Cricket 26 - Megathread

[sidk1412]

Dear Big Ant Studios Team,

I hope you’re all doing great. I just wanted to share some thoughts as a long-time fan of your cricket games. Cricket 26 is honestly the best cricket game ever made — the detail, the atmosphere, and especially the Career Mode make it the most immersive cricket experience out there. As someone who genuinely wants the franchise to grow, I’m sending these ideas as a well-wisher and big fan.

Player Career Mode Suggestions

Start From Training: Beginning the career with training sessions — nets, drills, coach interactions — would make progression feel more real.

Role Preference: Choosing whether we want to be a batter or bowler, and then discovering our strengths through school/club matches, would be amazing.

Gradual Skill Growth:

No big turn or high pace at the start for bowlers.

Skills should feel earned through training and performances.

Cutscenes & Choices: Decisions with coaches, mentors, and selectors that influence our journey.

Stamina: Can be realistic

Team Dynamics:

Rivalries with teammates and opponents as an outcome of matches (running out a teammate/ taking wicket of an opponent or hitting for sixes).

Selection drama, being picked due to another player’s injury, or losing our place due to our own.

Leagues & Transfers: IPL auctions, franchise transfers, and dynamic opportunities.

International Player Ratings: More realistic and evolving stats for global players.

Manager Career Mode Suggestions

Scouting System: Ability to scout young players, review potential ratings, and track their form.

Budgeting: Team budgets for facilities, transfers, player wages

Pitch curating: Option to select pitch type for home matches to outplay opponents

Prematch analysis: Give a Outlook of opponent team and provide opportunity to select a suitable 11 with matchups, countering strength and attacking weakness

Auctions & Transfer Window:

T20 league-style auctions with budgets, bidding wars, and strategic picks.

Transfers during a proper window system.

Selection From Player Pool: Choosing squads from a list of players with detailed stats and attributes.

Committee-Based Selection:

Coach, captain, and selection committee each having a say.

Voting mechanics for major decisions.

Morale System:

Player and captain morale affecting performances.

Better morale = better results, realistic fluctuations.

Team Chemistry: Building a squad isn’t just stats — chemistry, confidence, and form can all influence match outcomes.

Gameplay & Realism Improvements

Hit Wicket: Adding this dismissal would be great.

Keeper Glitches: At times the keeper collects the ball unnaturally early.

Ball Pickup Issue: As a bowler, I’m unable to pick up the ball during fielding, causing missed run-outs.

Walk-Through Stumps: Players sometimes pass through the wickets.

Overpowered AI Throws: Fielders throwing at the stumps perfectly every time feels too robotic — missed throws, slower throws, and hesitations would add realism.

Boundary Catch Glitch: Fielders throwing the ball during celebrations while outside the boundary line.

Thank you for everything you put into cricket gaming — Big Ant is literally the only studio carrying this sport in gaming, and I appreciate the passion and effort behind every release. I hope these suggestions help in shaping an even better future for the series.

[dazzer169]

@JNTBA and @MattW

Ok, here is a big issue and its been an issue since the first Don Bradman in 2014.

Sidespin………the game now has lots on offer, in the bowling, in the ball deflection off of all manner of body parts, and when it bounces on the pitch, on the field, there are even realistic sidespin depictions on the ball and the flight of the ball for fielding throws back to the stumps or wicket keeper….slow motion replays show realistic sidespin/topspin/backspin, combos of 2 of those on the X and Y axis’s, very true to life.

But NEVER………………on Edges!!! On Edge shots……..the ball always comes off the bat “straight” in terms of ball rotation physics or sometimes with a very slight X or Y axis sidespin to them, nowhere near the full sidespin rotations the ball has on it in real life. So please guys, introduce rapid sidespin onto Edge shots, it will be the last part of the ball physics jigsaw, and I am very surprised that noone else has ever mentioned this.

Basically, an Edge clips a ball slightly, but that puts fast sidespin onto it, basic physics…

Edges are the only batting shot in Cricket that by default ends up putting extreme Y axis sidespin onto the ball, and it is nowhere to be seen still, and it wrecks the game for me, visually, because everything else in terms of ball physics, in terms of both visually and the slight curve effect of the ball in flight regardless of the wind, in Cricket 26, is at an all-time high.

I notice on other shots the slight angled X axis 5-10 degree angled ball spin that depicts slight sidespin on the ball, or the slight angled Y axis 5-10 degree angled ball spin that also shows on the ball, and sometimes a combo of both, meaning u DO have sidespin showing these days on normal shots, and true to real life, the ball curves slightly in flight before the first ball bounce even WITHOUT wind effects being on in the game.

I know you can introduce this as you have a game based around spin in the first place!!

[wiz006]

Hey guys,

I wanted to start a conversation around Babar Azam’s in-game batting style. The current batting style assigned to him is Style 7. However, my opinion is that the style feels very inauthentic and he bats more like Naseem Shah than Babar.

I was wondering if someone else feels the same way? I felt Style 3/Style 5/Standard would be better fits. I raised a ticket for this and was told that it would be passed to the team for consideration. My understanding is that if enough people feel the same way, they might actually revisit this.

Would be happy to hear back on this.

[Mrahmadejaz]

Hey @MattW @RossSymons

Please resolve the issue of licence players…. Just unable to add any license player to licence teams… please resolve that as soon as possible.. i have also raised tickets for that still it’s not resolved…

Just unable to ad any license player to licence teams…

And correct the selection of a team in career mode.. opposite team selected bowler at no 1 2 3 and batsman at number 10 11 many times..

But at the moment big issue is of licence players please resolve it..

[Raxoplays]

Hello team! @MattW @RossSymons

First of all, Great improvements from my last text till now.

Just amazing work, and i know it will keep improving day by day and we are almost there.

The game is 90% perfect now. Just these little things i found, Which i am sharing with the images and videos so you guys know.

1. A white line (sometimes dotted one) Flickering mostly in australian grounds. And its mostly in the replays more. But somtimes it appears when batsman is on stance (It appears behind the batsman), Its still there. 90% of times in replays only. (screenshot attached)

2. Batting side winning team celebration cutscene is still not fixed. They are appreciating the hands in air. The other team player is invisible. (screenshot attached)

3. Some cutscenes have wrong end. Like captain guiding the bowler on keeper’s end (screenshot attached)

4. FPS are still dropping and mostly in night matches or when the weather is dark and gloomy. My pc is giving 60-65 normal fps, But on same settings after the first inning they are giving 35-45 fps. Please optimize this (screnshot attached)

5. Sometimes players are still entering into each other which does not look good. (i hope you understand), And players are also entering into the boundry ropes, Just need these things polished.

6. Whenever the 2nd inning starts, The cutscene is only 1 batsman coming. Like after the wicket. There should be a proper cutscene like 1st inning for the 2nd one.

ABOUT GAMEPLAY:

1. The fielding logic is still not working properly. RT button triggers LT throw and LT throws RT end. And AI is still throwing directly into wickets from the boundry, which is very very unrealistic and dangerous for a player who is sattled

2. Needs polish on fielding, Ai fielding is still not there much. Its 80% there. But need that 20% polish so it feels real and amazing.

3. Player animations seems less and buggy when comparing to the day 1 patch. Also, Needs just polish. The keeper and fielders animations where top notch on day 1 patch. BRING THEM BACK!

4. Today’s newzealand stadium have bad camera angles. Like they are showing replays from behind the walls. and sometimes behind the trees. and it looks funny to see the tree only in replay.

5. Just need polish on the overall cutscenes.

I’ve attached the screennshots. And i hope you guys are gonna work on these things and make a perfect cricket game ever. These things are there still, But needs polish and balancing, So looks good.

[sdubey40]

The game has been a definite downgrade since day 1 patch in terms of polish and animations. Plus basic animations such as injury wrt impact of the ball is completely missing. No volumetric lightning, no hair physics or boundary rope physics. Shadows popping up despite forming from a huge distance, outfield of India and SENA countries similar,no dew factor. The game is a huge leap from 24 but these basic things needs rectification

[BLURTNAU]

Good feedback, I’ve felt the same about career progression. There’s a game called Tennis Elbow 4 which has community-made mods available for download, one of which I think allows you to start your career as a teen junior harnessing your skills before you can make it pro (you could also then theoretically never make it pro). You can also start your career in the past (based on setting your date of birth) so your rivals when you do go pro will be the rivals of that time period. And players can retire based on age etc. I would love to see Big Ant move in this direction as well, and I imagine these games will get more and more immersive with time. I still respect the effort and continuous improvement, I’m with Big Ant for the long haul because they are really carrying the flag in this lane. I pray they keep faithful to their loyal fanbase and expand their ambition with their cricket and tennis titles

[Spinman]

Game is good but needs improves in these areas listed below in my opinion!

1.bowling speeds - it should not be possible to bowl near 160kph every bowl as Mitchell starc for example and too many bowlers are listed as RF/LF this games which is not accurate , it would be cool to get a slider to change the pace limit since the sliders at the moment don’t really do much.

2.grass on ps5 doesn’t look great or it’s there but the blur makes it look bad imo.

3.can’t change players stats -would be cool to change batting styles /bowling styles and ratings for licensed players.

[Dave8525]

Why am i not able to sign in to play all of a sudden even though i have internet I keep getting kicked back to the main menu

[iam_sohaib]

Game is lagging way too after the day 1 patch. Day 1 was even better than these multiple patches.

[Dave8525]

I know people are busy but the lack of communication from anyone is bad even just putting up patch notes to say what’s been updated or improved

[blockyy]

From The Last Two patch The Bowl Speed And Visual speed Has been Reduced Drastically and Unnecessarily . A 147kmph Ball Look like A 117kmph Even on the hardest Difficulty,Its Coming too Slowly, The Day 1 Patch Was Best For Batting And Suddenly All the Fun is Ruining Because Of This Sluggish bowl Speed, Please Big Ant Dont Try To fix The Thing Thats Not Even Broken Instead Try to improve on the Animation Cutscenes And the Sluggish Fielding in 30 Yard And Brainless AI Fielders

[KeegBCFC]

Is fielding off your own bowling ever going to be fixed? AI too, the ball hits the bowler and they run away and let a fielder come and get it. It is truly ridiculous.

[KarateBob]

1. Fielders on boundry getting direct hits way too much.
2. Not all fielders on the boundry should be able to get keepers gloves directly.
3. Fielders in the outfield sometime stop and just looks at the ball. Only starts doing something when you as the bowler runs out to the outfield.
4. Keeper taking to long to do a stumping from fielding.
5. Training games seems impossible (just me?)
6. Sometime while training, sounds sound muffled/underwater.

[Hutchy]

Loving the game so far. Some things I personally would love to see.

• Ability to scale and move the HUD - I would love to be able to move the HUD to the top and scale it particularly while batting.
• Keep the batting feedback on the screen when you go out to see where you went wrong.

Appreciate all the hard work you guys are doing.

[Azamisran]

@MattW The Batting Style and Bowling Edit Option should be enabled/Unlocked for all licensed Players that would be great I mean what’s the use of All those actions and Animation if we can’t apply them to players of our liking. Overall Great Game BA .