Taking the guts of the gone-but-not-forgotten Brian Lara Cricket series of games, Codemasters seems to have had improved luck in producing a game based around this time of The Ashes than last.

Its first try - under Brian Lara branding - was released close to the 5-0 reverse that England suffered at the hands of the Aussies back in 2006. But at least with its 2009 tie-in game there was more of a fight going on, and far more attention in the series itself.

And it's useful too, because Codemasters has permanent some of the faults we encountered with its last Brian Lara title. Chief among them is the fielding mechanic, which has gone from really quite tricky to really quite undemanding.

Nowadays, most of the fielding is in fact handled for you, and all you need to do is tap a button at the right moment to effect a catch when directed. That's easier said than done, but Codemasters has nonetheless managed to find a extra comfortable half-way house between demanding and unfair.

The rest of the game falls into similar structure. Wrapped up with a series of options that point you towards fighting for The Ashes, but actually give you plenty of other options you can attempt (including 20-20 and one day cricket), The Ashes 2009 also boasts a training segment that it'd be wise - if you want to play the game on something above the easiest complexity level - to spend some time with.

That's partly because the jump between easy and normal is the difference between having your bowling slogged round the park and restricting your opponents to 150, with a similar contrast when you take the bat.

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