International Cricket
Encyclopedia
International Cricket is a cricket
video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
that was only released in Australia
in 1992. Developed by Melbourne-based Beam Software, it was the only cricket game released for the NES. There were no attempts to release a cricket video game to the North American, Japanese, or European markets. The reason is that baseball
games dominated the North American and Japanese markets while soccer dominated the European market during that era.
playing nations but no official team and player licensing in place. This meant that player names within the game, particularly for the Australian team, were parodies
on the actual names of cricket players at the time. Following is a list player names from the game and their respective actual names from Test-playing teams.
It is unknown why Merv Hughes' name was parodied twice, however this could probably be attributed to his cult status of the time.
Variations of player names for other countries do not appear to be as obvious, however there is a player in the West Indies
team called "R. Marley", a reference to Jamaica
n reggae
musician Bob Marley
.
, Super International Cricket
, in 1994. Melbourne House would also develop Cricket 96
and Cricket 97
for EA Sports
.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
that was only released in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1992. Developed by Melbourne-based Beam Software, it was the only cricket game released for the NES. There were no attempts to release a cricket video game to the North American, Japanese, or European markets. The reason is that baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games dominated the North American and Japanese markets while soccer dominated the European market during that era.
Naming parodies
The game featured all the major Test cricketTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
playing nations but no official team and player licensing in place. This meant that player names within the game, particularly for the Australian team, were parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
on the actual names of cricket players at the time. Following is a list player names from the game and their respective actual names from Test-playing teams.
- A. Boulder - Allan BorderAllan BorderAllan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
- M. Sailor - Mark TaylorMark Taylor (cricketer)Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
- D. Boost - David BoonDavid BoonDavid Clarence Boon MBE , nicknamed Boony, is a former Australian cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995...
- G. Swamp - Geoff MarshGeoff MarshGeoffrey Robert Marsh is a former Australian cricketer, coach and selector. He played 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day Internationals for Australia as an opening batsman...
- J. Dean - Dean JonesDean Jones (cricketer)Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
- S. Mars - Steve WaughSteve WaughStephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
- I. Hilly - Ian HealyIan HealyIan Andrew Healy is a former cricketer who played for Queensland and Australia. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international cricket in 1988, after only six first-class games. His work ethic and combativeness was much needed...
- R. Bruce - Bruce ReidBruce ReidBruce Anthony Reid is an Australian cricketer and bowling coach of the Indian national cricket team on their 2003-04 tour to Australia....
- M. Ewes - Merv HughesMerv HughesMervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
- C. McDirt - Craig McDermottCraig McDermottCraig John McDermott is a former Australian cricketer. He is currently the bowling coach for the Australian cricket team....
- H. Mervyn - Merv HughesMerv HughesMervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
- P. Tail - Peter TaylorPeter Taylor (cricketer)For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.Peter Laurence Taylor is a former Australian cricketer who played in 13 Tests and 83 ODIs from 1987 to 1992....
- T. Oldman - Terry AldermanTerry AldermanTerence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
It is unknown why Merv Hughes' name was parodied twice, however this could probably be attributed to his cult status of the time.
Variations of player names for other countries do not appear to be as obvious, however there is a player in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
team called "R. Marley", a reference to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
musician Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
.
Sequels
International Cricket was followed by an updated sequel for the Super NESSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Super International Cricket
Super International Cricket
Super International Cricket is a cricket game for the Super Nintendo that was released in Australia, Europe and Pakistan in 1994.-Summary:...
, in 1994. Melbourne House would also develop Cricket 96
Cricket 96
Cricket 96 is a cricket game for the MS-DOS PCs that was released in 1995. The sequel to Super International Cricket on the SNES, it was developed by Melbourne House and published by EA Sports...
and Cricket 97
Cricket 97
Cricket 97 is a cricket game for PCs that was released in 1997. The sequel to Cricket 96, it was developed by Melbourne House and published by EA Sports...
for EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
.