Australian dev warms up for The Ashes with fast-paced iOS game Mighty Cricket

The appeal of Mighty Cricket is that it isn't cricket.

Australian developer Mighty Kingdom says the reason for this is simple. It wants to make the game more entertaining to play.

If you ask us, however, Mighty Kingdom is moving the goalposts slightly (wrong sport - Ed.) on account of its national cricket team performing so miserably in recent Ashes series.

'Alter the rules of cricket to see if you can beat us that way, huh?' Nice try, Australia.

Anyway. In truth, this free arcade game more closely resembles a game of baseball.

Your goal is to hit fours and sixes in rapid succession to get a high score. But even hitting just fours will mean your game ends early - you're after the maximums, you see.

Bowlers run up to the crease and then fling the ball either at high speed or with swing. You have to tap the screen when the ball reaches the markers on the floor to strike it with your bat.

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If you manage to hit four sixes in a row, you'll be given a combo bonus... and the crowd will erupt with delight.

Getting into a rhythm of hitting consecutive sixes is actually quite easy, so the real challenge lies in finishing high up the online leaderboards.

Give Mighty Cricket a go if you want something to occupy your Alastair Cook-obsessed mind before The Ashes begins tomorrow. It's free on the App Store after all.