Top Trumps
'Both seem to involve hitting a ball with a stick!'

Here are ten online cricket and baseball games designed to keep you busy if it's raining. By Suzanne Elvidge.

Small but important print: All games are free downloads or free to view online, and need the minimum of equipment. Some games require your browser to have a 'plug in' for Shockwave, Flash or Java.

To play a game, simply click on its name. If you are a parent, we advise you to try the game and the site it's on first before letting your kids play them, to make sure you're happy.

When downloading games from the Internet, don't forget to keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date.

Aficionados will tell you that there are similarities and differences between cricket and baseball, but really, when it comes down to it, both seem to involve hitting a ball with a stick!

I don’t play either game, so don’t take my word for it – here are ten cricket and baseball games to try out. Tune into Test Match Special, put on your cricket whites and baseball cap, and see what you think.

One small warning – I currently have my speakers unplugged, so I have no idea whether any of these games have annoying music!

• Test Catch Cricket

Use your mouse to move the gloves and catch the balls. You can drop five per level, but consecutive catches or harder catches get you more points. At one point, my global ranking was 212466…

• Baseball Card Collector

Match as many baseball cards into pairs before the time runs out.

• Stick Cricket Academy

Use the practice mode to get good, and then try the challenge.

The left arrow allows you to pull, hook, sweep or glance; the up arrow allows you to drive or defend ; the right arrow to off drive or cut ; and the down arrow to duck. Just click the key when you want to hit the ball rather than holding it down.

Play other Stick Cricket games.

• Full Count Baseball

Move the mouse from left to right to swing, and hit the ball when it is in the strike zone.

To pitch, hold the left mouse button down and move the mouse in the pattern suggested on the left hand side. Try a few goes in training, and then play a match.

• Flash Cricket 2

Start by picking a team name and player name. Hit Z for a pull shot, X for a straight drive and C for a cut shot . Not as easy as it looks!

• Shockwave Baseball

Click the ‘pitch’ button to begin, move the mouse over the plate and then click where you think the ball will cross the plate to hit the ball.

After hitting the ball, options to ‘run’, ‘stop’ or ‘retreat’ will appear – these control the runners. Do a bit of batting practice to get a feel and then play the game!

• Cricket Academy: The Ultimate Test

Train to bat, bowl and field in the Ashes in the Academy – the tutorials will help:

• Batting – select the shot using the arrow key and press the shift key just as the ball bounces. The colour will give you a hint about which shot to use, but be quick.
• Bowling – select line, length and spin using the space bar.
• Fielding – to catch, press space to play and use the cursor keys to bring the ball to the centre of the target and keep it there. For run-outs, pick an end by pressing space, and then hit space again to throw the ball when the target is over the stumps.

• Bullpen Blast

Your aim is to pitch the perfect game and get all the batters out. To pitch – click where you want the ball to end up, and hold down the mouse.

Draw it back for power, and then move straight upwards and let go to pitch.

• Cricket Top Trumps

Each card has six categories – turn the first card and pick the category that you think is the strongest, and see what card the computer has.

If you win, you keep both cards – if the computer wins, you lose your card. You have three lifelines – a ‘peek’, a ‘super Top Trump’ and a ‘skip’, but those three are all you get.

The first to lose all 30 cards wins – but the time is limited. You will need to register for this game.

• Pinch Hitter 3

Your player starts in Junior League and heads through Minor League to end up in Major League. I couldn’t find any instructions on the site.

Click ‘batting’ and click within the highlighted square where you think the ball will be to hit it. Click ‘running’ and then click slowly to increase the pace of your runner – follow the guide at the top to get the rate.

Click ‘catching’ and move the player with the mouse to catch. Get the offer from your agent and then play the games and get through the leagues.

Fed up of playing online games? Read about cricket, or play armchair cricket or a baseball card game instead!

Suzanne Elvidge is a freelance writer and Surefish Ethical Living Editor