r/CricketTycoon

Simon Harmer’s performance against India in 2025 was a great example of how much control and experience matter in spin bowling.

His numbers across two Tests were remarkable

17 wickets at an average of 8.94
Economy rate of just 1.91
Strike rate of 28 balls per wicket
8/51 in Kolkata and 9/101 in Guwahati

What impressed me was how he used his variations without becoming predictable. He maintained a consistent arm speed while changing his pace, flight and seam position.

His use of overspin generated extra bounce, which was particularly effective against Yashasvi Jaiswal in Guwahati.

He also kept attacking the stumps rather than bowling defensive lines.
Years of county cricket with Essex clearly helped him understand his strengths.

He wasn’t relying entirely on turning pitches. Even on a relatively flat Guwahati surface, he found ways to trouble the batters.

Do you think Harmer’s success was primarily down to his bowling intelligence, or did India’s batters struggle to read his variations?

AB de Villiers was one of the rare players who could change his game completely depending on the format.

In Tests, he scored 8,765 runs at 50.66, including 22 centuries.

In ODIs, he made 9,577 runs at 53.50 with a strike rate above 101. He also holds the record for the fastest ODI century just 31 balls.

In T20Is, he struck at 135.17, and across his overall T20 career he scored more than 9,400 runs at a strike rate around 150.

He could spend hours defending in a Test, control the middle overs of an ODI, or start attacking from almost anywhere in a T20.

Different formats needed different approaches, and ABD understood that better than most.
Who else belongs in this conversation?

He made his international debut in 1999, but his career really changed when Sri Lanka moved him to open the batting in his early 30s.

At the 2009 T20 World Cup, aged 32, Dilshan scored 317 runs and was named Player of the Tournament.

He eventually finished his career with:
10,290 ODI runs and 22 centuries
5,492 Test runs and 16 centuries
1,889 T20I runs

Centuries in all three international formats
What makes his story even better is that the late peak lasted.

In 2015, aged 38, he scored 1,207 ODI runs at an average of 52.47, finishing as the third-highest ODI run-scorer in the world that year.

Sometimes a player doesn’t need more talent they just need the right role at the right time.

Who are some other cricketers who became significantly better after turning 30?

While developing Cricket Management Tycoon, I spent a lot of time looking at how real players should be represented in a simulation.
Brian Lara was one of the players who made me think differently about this.

Lara finished his Test career with 11,953 runs, 34 centuries and an average above 52. But those numbers still don’t fully explain what made him special.

He also scored 400* in a Test match and 501* in first-class cricket.

That made me realize that a cricket game cannot simply give a player a high batting rating and expect the simulation to feel realistic.

Some players are consistent. Some score quickly. Some convert hundreds into massive innings. Some can completely take over a match.

So while developing CMT, I started thinking more about things like consistency, aggression, conversion rate, form and a player’s ability to produce those rare exceptional performances.

The goal is not just to generate realistic averages.
I want the game to generate careers and moments that you actually remember.
Brian Lara is a great example of why cricket statistics need more depth than a single overall rating.

Which player do you think would be the hardest to realistically simulate in a cricket management game?