This is the greatest and most realistic cricket game ever, and despite some flaws, it does not disappoint.
The most irritating thing about this game has to be the CPU's ability to whack anything that isn't in the right spot for 4 or 6 in any form of the game. Like in a test match, first ball of the Ashes, James Anderson bowls a bit wide of the off stump, just short of a good length, and Phil Hughes cuts it for 6. There are about 3 or 4 places to pitch the ball to avoid this happening to you, but there is room to mix up the line and length a bit, and also changing the pace and swing is genuinely effective if executed properly.
Another thing that really gets on my nerves is the amount of times the CPU gets run out. In a test match, if you bowl a side out, there are usually at least 3 run outs, and on one occasion i got 7. The running between the wickets of the CPU is just ridiculous sometimes and although at some points can lead to ecstacy when you run Ricky Ponting out for 99 to bowl out the Aussies 5 short of victory, it can be frustrating when you have a bowler who has destroyed a batsman's confidence with some brilliant bowling, and you feel like you're just a ball away from taking his wicket, when he just inexplicably runs half way up the wicket and gets run out.
Lack of a proper World Cup mode is a bit disappointing, but you can do an 8 team knockout competition in either 5, 10, 20, 25, or 50 overs, which is good.
Something that i really love about this game is that when playing a test match, you need patience, just like in the real sport. Unlinke BLIC 05 and 07, there is no sure fire way to hit 6 every other ball, and trying to attack every ball, will, unless, you are controlling a really really good batsman, get you out. For instance, if you try to drive into the offside, and there is a fielder standing near to where you are trying to drive it, you will get caught if you keep driving, as "Good" timing still means that your shots are slightly upp-ish, as opposed to "Perfect" timing, which speaks for itself. And a lack of patience can cause a really dramatic collapse, which is realistic, if a bit frustrating. If you get to 65 with your opening batsman, and then edge to slip, it can be very tempting to just slog away with the next batsman, but that will see your team collapse and reach a very low total.
Bowling also takes patience. If a batsman is "Fearless", it is very unlikely that you will get him out, so you either have to come up with a plan to reduce his confidence, such as trying to hit him on the head, or bowl him outswingers to get him playing and missing, or alternatively, just hope that he gets run out.
Another strange, and slightly irritating feature of this game, is the way that you can choose before each match you play, all the conditions of the wicket, and the weather conditions, which you obviously cannot do in real life. This would be fine for exhibition matches, but when you just want to take on whatever random conditions the CPU throws at you, it is not fine.
Custom players are really fun, and there is a welcome return to the "levelling up system that was in BLIC 05 but not in 07. It is very different to 05 however, as players are given level up points for doing things such as 50 perfectly timed shots, or take 2 catches. All unlicenced players in the game can be levelled up like this, which is a bit strange, but you do not have to use the level up points if you don't want to. However, i think when custom players are first created, they are too good, and i would prefer to have to work to make them really good, but then again, it is really fun, to get a bowler with 100% pace and watch him take the opposition batsmen's head's off with some ferocious bowling. A really fantastic feature of the game, is that it saves your custom players performances, so that you can look at the averages for each of your players, and their best performances etc., which once you've played with your players a few times can be very interesting to look through.
Coop mode is brilliant.
I could go on for ages about this game, but i've run out of energy. If you're reading this, the chances are that you're considering buying the game, and i think that you should definitely buy it. There was never any question that i was going to get this game, the only question was whether i would enjoy it, and i really do. It has surpassed expectations by a distance, and is just the greatest cricket game of all time, which, given the history of cricket games, isn't that impressive, but this really is a brilliant game.