How to play

The game

Whitewash is a free cricket draft game. Over 11 rounds you spin a random nation and year, then pick one player from that era's squad to fill a slot in your XI. When all 11 slots are filled, simulate a series and see how your team performs.

Two formats are available: Test and One Day, each with different squad pools, XI structures, and series lengths.

Formats

Test

5-match series. Squads drawn from Test cricket history. Balance your batting and bowling across 11 players.

One Day

3-match ODI series. Squads drawn from ODI history. Series conditions are revealed before you draft, so pick your XI accordingly.

Positions

Your XI has 11 fixed slots. Players can only fill positions that match their role.

Slot	Eligible roles	Test	ODI
Openers	Bat, All-rounder	×2	×2
No. 3–5	Bat, All-rounder	×3	×3
Wicket-keeper	WK only	×1	×1
All-rounder	All, Bat, Pace, Spin	×1	×1
Spinner	Spin, All-rounder	×1	×1
Pace / Spin	Pace, Spin, All-rounder	—	×1
Pace bowlers	Pace, All-rounder	×3	×2

The Pace / Spin slot is unique to ODI: run 3 pace + 1 spin or 2 pace + 2 spin depending on conditions.

You can draft a maximum of 2 players from the same nation per game. Once a role's slots are filled, those players are greyed out in subsequent squads.

Series conditions (ODI only)

At the start of every ODI game, three conditions are drawn for the series: pitch, sky, and forecast. These are shown in the sidebar throughout the draft.

Pitch

FlatBatting-friendly surface. Prioritise run-scorers.

SeamingSwing and movement reward your pace attack.

TurningSpin is in control. A quality spinner can be match-winning.

BouncyExtra pace and lift. Quick bowlers cause real problems.

Sky

SunnyClear conditions, a fair contest.

OvercastCloud cover aids swing. Pace bowlers become more dangerous.

HotHard, dry conditions favour batters as the day wears on.

Forecast

SettledFull 50 overs expected. Team balance matters.

Rain likelyInterruptions possible, versatile all-rounders hold more value.

ChangeableConditions may shift mid-game. Flexible selections are rewarded.

Conditions affect the simulation: a pace-heavy attack on a seaming pitch gets a strength boost, while rain introduces extra unpredictability. The effect is meaningful but not deterministic.

The simulation

Your XI's strength is calculated from the average rating of your 11 players, with a penalty applied for significant weak links. Each match adds luck variation, so margins and outcomes differ every run.

In ODI mode, conditions apply an additional modifier based on how well your XI's composition matches the pitch, sky, and forecast. A good conditions match is an advantage, not a guarantee.

Player ratings

Ratings (1–100) are calculated from career statistics using ESPNcricinfo data:

Batters: batting average benchmarked at 50 (max 90pts) + caps bonus (10pts)
Pace & spin bowlers: bowling average benchmarked at 25, lower is better (max 90pts) + caps bonus (10pts)
Wicket-keepers: batting average (max 70pts) + dismissals (max 20pts) + caps bonus (10pts)
All-rounders: equal split across batting and bowling components

Elite players (rating ≥ 95) show a gold badge. Test and ODI ratings are calculated separately from their respective career statistics.

Guides

How to build a winning XI

Rating strategy, weak links, nation caps, and how to adapt your draft.

Understanding conditions

How pitch, sky, and forecast affect the simulation and which players to prioritise.

Test vs One Day

How the two formats differ strategically and what changes in your approach.

Why we built Whitewash

The story behind the game.

Data & attribution

Player statistics sourced from ESPN Statsguru via Kaggle. Dataset by Mate Papava, released under the MIT licence.

Whitewash is an independent fan game and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with the ICC, any national cricket board, or ESPNcricinfo.