Official Ashes game, Cricket 19 coming to Switch in May

Australian development team Big Ant Studios has announced their newest sports title, Cricket 19, the fully-licensed official game of the upcoming Specsavers Ashes series between Australia and England.

Initially reported by Vooks as being in development as a then-unknown cricket game back in October 2018, Cricket 19 will launch in May 2019 on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC Steam release following soon after. An exact release date has not yet been specified but will be announced soon. In addition to the Specsavers Ashes series, Cricket 19 will feature both men’s and women’s teams, every host venue including the iconic Lord’s stadium, and all international formats of the sport – Test, One Day International (ODI), and T20.

Cricket 19 will return to the simulation realism of Ashes Cricket and the Don Bradman Cricket series, doing away with the arcade stylings of Big Ant’s most recent cricketing foray, Big Bash Boom; a game that was fun in bursts but was unfortunately held back by various technical issues. Promising AI refinements to create a more realistic opposition, Cricket 19 will feature smarter bowling tactics in an effort to target your weaknesses, and batsmen will target gaps in the field while rotating the strike just like the pros.

Additionally, Cricket 19 will include a scenario mode, giving you the opportunity to recreate classic matches and set challenges for other players online. Hopefully this means I can relive the 2006/2007 whitewash of England’s tour of Australia, including Amazing Adelaide and Adam Gilchrist’s quickfire century that utterly demoralised the tourists.

Arguably the most exciting aspect will be Cricket 19′s career mode, where new enhancements will develop a narrative around your player, including career-affecting news headlines, which sounds like the sort of thing that’s become a staple in the NBA 2K series and FIFA‘s “The Journey” mode.

In Big Ant’s press release, CEO Ross Symons praised the dedicated fans of the studio’s cricket games, saying this is the game for them.

“We have the most active and passionate community,” Symons said. “Many of our players logged thousands of hours with our previous cricket titles, and Cricket 19 is very much built on the experience of those players.”

“Whether you’re looking to enjoy a 20-year cricket career that takes you from the club level to captaining the national team, re-create an ODI or IT20 series or take part in the Ashes, or just bash some balls around with friends, Cricket 19 has you covered.”

Also weighing in, Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager for Fan Engagement Anthony Everard discussed the work Big Ant has put into cricket simulation games over the years.

“Big Ant Studios did a superb job in creating an authentic and realistic cricket simulation with Ashes Cricket, and we’re thrilled to be working with them again to bring Cricket 19 to Australian fans,” Everard said.

“With a remarkable level of authenticity and all-new features that we know fans will love, we’re sure Cricket 19 will provide the definitive cricket gaming experience as Australia’s elite teams take on the old enemy in the UK.”