On the surface it remains comfortingly familiar to returning players, and those who have been around for a long time might even rejoice in the return to a calming blue theme to the UI from the previous vibrant green.

Entering into the Ashes 2023 campaign (while settling in front of the telly to watch the real thing), I am first greeted by the training options. These options have copied over from last year’s improvements, with the ability to train players in form, technique or batting style – giving control over a player’s preferred position, aggression and more.

The Ashes is not the only tournament playable in a standalone format outside of a career mode, with the Asia Cup added for this year. The option to set up series between World XI teams is a nice touch, with a massive roster of players both past and present to pick a squad from.

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Career options remain varied beyond the international options, with most Full Member nations’ domestic tournaments being playable and freshly updated with all new rule changes. South Africa has also received the addition of a franchise league.

Underneath the bonnet, the game engine has received some pretty significant tweaks. Wicketkeeping ability is now tracked in more depth, and new stats give you a chance to judge how good a gloveman your latest academy product is. My Ashes campaign benefits from some Bazball-inspired changes to the aggression system, giving me a nice chance to pile on the runs at a good rate by taking the attack to the Aussies. It also gives me the chance to be surprised, as Ollie Pope jumps around to a left-handed stance to reverse sweep Nathan Lyon for four – a new shot which helps bring the realism levels up given how commonplace it’s become in recent years.

Perhaps most importantly though, the game continues to feel like a decent simulation of the real thing. While options for bowling plans remain relatively simple with just three lengths and as many lines to choose from to tell your bowlers where to target, albeit with an infinitely adjustable field, finding a way to weasel out a stubborn opener (in my case, Matty Renshaw) gives a beautiful moment of satisfaction. And of course sticking on Stuart Broad to bowl around the wicket to David Warner is bound to quickly get results!

While the game remains clearly built upon previous issues, Cricket Captain 2023 continues a recent trend of some real obvious forward momentum for the series, with some fresh depths of complexity to dive into and ever more options for challenges to pose yourself.