was released in January 1997 in Australia and April 1997 in the United Kingdom. It was released throughout the rest of Europe on May 9, 1997.

Gameplay

The game stars cricketer

Michael Atherton Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...

. Ritchie Benaud and

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one ...

provided commentary for the game.

Tour Edition

A ''Tour Edition'' of the game was released in late 1997. It featured actual photographs, real player names, portraits, and statistics of all major Australian and international cricketing personalities.

Reception

Richard Moore for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' called the game "very realistic" but criticized the "play-balance-driven parity of the sides". George Soropos for ''

PC PowerPlay ''PC PowerPlay'' (''PCPP'') is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. ''PC PowerPlay'' focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for us ...

'' rated ''Cricket 97 Ashes Tour Edition'' at 87% and stated that "Really, this is the game that Cricket '97 should have been in the first place and all credit to Beam for sticking with it until they got it right." The game shipped 50,000 units. It was the No. 1 best-selling sports title in Australia and the No. 3 best-selling title in Australia overall when it was released. In the UK, the game entered the Top Ten UK Charts straight into 8th position for PC CD-ROM games.

Reviews

*''

Power Unlimited ''Power Unlimited'' is a Dutch multi-format video games magazine. It is the biggest gaming magazine in the Benelux. The first issue was released in June 1993. History ''Power Unlimited'' started in June 1993 in Bjørn Bruinsma's basement as a n ...

'' (Sep, 1997)

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/cricket-97 1997 video games Beam Software games Cricket video games DOS games EA Sports games Europe-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Australia Video games set in Australia Windows games