So the new Select Cricket have arrived, Cherry has them and Cherry has opened a box, so now Cherry has one less...

First impressions are lasting impressions and personally these cards look plain at least the ones I pulled did.

There is a 115 card base set which includes the Australia Test Team, ODI, Twenty20 Team and State Cricketers in neat little subsets.  They are all a little different in colour and have the subset written quite poorly in the top corner.

The Die Cut, one per pack inserts are quite interesting, but frankly I do not like die cut, mini or any other mis-shapen card and I haven't since NBA JAM SESSION.

The 6 per box Contracted Players Signatures are teasers, at least the first one you pull is as they trick you into thinking you have pulled a signature *insert family feud 'noll noll' sound*.  They are basically just a portrait shot of the player with a gold embossed sig.

The next biggest hit is the 5,000 Test Club and it appears that Don Bradman is the hardest to pull, I definitely didn't pull him, although I did score a Mark Waugh and Tubby Taylor.  These are three a box and I hit all three.

Freshman inserts are 2 a box and I hit a Hopes, who is my fave player so that was alright although these inserts are starting to all look pretty bland by this point... It is also a worry that these 'Freshman' are not all that fresh, although thats how Australian Cricket has always been.

I was only good for the one box inserts and pulled a Steve Waugh Masters Gem Card, which falls one per box, but is the nicest of the inserts by far!  It looks a little western in design, and see through, plus as Steve Waugh hasn't released a book this year I was beging to forget what he looked like...

In summary and perhaps its sour grapes but I felt a little 'meh' by the new Cricket.  Sure they have some great chase signatures in Ponting and Gilchrist, but other than that they are a little monotonous.

There were two base sets in my box, and the collation of the inserts is top rate with no doubles pulled! So I commend Select for that.

For the record I missed the one per two box Elite Signature redemtion, which I have been told often falls in the same box as the one per case Master Signature... which I also didn't pull.  Nor did i hit the Bradman Legend Gem card which I'm assuming looks something like the Steve Waugh I hit.

On a whole I give it 5 Cherries out of 10.