Shane Warne Cricket '99 Walkthrough

Yes! We finally have a cricket game on the PlayStation and it's a corker. Shane Warne has everything you could want in a cricket game, everything from old Classic matches, test matches, one dayers and all these can be played on one of three difficulty settings.
There's also World Cup cricket for those that want a real challenge and it's in this mode that the greatest amount of fun can be had in. Whether you're bowling or batting, Shane Warne has the most sophisticated artificial intelligence of any cricket game yet seen with ultra accurate positioning for hits or bowls. When bowling you can either manually field or auto field, if you plan to manually field then first make sure that you are proficient in all aspects of the game because it can be awfully hard to do, even for the seasoned veteran.
The one thing to remember is that this is a very accurate simulation of cricket and therefore will take time to master. Don't get discouraged if you find it hard to bat or bowl, with some help and guidance from us, you should be smashing the other teams for six in no time at all.
In this guide you will find information regarding all aspects of Shane Warne Cricket '99, everything from how to bat correctly to proper pitch reading. It's simple folks, follow the directions and you should have no problems at all.

The Batter:
In Shane Warne there's really only two kinds of shot you can take which is the normal shot, the X button, or there's the six shot, which is the Circle button. Although there is a defensive shot, the Square button, this is really only a block so therefore doesn't really get classified as a proper shot.
Apart from those buttons, the batter only needs to know that after hitting the ball, X is to start running while circle is the command to turn around or go back. Get used to using the back button because the most common method of dismissal is by run out. Also, practice placing shots all around the ground. Get to know the shot marker in the lower left hand corner of the screen and work out where shots will land if played in different directions. If a bowler is sending a bouncer at you that will go towards your left, simply time your shot early and press back and right on the direction pad to hit the ball over your left shoulder, effectively pulling off a hook shot. By pressing back and right, the batsman will stand back on his right foot to hit the shot giving him added power by putting his body into the shot. Use the six button on shots like this and you'll be smashing the ball into the stands.

Methods:
As the batter it is important that you be able to read the field correctly and that you know in advance what type of shot you can make. It may be tempting to just keep hitting the six button all the time but this usually ends up with a badly timed shot that will get caught by a fielder. As with real cricket it is sometimes necessary to sit back and play a defensive shot rather than go for a slog. Therefore, it is much easier to accumulate runs by hitting singles or doubles with the x button and occasionally you'll hit one for four. The six button should only be used when you feel certain that a shot will go the distance.
Also keep in mind that spin bowlers like Shane Warne are actually easier to hit off than medium or fast paced bowlers. Just remember to play your shot a bit earlier with spin bowlers, this will increase the distance of your shot.

The Bowler:
Bowling is where you'll most likely have the greatest difficu4 because it isn't as straight forward as batting, but you all knew that anyway. Before I start talking about bowling during a match, I suggest that everyone should first head to the practice nets where you can fine-tune your bowling.
The main problem I had with the bowlers is the fact that you have to know every style of bowling inside out and back to front. The problem with this is that it's so time consuming and requires a lot of practice.

Fast/Medium Fast Bowler:
Fast bowling is the easiest to master and it's the style that will get you the most wickets once mastered. With fast bowling there are only two buttons to worry about and that's the x button, for a normal delivery and the circle button, for a slower bowl. The square button has the same function as the x button.
Swing Bowler:
The swing bowler is very useful against batsmen in the middle to lower order. I found that if I used a swing bowler on the openers then I'd get smashed all around the park. The swing bowler has a total of three different bowls that they can do. The x button is used for an out-swing bowl, the circle button's for an in-swing bowl while the square button will yield a faster ball.
leg Spin/Slow left Chinaman Bowler:
Of all the bowling styles, this one is the funnest to use. The leg spin bowler can handle any style of batter due to the varied amount of bowling methods available. Just remember to keep the ball away from the front or feet of batters or you'll get smacked all around the ground. The bowling methods are, x button for a leg spinner, the circle button will deliver a googly ball while the square button is used for Warney's famous flipper style spin bowling.
Off Spin/Slow left Arm Bowler:
The off spinner is pretty much the lemon of the bowling world mainly due to a slow speed and lack of style. There's only two different off spins you can do, the off spinner is bowled by pressing the x button and the arm ball is thrown using the circle button. The problem I had with this bowler was that I was continually hit for four no matter where I placed the ball. Being hit for four is obviously what bowlers try not to do so I ended up using an off spinner for the minimum overs that I could.

Methods:
Now, once you have the hang of the bowlers basic moves its time to move onto run up technique. Run up technique? Yes technique. Although you can't see your bowler for most of their run up, it is possible and easy to change the technique of how you deliver the ball by simply pressing down on the control pad while running up and delivering. Follow these simple techniques and you'll be bowling like Warney in no time at all.
Fast/Medium Fast Bowler:
Pressing down will make the bowler bowl a lot faster than normally. Great for bowling into the block hole.
Swing Bowler:
Pressing down on the control pad while running in will increase the swing of the ball. Great if you can go around the batter to hit his wickets. Looks fab on replay.
Leg Spin/Slow left Chinaman Bowler:
Pressing down while running in will vary the speed of your delivery. I'm not sure if the CPU characters get confused by varying speeds but your mates sure do.
Off/Slow Left Arm Bowler:
The same as leg spin bowlers, by pressing down will vary the speed of your deliveries.

Fielding:
As mentioned earlier, fielding is the one aspect of Shane Warne Cricket that is the hardest to master. With there being two options, to manually field or automatically field, the choice should really be made on ability and ability alone. It isn't good enough to say that you love fielding and therefore want to manually field because if you do and you're not good at it then you'll get your butt whipped. Like bowling, fielding is something that you'll want to practice until you have it down pat. During practice you can choose between mixed fielding, ground fielding or catching practice. You should ideally become proficient in all three aspects of fielding which can take ages to do but with this being the slow and gentlemanly game of cricket, patience is the one thing you will need.
For overall fielding brilliance I found it a lot better to concentrate on ground fielding and catching practice. There's no sure-fire way of becoming a successful fielder, just make sure that you keep an eye on the arrow showing the direction of the ball and run like blazes to that spot. If you make it easily to the desired area then all you have to do is stand there. If however you don't make it to the right spot on time you'll have to dive using the x button or slide using the circle button. Once you've caught the ball, press the x button to throw it to the wicket keeper or circle to hurl it to the bowler.
It all sounds pretty simple but it isn't. Just remember, keep a calm head and practice, practice, practice.

Settings:
Okay, okay. Maybe you don't need to know what the settings are but there are some important aspects that you should know about.
Skill Level:
There are three different skill levels in Shane Warne '99 which are Village, County or Test. Village is obviously the easiest while Test is the hardest. Make sure you know what you're doing before heading to the Test difficulty.
Weather:
Toggles between the on and off modes. Having the weather conditions off means that the day will be sunny with little chance of any rain. Nothing is worse than playing a test series that is interrupted by rain.
Pitch Type:
Allows the player to set the pitch to conditions they prefer or you can have the computer randomly pick the pitch conditions according to where you are playing.
Slog Mode:
You would want to have this on if you want the computer players to bat with an all action, high-risk type of batting style. Ideal for quick one day matches that you want to be short.
Teams:
If you go into the Teams settings mode it allows you to view all the teams that are available. You can also view player statistics through this menu by pressing the x button on the player you wish to see.
Performance Tracking:
This option allows you to keep track of any one players performance. You can track the batting and/or bowling stats for up to twenty players from the nine test playing nations. To select a player, use the select command and choose away.

Matches:
In Shane Warne Cricket '99 there are seven different matches that can be selected and it is simply a matter of preference. Below is a list of all match styles and what they represent.
Friendly:
Set up your own custom match between any of the nine test playing nations and the World XI. During this type of play it is possible to select a wide range of options including match style, kit type, number of overs plus a stack more.
World Cup:
In this mode of play you can have up to twelve teams under your control, you can decide how many overs will be played and who the host nation is. The tournament involves two stages, the first having two groups of six teams with each team playing each other once.
World Series:
Selecting this option starts a World Series tournament in Australia. Between two and five teams can take part, but one of those teams must be Australia because they are the host nation. Anywhere between nil and five teams can be under player control. The World Series involves the selected teams playing each other twice on a league basis. The top two teams then go into the finals, which are decided over three matches. If only two teams are selected then they progress automatically to the finals.
Knockout:
This mode allows the player to take part in a knockout tournament involving eight teams. Overs and location can be selected.
Test Series:
Self explanatory game mode that allows up to two test playing nations to take part in a series of test matches that are played over five days with two innings of unlimited overs. The number of matches played is up to the player, but can be between one and six.
Test Season:
The modern test arena involves a grueling yearlong journey around the world playing test series against several nations. A test season allows you to take control of a team for any- where between one and seven years. A rankings table will keep track of the team performance for the length you have chosen.
Classic Match:
The Classic Match mode is a set of predetermined matches that vary in difficulty. At the start of each Classic you are presented with the game facts, the goal that you have to reach and a difficulty rating. The Classics have to be played in an order and after successful completion of a match you are then presented with a password to unlock the next one.

Pitch Conditions:
The last thing to go through is the varied pitch conditions and what effect they have.