New apps you must take a look at during ICC Champions Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy has spawned many new cricket apps. Two of them are significantly different from the rest of the pack. Here are our quick reviews.

The Official ESPNcricinfo App
By ESPN
Free; iOS, Android

This is the new version of ESPN-Cricinfo’s very popular cricket app. But the app is so different and feature-rich that it is tough to compare it with its predecessor. The homepage shows live updates from all current matches and also has tabs that let you browse other sections like News, Fixtures, Videos, Blogs and Photos. The leading stories of the day are on the main view itself and the content changes according to which team you select as your favourite in settings. There is a small tab on top that opens up a dashboard of sorts and crunches the best the app has to offer in a single screen. Every time you open a scoreboard , each player name leads to a profile page. The scoreboards are much more extensive with cartwheel views and other detailed graphics. Favourite a story and you can read it in offline mode also. However, the strongest point still remains the content.

The Big Toss: Cricket
By Champion Wave Ltd
Free; iOS

This new app adds a strong element of gamification to your love of cricket. So while there are all the results and schedules you would expect in a cricket app, it also give you points for many things that you do on the app. For instance, answering questions predicting match outcomes can get you points. We also loved the Buzz section where you can engage in live banter over a game. The app is also heavily integrated to social networks and tweets with the specific hashtag appear directly on the app feeds. You can also see what your friends are up to during a game. The read section is like an aggregator of cricket news from multiple sources. There is a ‘Me’ section where you see the points earned and trophies won by you.