For the past 3+ years, I’ve been playing cricket on weekends with the same group of friends. Recently, we started dividing ourselves into teams based on age or marriage status – basically Seniors vs Juniors.
That small change made our games much more exciting. Everyone started taking matches seriously, and of course, the friendly banter followed.
Whenever one team dominated for a few weeks, the other team would throw in taunts like:
“We’ve been winning for so long, so let you guys win today!”
That’s when it struck me – why not record these rivalries?
Why Not Just Use Existing Apps?
There are already apps out there (like CricHeroes and others), but they didn’t fit the way we play.
- They expect every player to sign in and have a profile.
- They work on a global player database, where every match links back to those profiles.
- They assume you always want to record every detail: ball-by-ball, scorecards, stats, etc.
That’s great if you’re playing competitive tournaments. But when you’re just playing for fun on weekends, those apps often feel like too much overhead.
We wanted something simpler. Something flexible.
The Goal: Flexibility First
I built RivalTrack with one guiding principle:
Record cricket matches with as much or as little detail as you want.
Here’s what I mean:
- Don’t want to enter the score, just the winning team? ✅ Done.
- Want to enter the total score but skip player stats? ✅ Possible.
- Want full detail – live score streaming, every ball tracked, players’ contributions? ✅ Also available.
And the best part:
- No need to create player profiles. Just type a name if you want, or leave it blank.
- Got a new player joining just for the day? Add them casually without cluttering records.
- Want to disable extras like wides, no-balls, byes, or even the second batting? You can toggle them off.
Rivalries, Not Just Matches
Instead of building around “global matches” like other apps, RivalTrack is designed around Rivalries.
- Create a rivalry (e.g., Seniors vs Juniors).
- Add the teams.
- Record matches under that rivalry.
Then, on the rivalry page, you can see:
- Team leaderboards (wins, losses, streaks).
- Player contributions (runs, wickets, impact).
- Rivalry history at a glance.
Right now, the focus is on individual rivalries. But the data can easily be combined later to form overall player stats across rivalries – opening up a lot of future possibilities.
Why I Really Built This
I didn’t build RivalTrack to compete with full-fledged cricket apps. My goal was much simpler:
- Track our weekend matches without ruining the fun.
Because when you’re playing just for fun, nobody wants to sit on the sidelines operating a scoring app for 2 hours. Flexibility ensures the app adapts to the match, not the other way around.
Sometimes it’s just about saying, “Hey, we’ve won 5 out of the last 7 matches” – and that’s enough to silence the taunts. 😉
What’s Next?
RivalTrack is still evolving. It is far from “done.” Building it for my friends made me realize there’s a lot more potential. Here are some directions I’m exploring:
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Optimize Firebase reads – Right now, ball-by-ball updates are stored as separate documents, which can get expensive. I’m working on smarter batching and data models so that detailed tracking doesn’t burn through reads.
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Cleaner, faster forms – Since simplicity is the soul of RivalTrack, I want to redesign the match setup and score input screens. The idea is: minimal taps, clear UI, and recording results in under a minute.
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Team roles & permissions – At the moment, only the rivalry creator can manage matches and edits. Soon, I want to introduce roles, so the creator can delegate access to other trusted players in the rivalry.
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Player sign-ups & profile claiming – Players should be able to sign up at any time and “claim” their profile in an existing rivalry. The rivalry creator can authorize them, keeping control but giving players more ownership of their stats.
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Community Fund & Rewards (need your thoughts!) – This is the big one I’m excited about:
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Each rivalry could have its own fund pool.
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Anyone (players or even outside supporters) could contribute, even small amounts.
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Contributions could be tied to player performances (e.g., “Great knock today, tagging you with ₹50!”).
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Rivalry creators could set fund cycles (say, every 2 months). At the end of a cycle, the money could go towards:
- Trophies & MVP awards
- New gear (bats, balls, stumps)
- Or just pooling for team fun.
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I think this feature could turn weekend cricket into something even more engaging — a mix of friendly rivalry, recognition, and community support.
But I’ll keep the core principle intact: flexibility over rigidity.
Closing Thoughts
RivalTrack was born out of weekend cricket fun, friendly rivalries, and the desire to keep things simple.
Sometimes, you don’t need a giant feature-packed app. You just need something that fits your group, your way of playing.
That’s what RivalTrack is for.