The thing is that punkbuster do checks the hash of the .exe file and a LOT of other files in the game dir. If it finds a file thats not the correct size it will kick you out from the game. Punkbuster DO CHECKS the .exe file in Battlefield 2.
If you don't believe that, well have fun getting your cracked bf2 to work...
Add the fact that when it comes to MP games its a little up and down with cracks. Some games will allow it, others won't. Games designed for MP (BF2) have CD-check and hash-check. Both to prevent hacks and to make people use the cd. Thats just how it is.
Trust me, in this case you'll need to use the mini-image or stick to SP playing.
Well you could of course do some work on the cracked .exe file and fool it into having the same hash as the original, good luck with that though.
The reason BF2 1.0 worked with crack were that the punkbuster checks on the .exe files were added in later versions. You can however use a cracked file now too if you don't play on punkbuster enabled servers...