Tactics and your XI

You can't bat or bowl for them, but you decide who plays, in what order and how. Set it up once, and your side plays exactly what you set.

A legal XIEleven fit players, with a keeper and enough bowlers.

Captain and viceThe captain lifts the side under pressure.

Three phasesPowerplay, middle overs and the death.

Up to 8 rules"When we're 5 down, dig in."

Pick a legal XI

Open Your XI from Home: tap Lineup beside your next match. Your eleven must all be fit, and include at least:

• 1 wicketkeeper,
• 3 bowlers and 1 all-rounder,
• 5 bowlers and all-rounders between them.

Save a legal XI and it bats in exactly your order. A match's own lineup opens the day before it; until then you're editing your default XI.

• Batter
• Wicketkeeper
• Pace bowler
• Spin bowler
• Pace all-rounder
• Spin all-rounder

Captain and vice-captain

Your captain leads in every match and lifts the side when the pressure's on. If he's out, the vice-captain takes over, with half the lift. Pick someone who'll be on the field.

The game plan

A T20 innings has three phases. For each one, set a batting approach and a field, anywhere on a five-step scale:

The scale runs Ultra defensive · Defensive · Balanced · Attacking · Ultra attacking. Short of time? Pick a preset, such as Build & launch or Fast start for the batting, and Strike early or Protect the rope for the field.

For the bowling, flag who opens and who closes. The rest bowl the middle overs.

Rules for when things change

Rules let your side react on its own. Each starts with a trigger:

• When we're N down: "when we're five down, defend";
• When the chase needs more than N an over: "go for it";
• From over N, and it can end until over N.

While a rule holds, it beats the phase plan. If two rules hold at once, the one lower in your list wins. You can have up to 8 rules, and your phase settings count towards them.

If you set nothing

Until you save a plan, the coach picks one for each match from the pitch and the opponent. Once you save one, even an all-balanced one, your side plays exactly what you set, and balanced wherever you left it alone.