On the welcome screen you can also select options to
• Adjust game 'Settings' (including squad management, where you can change player names and ratings)
• View the list of 'Achievements' you've made, and can make
• Read basic 'Instructions' on how to play the game.
• View 'Statistics' including the win/loss percentage of each team, and individual batting and bowling averages.

Simply tap the flag of the country you want to play for, and then the same to play against.

If you are on an Android, you can hit your device's back button to make changes.

You will be presented with one of 3 different pitches - a batting pitch, a bowling pitch (that's full of cracks), or a pitch with a bit of grass on it that will assist batters and bowlers.

The pitch plays an important role in the game, and you need to adjust your strategy accordingly. On a good bowling pitch, your batting mood is generally best set for 'Find The Gaps' or 'Attacking'. On a good batting pitch your batting mood is generally best set at 'Attacking' and 'Over The Top'

The variance in scores on each pitch from game to game is very high. However on a batting pitch a par score for 20 overs is about 280; on a medium pitch it's about 220; and on a bowling pitch it's about 160.

You can speed up the pitch report by tapping the screen

If you're on an Android and don't like the pitch, hit your device's back button

Tap the heads or tails icons to make your selection. If you win the toss, tap the Bat or Ball image to make your choice.

You can speed up the coin toss by tapping the screen

If you're on an Android and don't like the result of the coin toss, hit your device's back button

You will be presented with your team line-up, and what their batting rating is.

Simply tap on the batter that you want to select to come to the crease.

If your batter has a higher rating than the bowler, you will have a random advantage over the bowler on every ball. This advantage increases with the difference between ratings. Likewise, a bowler with a higher rating than your batter will have a random advantage that increases with the difference between ratings.

There are four different moods to choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages at different times of the game.

A 'Defensive' mood should not be used often, as the aim in limited overs cricket is to score as many runs as you can. You won't score many runs off a defensive shot, but it does give you a significantly less chance of getting out. This can be crucial if you're running out of wickets, and have a good batter at the other end. If the bowler has a big advantage over the batter in ratings, then consider this option to survive so the batter at the other end can score more runs.

A 'Play For Gaps' mood is a useful strategy to try and turn the strike over - it is your best chance of getting a single. Like a Defensive mood, playing for gaps gives you significantly less chance of getting out. It should be one of your main choices for a good bowling pitch - especially if you need to preserve wickets - as it will keep the runs ticking over whilst also giving you a good chance of batting the overs out.

An 'Attacking' mood should be your shot of choice a lot of the time, especially on average pitches, and good batting pitches. It provides the best balance of scoring runs quickly and preserving wickets, because it gives you the option to : downgrade your shot for good deliveries; upgrade to hit a six for bad balls; or maintain an attacking frame of mind if you're not sure to upgrade or downgrade (see Batting - Hitting the Ball). An Attacking mood will get you in trouble quite often if the bowler has a big advantage in the ratings.

An 'Over The Top' mood is the best way to hit a six - only occasionally will you get a six off an 'Attacking' shot, and very rarely off a 'Gap' shot (Short, Fast, Dab, Over Slips, Six). Full Tosses, Half Volleys and Short Balls are the best delivery lengths to go Over the Top to - it's very hard to hit a six off a yorker, and also a lot less likely off a Good Length. Keep in mind that going Over The Top to a bowler with a much better rating than your batter is likely to turn out ugly ... but sometimes it's worth the risk, and you never know your luck - especially on a good batting wicket.

If you're running out of wickets, and you have a good batter at one end, it might be a good idea to farm the strike. Tap the 'Running Options' button, and slide the slider to the batter than you want to keep the strike for the next delivery.

One thing to keep in mind is the 4th delivery of the over, as you might be happy for the lesser batter to get the strike for the last ball of the over. If that's the case, either slide over to him to keep the strike, or to take every run possible - just don't forget to change it back to your better batter for the next ball.

To hit the ball in the Best Cricket Game Ever, all you have to do is tap anywhere on the screen at the right time. You only get one chance to tap, and your timing should be just before the ball gets to the batter.

Where you tap on the screen also plays a part in your shot selection. If you tap close to, or over the boundary, your shot selection will be upgraded (eg from Attacking to Over The Top). If you tap close to, or on the pitch, your shot selection will be downgraded (eg from Attacking to Play For a Gap). You should change your shot selection if you pick up on a particular line and/or length. For example, if the ball is on the leg side, you might like to tap near the boundary.

It probably takes about 5 to 10 games before you get the hang of tapping at the right time - although some people will be good at it straight away.

It takes quite a bit of game time to be able to judge the delivery length, and you'll never master it for a fast bowler. Until you do get good at it, your best option is to pick the batsman's mood to suit the situation of the game, and tap in the middle of the field to avoid upgrading or downgrading your shot (although upgrading for a delivery down the leg side delivery can be a smart option).

The computer will try and trick you with faster and slower balls, so keep your head still, eye on the ball, and watch it closely.

If you mistime your tap, and have Batting Tips turned on in your settings, you will be given the opportunity for some batting practice. Here you will see where the red zone is to hit the ball in. Batting practice will give you the opportunity to get your timing right, and also helps you to practise judging the length of the ball, so you can make smarter decisions with your shot selection.

To select a bowler, simply tap on the bowler that you want to bowl the next over.

After the bowler's name - in brackets - is the type of bowler they are, and their bowling rating

You are also shown the rating of the batter on strike, his name, and his runs scored and balls faced.

If you choose a bowler with a better rating than a batter, you will have a random advantage over him on every ball. This advantage increases with the difference between ratings. Likewise, a batter with a higher rating than your bowler will have a random advantage that increases with the difference between ratings.

Touch and Drag the red lines to select your desired line and length. Bowling a good line and length is important to restrict the runs. Also, certain line and lengths (with movement) will give you an extra chance of taking a wicket, eg, inswinging yorkers, and good length outswingers on off stump.

When you Touch and Drag, the selected delivery length will be displayed above the pitch. The lengths that will give you an advantage are "Yorker" and "Good Length". A "Short" ball gives you slightly more chance of getting a wicket, but also more chance of going for more runs. Full Tosses and Half Volleys will give an advantage to the batter.

Be careful though - just like in real cricket, the bowler won't always get it right. That inswinging yorker on middle stump you planned for, might just end up as a full toss on the batsman's hip that disappears over mid-wicket's head!

If you want to skip the game play, and have the computer generate a score for the over, tap the fast forward icon.

Once the bowler starts running up, you have an opportunity to tilt your phone to give the ball some movement.

Only the first tilt up or down, and the first tilt left or right, will be used to calculate the movement. As the bowler starts his run-up, your device's current tilt is recorded as the starting point. You need to tilt your phone after the bowler starts running up, and before he releases the ball, to generate movement.

Any movement of the phone more than 10 degrees from the starting point will be used to calculate the movement as follows
• For a Fast or Medium Bowler, give your phone a quick tilt down for a fast ball, or up towards you for a slower ball.
• For a Fast or Medium Bowler, give your phone a quick tilt left or right to swing the ball that way
• For a Spin Bowler, give your phone a quick tilt down to bowl a straight one, or up towards you for a wrong 'un (googly).
• For a Spin Bowler, give your phone a quick tilt left or right to drift the ball that way

In a lot of cases, the fielder will field the ball automatically for you. The exception to this is if the ball is going for 4, or if it is a catch.

To stop a 4, or to take a catch, you have one chance to tap the screen to field or catch the ball. The right moment to tap, is just before the ball reaches the fielder.

If you have Fielding Tips turned on in your settings, any mistimed fielding attempt will give you the opportunity for some fielding practice.

To practise fielding, first tap the fielder you want to practise with. To catch or field the ball, you need to tap the screen at the right time to trap the ball in the red zone.

It might take some people well over a dozen games to get the hang of fielding. If you don't like it, you can turn Automatic Fielding on in your settings. But keep in mind that once you get the hang of fielding, you will misfield less times than the computer does.

• If Batting Tips are turned on, then whenever you miss the ball or let it go, you will be shown the 'red zone' for hitting the ball and given the chance to practise your battting. Practising has the benefit of making your timing better, as well as being able to judge the line and length of the delivery better to make a decision to upgrade or downgrade your shot.
• If Fielding Tips are turned on, then every time you mistime your tap to stop the ball or take a catch, you will be given the chance to practise your fielding or catching.
• If Automatic Fielding is turned on, then you will not be required to tap to stop the ball or take a catch. Instead, the computer will do the fielding for you. The computer will also misfield the ball sometimes - probably more so than someone who has practised and can field the ball well.
• Please consider your Facebook Posting Options carefully. The more people that find out about the game, the more money we make, and the more we can spend on developing the game to continually make it better and better. If you allow the game to post to Facebook regularly, it could make a huge contribution to the development of your great game.

• Squad Management allows you to change the names of players and their ratings. You can put your own name down to play for your country alongside your favourite players from the past and present!

  To edit a player's name, ratings, and bowling style, tap on the player's name, then tap the 'Edit Player' icon. Note that there are restrictions on the number of players in your team that can be above and below certain ratings.

  To change the default batting order, or to move players in and out of the Starting XI: tap one player's name to select that player, then tap another player's name to swap the two players.

In the game you will notice 5 icons across the bottom of the screen. They are, from left to right :

• Scoreboard - View the batting and bowling scoreboard for the current game
• Worm - View a comparison graph of the two teams' runs scored against overs bowled
• Help - View basic instructions on playing the game
• Settings - Change game settings
• Quit - Brings up a menu to start a new game, resume the current game, go back to the main menu, or to quit out of the app. Note that whenever you quit the app, or your device automatically closes it, your current game is saved and available to be resumed when you next open the game.