This page contains answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) handled by our support staff, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions. If you have a specific question that is not answered on this page please use the contact CCA form.
Analytics … ?
Q. What does Analytics actually mean?
A. There are many definitions to be found for the word analytics, but in the context of CCA, it would best be described as: The analysis of data, by the use of mathematics, statistics, and computer software, to identify patterns and other meaningful information gathered from multiple Cricket Match-day data.
Q. Are there any special skills or knowledge I need to be able to use CCA?
A. CCA has been especially designed to be as simple and easy to use as possible. You don’t need any specialist knowledge in either cricket or statistics. You just need to be able to use a Windows computer and read the basics of a cricket scorebook (or results web-page). The number crunching for report(s) generation is all done inside CCA. Once your match data is entered, use the CCA menu to access the Aves & Stats you would like to see.
Q. I’m currently using spreadsheets to produce my club’s Aves & Stats. Why should I use CCA?
A. While it is possible to produce some basic cricket Aves & Stats using, e.g. Excel, it is not the best or right tool for the job. There is a better way … CCA can do so much more, quickly, easily, reliably & accurately. We would suggest anyone currently using spreadsheets to give CCA (free-trial) a go. Enter one season’s match data and compare and contrast outputs from both for detail and accuracy.
Q. So, what kind of analysis does CCA perform?
A. In a word – loads! CCA has in excess of 75 different reports that can be created using a variety of filters. For more details, have a read of the CCA User Guide which is available to download for free.
Q. Once I’ve entered several matches, how does CCA produce reports?
A. Under the CCA Analysis Menu, is where the main reports are created. The CCA User Guide explains in detail but for a graphical overview have a look at the Functionality Chart.
Q. How fast is CCA?
A. The two main factors that influence application speed are computing power (hardware) and quantity of data to process. To give a ballpark indication; using Analysis > Team > All Records for a CCA instance of 976 matches from 1959 to 2007 entered from over 50 (fifty) scorebooks it took a 2019 basic HP i5 laptop running Windows 11 just 24 seconds! From this search; 1,406 players were found, 104,758 runs were scored in 993 innings and 32,653.3 overs were bowled with 7,365 wickets taken. Using the same instance, but filtering on just the single 1980 season took only 4 seconds to generate a full season of Aves & Stats from 23 matches for 34 players.
Q. I’m a bit sceptical with regards to cricket averages. What purpose do they actually serve?
A. Well, the simple answer is; it depends how you interpret them and then what you do with them. Whilst it’s true that all the Aves and Stats from CCA are only numbers reporting on historical facts. What can be useful is to interpret these numbers in a meaningful way so that they create knowledge and improve understanding. They can be useful, for example, to coaches to identify Player strengths and weaknesses and facilitate Player feedback. They can also be useful to Captains, as the variety of ranking and ordering of players can support their on-field decision making. Like: who is my most economical go-to bowler, which bowler has the lowest strike-rate (so go-to bowler for quick wickets), which batter has the highest strike-rate (so can score quickly in a run-chase), etc. etc. They are also useful for Player goal-setting (S.M.A.R.T. targets), to improve individually against last season’s achievements. Another simple example; give all the players a copy of the Record Batting Partnerships report from last season (for their Team-Type) at the beginning of the new season, and ask them to see how many can be bettered during the coming season? A comprehensive set of club Aves & Stats can also chronicle the history of a club over the years. There are literally hundreds of uses for Aves & Stats. You could even use this season’s Aves & Stats to make up an end-of-season quiz for your members for a bit of fun.
Q. I’ve been using Cricket Stats for Windows (CSfW) but this has not had any upgrades now since 2010. Would CCA be a good alternative/replacement?
A. Absolutely yes. CCA works in a different way to CSfW in terms of data input/capture. CCA captures the full scorecard detail for both/all innings so provides the ability to reproduce any scorecard (electronically) at a later date. Additionally, all CCA Aves & Stats reports then analyse the full scorecard(s) to generate its data. CSfW only captures partial scorecard data pertinent to your club. CCA also has many validation checks built-in at point of data entry to reduce/eliminate possible typo/data entry errors thus improving the quality of the stats and therefore averting the garbage-in, garbage-out scenario. CCA also has 50+ Aves & Stats reports, CSfW had 14.
Upgrading … ?
Q. I downloaded the try-before-you-buy version and have now entered several matches, players, opponents etc. If I upgrade will this data be preserved or will I need to re-enter it all in again?
A. All CCA version upgrades will always maintain backward compatibility with earlier CCA versions, including the try-before-you-buy version. You just need to install the new version CCA MSI installer package and this will make any necessary database configuration changes, but your data will not be lost.
Q. I’ve been using CCA for sometime now, in fact I’ve entered more than 500 matches. Is there a Windows version available where I could make use of my mouse?
A. Not at present, the current version is very stable running under all recent and current versions of Windows: 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). If you are still using an older Windows version like Vista / XP / 2000 / NT4 or even older 95 / 98 / ME, then CCA can still work but may need some extra environment configuration tweaks which our support team can happily assist you with. A GUI Windows look-and-feel version is under consideration but this will deliver essentially the same functionality, only with a Windows-style graphical-user-interface (purely aesthetic).
Q. I don’t use Windows, my device runs e.g. Linux / UNIX / Android / iOS. Will CCA work?
A. Simple answer is, this is “untested”. It might, and you are very welcome to download and install to try, but this is unchartered waters for CCA, so give it a try, but results may be unpredictable 🙁
Registration … ?
Q. I’m using CCA and I’m so impressed with it I’d like to pass a copy on to a friend/colleague of another club. Is this okay?
A. This is positively encouraged … either pass them a copy of the MSI installer file, or better still, point them to this website where they can download the very latest version directly.
Q. I’ve been using the try-before-you-buy version for a couple of months now and I really like the application. What do I need to do to Register?
A. Go to our Purchase page and select the Lifetime Licence Registration Key option. At the Checkout page, fill in the details and pay the registration fee. You will be emailed a 16-digit registration key which you enter into CCA (see CCA menu Other > Register). Completing the registration process will transition the application from the Try-Before-You-Buy (free-trial) version into the fully functioning Lifetime version. Most importantly, all the data you have already entered will remain as-is and unchanged as a result of registering.
Key benefits of registration:
- Free on-going support
- Your club name will now appear on screens
- Printing is now enabled
- Continue to have free access to all future upgrades
Q. What are the restrictions on Registration?
A. We take a relaxed view on this. Our attitude is that because the data effectively belongs to the club, anyone within the club has a legitimate right to view it. Therefore, it is the Club who is registered to use CCA and, as such, any member of the club can use a registered copy of CCA. Our support team can advise on creating a view-only version of CCA which can be shared and this will protect against any data-changes from being made outside of the master CCA instance.
Q. Our club is struggling to find resource to input match-day data into CCA. We value the report outputs CCA creates, is there an alternative?
A. Yes, we can help you with this. Our Managed Service offering is designed for just for this very situation.
Q. CCA stores personal information about living individuals. Does this mean it is subject to Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)?
A. Yes it does. However, as GDPR Regulations will differ from country to country, you are advised to investigate what the data protection regulations are in your own country. We advise that when you start using CCA you notify all your players of the Club’s intention to keep computerised records about them and explain exactly what information this entails. Usually, when players are made aware that the data CCA holds is nothing that Play-Cricket doesn’t already hold, they have no issues with this. For further UK GDPR info: UK Data Protection Legislation.
Installing … ?
Q. I’m a little bit wary of downloading and installing software over the internet. How can I be sure your CCA software is safe?
A. That’s a very important question. CCA takes software security seriously, read our Download Security page which should help ease your concerns.
Q. I’m running CCA for the first time and I’ve set the date format on first start-up. What do I do next?
A. Probably the best place to start is to have a browse of the CCA User Guide (PDF file). The user guide provides useful tips on starting up; we suggest having this file open as you begin your first steps with CCA – see the CCA menu Other > User Guide. For example; Southern Hemisphere countries will need to set the Season Break because your playing season spans across two calendar years. Northern Hemisphere countries, such as England, will not need to do this. Likewise for Score Format and Set Junior Age. These don’t have to be set from the off, and can be changed at any time.
Q. When I run CCA the corners of the menu frames and message boxes are displaying as strange characters. What could be the matter?
A. If you experience any peculiar, strange or odd display issues, please contact CCA Support.
Q. I don’t like the screen colours, can I change them?
A. Sorry, this is not possible. Please be aware that CCA has been tested for colour-blindness compatibility.
Import/Export … ?
Q. I’ve got the hang of Add New Match data-entry but it can take 15-20 minutes per match to enter all the information. Is there a quicker way?
A. Yes, there is. From CCA version 4.20 it is now possible to export a ball-by-ball match file from Play-Cricket’s PCS Pro and then import this file directly into CCA. You will still need to enter a couple of bits of data the are not found in the PCS Pro export file, but a full match can be imported in to CCA in half the time. Speak with your scorer (if this is not you) to see how they can help with this.
Q. I’ve been using CSfW and have many match details recorded, is it possible to export from CSfW and import in to CCA somehow?
A. Unfortunately not. The design of each system if incompatible making any kind of interface between the two impossible.
Q. I see that CCA uses *.DBF format files. Is there a simple way of importing my score book data, perhaps by using a scanner and converting to .DBF file format?
A. Unfortunately, its not that easy. This is not technically viable for several reasons, the two main ones are: Firstly most score books use A3 page size and there are not many flat-bed A3 scanners around. Secondly, score-books are hand-written and there is not a reliable Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system available at present to read and digitally convert handwriting.
Q. I’d like to “slice ‘n dice” my CCA data in other ways outside the existing functionality provided by the application but when I try to read one of the *.DBF CCA data files using, say, MS Excel or MS Access, I get a corruption error. Is there something wrong with my CCA data files?
A. No. CCA data files use an advanced *.DBF file format and have been “normalised” to eliminate repeating data by creating “relationships”. Data integrity could be compromised if direct access to these data files outside of CCA control. If you have a real need for a specific requirement(s) we would encourage you to raise this as a suggestion for an application enhancement as other users may also find this useful.