As another Ashes summer creeps closer, keen cricket fans can celebrate the flagship series early with the release of Cricket 19.

In collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), developers BigAnt are back with ‘the official, fully-licensed game of the Ashes’, following on from the success of 2017’s Ashes Cricket.

Building on that fan favourite, Cricket 19 features all formats of the international game – including both men’s and women’s teams as well as the host venues.

“We have the most active and passionate community. 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,” Ross Symons, Big Ant CEO, said.

“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.”

‘More realistic than ever before’

Deep enhancements to the AI engine mean that the opposition is more realistic than ever before.

When bowling, the AI will suss out your player and team’s weaknesses, and target that with a concentrated bowling strategy. When batting, the AI will rotate the strike to protect weaker players, and actively look for gaps in the field.

‘Re-live the greatest chases in history’

New features to be added to Cricket 19 include a scenario mode, which allows players to recreate the greatest matches in history, and then share them online to challenge other players to achieve difficult run-chases, or play out a draw from a disastrous situation.

Enhancements to the career mode build a story around your player; how you look in the news headlines affects your potential career trajectory.

For the first time ever, a deep, rich cricket simulation will also be playable on the go. Cricket 19 will be available on the Nintendo Switch, allowing you to play both single player and multiplayer anywhere, anytime.

More details about the new features and gameplay modes in Cricket 19 will be announced at a later date. The game releases on all consoles – PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch – in May, with an exact release date TBA. A PC (Steam) version will follow shortly after.