Ashes Cricket

First off I started a career as a Zimbabwean player on the basis that it would be easier/quicker to get into their Test side than a larger cricketing nation such as Australia or England. I played around 6 games of club cricket as an all-rounder who bowled quick, taking wickets and scoring runs at an average rate but after that I tried simming for a couple of seasons using the calendar (the game warns you that this will disable certain achievements but I continued regardless to test whether this referred to the achievement in question).

Once I'd done this I had a lot of skill points to spend on my player (under 'My Player' then 'Skills') so I improved him across the board, mainly as a batsman but also as a bowler & fielder (much less so for the latter).

Check your messages and as time passes you should start receiving offers to join different franchises/county and state teams and even to be their captain in many cases* so accept as many as possible and sim for a further year. Continue to improve your player and sign up for as many sides as possible and your ratings will eventually improve with regards to international recognition as you will basically be playing/captaining in first-class cricket all year round in Asia/England/Australasia etc. As you sim each year and continue to use skill points to improve your player you should eventually be called up to the test side for a tour, accept this and the achievement should unlock. My player was around the 82 overall mark at this point and had 11 clubs to his name, after which I selected 'My Player' then 'Selection Status' and under the Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka - Test Series it stated I was expecting selection.

*In between sims be sure to choose 'advance' to forward time as this is where you will receive messages advising you of offers from across the globe.

I hope this helps/works for others

This is even easier than you think. It's a bit grindy though, takes at least an hour.

Pick a country. Any country. I picked Australia, which one might think is harder. It isn't. I was selected with a 79 rating.

JUST MAKE SURE YOU PICK THE MEN'S TEAM.

I didn't play a game. I just simmed. Pick a country, then a national league team, then a club team. Sim through your matches using the calendar, and after a block of games make sure you update your player's stats. That's what gets teams to notice you.

I chose an all-arounder. What I found is that it's best to level everything evenly among the batting and bowling stats. Fielding didn't seem to do as much.

When you've finished with your league, go to the main career menu and press Advance. When club teams ask you to join, do it. Don't worry about joining too many. It'll make your calendar act wonky at points as leagues conflict with each other, but don't worry about it. Just keep simming and advancing.

It took until August 2023 for me, so it's some time. Your first year or two might be boring with only one league. Just keep rolling.

The achievement popped the day of the Australia Tour of England Test Series Game 1. It popped day of... I didn't even go into the game. Again, I did all of this by simming.

Hope this helps!