16-0 Game · Updated 6 September 2026
A formation is a set of eleven legal slots, not a tactical instruction to the simulator. Use this reference to see which roles must still be filled and which kinds of player remain available late in the draft.
Read the slots, not just the formation name
The table is counted directly from the game’s formation definitions. All-rounders are listed separately from specialist bowlers. For example, Modern requires four batters, one keeper, two all-rounders, three pace bowlers and one spinner. Batting Deep uses five batters, one keeper, two all-rounders, two pace bowlers and one spinner.
| Shape | Batters | Keeper | All-rounders | Pace | Spin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-1-5 Classic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 4-1-2-4 Modern | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 5-1-2-3 Batting Deep | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3-1-2-5 Bowling Fortress | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 5-1-1-4 Spin Web | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4-1-1-5 Pace Battery | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 3-1-4-3 All-Round Army | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Role eligibility has one useful exception
A card can fill its own role. A wicketkeeper can also fill a batting slot, but a batter cannot fill the keeping slot and an all-rounder cannot automatically fill a pace slot. One name can appear only once in your XI, even if another franchise-season card exists.
Suppose your last two slots are keeper and pace, and four overseas players are already selected. You now need eligible domestic cards for both jobs. A famous overseas keeper is not a legal rescue. Reserving an overseas place earlier would have kept that option open.
Formation changes exposure, not bowling tactics
All-rounders contribute to both batting and bowling averages; pace and spin cards contribute to bowling. A batting-heavy formation can therefore put its bowling grade in the hands of very few cards. The model does not allocate a realistic four-over spell to every bowler or simulate a separate death-over plan.
No formation receives an automatic win bonus. If every slot has the same rating, every formation has that same weighted average. Differences emerge from which ratings you can actually place and whether the bowling or weak-link penalties apply.
Use difficulty to practise the decision
Easy shows ratings and gives one reroll. Normal hides ratings while drafting and also gives one reroll. Hard asks you to commit to an empty role before the spin and gives no rerolls. Start with Easy if you want to learn eligibility; use Hard when you want role commitment to be part of the challenge.