It's been a long time since cricket fans got a version of their favourite sport in videogame form. Since EA's swansong in Cricket 07, there have been few efforts worthy of mention and, of those, Ashes Cricket 2013 was noteworthy only for being a complete disaster.

Celebratory nods to the balcony all round, then as Don Bradman Cricket proves hugely playable as well as being an accurate simulation of the sport – a balance not always easy to achieve.

While the controls are difficult to master at first, the amount of variety on offer, particularly when bowling, is hugely impressive. Spinners in particular can exploit variations of turn, bounce and flight to torment batsmen, just as Shane Warne did to hapless England sides for years.

The game may be unlicensed, but pretty much anything can be edited and there is an eager community of players uploading custom teams and players. The developers also appear to be keen to listen to gamers as well; there is already a patch in the offing to tone down the fielders after complaints that players felt like they were taking on 11 Jonty Rhodes in every match.

Equally, the career mode, in which the user takes control of a single player and tries to work their way up from a raw young county debutant to a test match superstar, adds a welcome spin to the format. While the difficulty curve ensures that this remains easier said than done, it has not been tried in a cricket game before, and will keep fans coming back for more.