Well, that's the pod.
The game, the players, Jemi, Harman, Charani, Litchfield, Australia's fielding but also the dropped catches and of course we lament that ICC's Twitter Team has not posted a single clip of the winning moment.
This episode is an ode to the organisational skills of the ICC and the dedication of the BCCI to make the Women's World Cup the biggest ever by throwing money at it.
Rain started as a means of jeopardy in a WC has simply ruined it.
Might add the lack of marquee venues and faraway venues has ensured the interest doesn't pique but decrease.
So, this entire episode is a collection of Rain Sounds from PIXABAY. Enjoy.
This is not a review. We got together to discuss our thoughts on the current status of the tournament, lack of support for the game and the wonderful coverage in print and online media, we discussed Marufa Akter, Nigar Sultana Joty's inspiring captaincy, SA's chances at lifting the trophy, Aus-India game which was attended by Sarthak, and the joy of an underdog victory and the time for Bangladesh has come, the level playing field in the women's game compared to the men's game and Gavaskar's not so shocking comments on air during the India West Indies test series.
There’s some strong language in this episode. If that’s not your vibe, you’ve been warned.
In this podcast, we discuss peace.
Only fitting it's out on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday!
We discuss the noises about a boycott, the profiteering around the boycott, the lack of nuance and professional decency in Ind-Pak cricket coverage.
In this episode Richa, Aditya and MV are joined by Sarthak Dev to discuss the career of Cheteshwar Pujara.
We dive into our earliest memories of Cheteshwar Pujara, tracing his evolution as a batter and how he cemented his place at No. 3. Along the way, we relive some of his finest and most underrated innings, admire his mastery against spin, and explore the unique challenges faced by modern Test batters in the era of the WTC, tricky pitches, and the pace bowling pandemic.
Pujara's career, like many in the middle order, feels incomplete. We end by asking: Will we ever see another one like him in Tests?
And, of course, we close with our personal favourite Pujara innings.
Sarthak wrote a fantastic piece on Pujara, which can be read here.
If you’d like to write to us, send us an email on podforcricket@gmail.com or just reply to us on Twitter.
We just quickly got together to record some initial reactions after the stunning game at the Oval. We will come back with a more detailed analysis of what has been a fantastic test series.
This episode is a chat with the folks on The Last Wicket Podcast. Do listen to their previous podcasts which have tremendous nostalgia value and a lot of depth in variety of the topics discussed.
The current landscape of cricket journalism and television coverage is characterized by a significant decline in quality and depth, as discussed in our latest podcast episode.
We explore how the monopolistic tendencies of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have led to a homogenization of narratives, focusing excessively on celebrity players while neglecting broader analytical discourse. Our dialogue also delves into the implications of rising jingoism in sports media, which appears to cater more to sensationalism than substantive cricketing insights. Furthermore, we address the emergence of fan culture that prioritizes tribalism over appreciation for the sport itself, reflecting a troubling shift in societal attitudes. Join us as we dissect these pressing issues and consider the future of cricket coverage in an increasingly polarized media environment.
We sat down to discuss England's win at Lord's.
We discussed why Jadeja should have attacked more, why is this team so defensive?, what is the secret of Ben Stokes' energy? (No we didn't) but definitely marvelled at Archer's return and the dangers of Siraj being overbowled before looking ahead to the Manchester Test where we think Kuldeep is a must (heck, we thought he was a must in all tests).
There is sadly no media review but an observation that the Indian fan and YT creators ended up defending this selection as the game went on.
2nd Test Review of the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy
Media Roundups (multiple times, as one must)
Mulder Brainfade?
The wives of cricketers are to blame for everything
Predictions for the Lord's Test
Pradeep Magazine is a cricket writer, columnist, and former sports editor of The Pioneer, the India Today e-paper, and the Hindustan Times. He began his journalistic career in 1979 with the Chandigarh edition of The Indian Express and served as its cricket editor in 1999–2000. He writes on cricket regularly in The Tribune. He has written 2 wonderful cricket books - Not Just Cricket & Not Quite Cricket
In this episode we chat about -
Books by Pradeep Magazine
Article that prompted the episode -
When Quota is fair game - The Tribune
In this episode, we discuss the changing nature of Bazball, Gill in his first test as captain, Yashasvi's drops affecting the game, the joy of Rishabh Pant, the finesse of KL Rahul, the vitriol against Siraj and Prasidh, the uselessness of Ravindra Jadeja and of course a media review of our favourite Youtube channels.
Tim Wigmore is a sports writer for The Daily Telegraph and has also written for The Economist, The New York Times, ESPN Cricinfo, and The New Statesman, among others.
We sat down to discuss his latest book - Test Cricket - A History, which is his most fascinating book yet. There is a unique mix of history, context, aesthetics, race & class which another writer could have easily papered over. Tim excels in his ability to weave stories across centuries with this one and making the history of the game we love not as overwhelming.
We discuss the following -
1. Legitimacy of Test Matches early on
2. Fast Bowling Quartet
3. Decline in Spin bowling
4. Overperformance of Captains while they are Captains
5. Resilience of Test Playing Nations to play after long gaps
6. Role of Amateurs and Professionals in Cricket's long history
7. Moral Victories
8. Lovely references on Aesthetics of batting in the book
9. Non-development of the women's game
10. 4 Day tests and restructuring of the WTC
You can buy Test Cricket - A History from pretty much every good bookstore across Cricket playing nations along with Amazon as well.
Buy the Book - Test Cricket - A History
Crickonomics: The Anatomy of Modern Cricket:
Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution
The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made
White Hot: The Inside Story of England Cricket’s Double World Champions
Second XI: Cricket In Its Outposts
In our previous chat with Tim, we had asked him for Book Recommendations. Those are below.
Pundits from Pakistan by Rahul Bhattacharya
Beyond a Boundary by CLR James
The only way to honour the memories of those who lost their lives in the stampede at Chinnaswamy on 4th of June is to continue talking about it.
We speak to Sarthak Dev, who wrote an excellent piece for News Laundry.
You can read The story of a disaster: An IPL win, a city’s joy, and a tragedy that was waiting to happen here.
Tarutr runs BestofCricket Substack where he publishes a Daily Newsletter with the best cricket stories (text, audio & video). You can read & subscribe here.
Trigger Warning
Mentions of the Tragedy at Chinnaswamy are discussed at multiple points in the episode. There is an outline and trigger warning at the start of the episode.
We are joined by Dave, Shay, Richa, Aditya, Tarutr & MV in this episode and there are 5 RCB fans who sent in voice notes on how they felt about winning the first league title.
What is covered in this episode?
1. RCB Fans from across the world share what it felt to win the first IPL title. (1:48 to 9:42)
2. We speak to Tarutr Malhotra from BestofCricket about the tragedy at Chinnaswamy, the commotion, lack of communication and why he decided to exit the celebrations. (9:42 to 36:13)
He has also written a piece. Read it here.
3. We start the IPL review with introduction of the guests (36:38 to 38:07), speak about the tragedy at Chinnaswamy (38:07 to 45:07) & Move to the IPL review which continues right till the end!
In this episode, we have long time listeners Saurabh, Shay & Fahad to discuss their memories of the IPL.
It’s a great mix of folks from varying age groups and their association with the league. While Saurabh is largely neutral despite having a soft corner for SRH & RR, Fahad loves CSK & Shay is an RCB fan from North India.
It gives us an insight into how the IPL has evolved and how the evolution affects the people watching it.
Are they still as chuffed at watching the IPL from their first viewing of the league? Listen in.
We sat down to record the Origin Story of our love with the game. We discussed -
- Our first playgrounds (societies, mohalla etc)
- How our teams were decided?
- What were the various toss instruments?
- Specific rules for batting (1D, 2D) and bowling (fast, knee height no balls etc)
All of the above across the country since the panel was diverse and we wrapped up with our favourite story of playing Cricket.
In our series of episodes dealing with the lack of cricket in Indian cricket coverage and the rise of jingoism and demi-god worship in cricket media, we have with us accomplished cricket analyst and writer, Gurkirat S Gill.
Sarthak is a writer and music composer. He writes a Substack called Lines on The Grass, and you can find some of his other written work at IndianExpress and EuroSport. He uploads his music on Instagram and YouTube, but only when his morning coffee hits the right spot.
Read Lines on the Grass
Listen to Sarthak's music here & you can follow him on Twitter as well.
In this episode, we have both the Adityas, Raj & MV.
We discuss -
- The Hero Worshipping of Dhoni, Kohli & Rohit
- Twitter Fanwars as an extension of how Cricket is packaged
- Inceldom and the violent nature of Cricket discourse
- The Loss of Tenderness in sport
- No room for the stories of 7/10 cricketers (The Hanuma Viharis & Mayank Agarwals)
- Sexualisation of Women in & associated with Sport with Cameramen & how society reacts to 5 second clips of Women in stadia
- Lack of Narrative & History in Cricket Commentary
- BCCI's lack of interest in Women's Cricket
Today, we have with us Sharda Ugra, a sports journalist for over 30 years who now writes what she wants, when she wants and where she wants. You can read her work in the Hindustan Times and her coverage of the BCCI in The Wire and The Caravan, amongst other publications.
Along with Sharda, we have Swaroop who has been with The New Indian Express for over a decade and a Red Ink Award winner. He has covered multiple Hockey World cups, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups and, very recently covered the World Chess Championships.
Richa, Aditya & MV join them to discuss -
- BCCI Central Contracts for Women , CA's plan for women's cricket and grassroots investment
- Why are Ranji Cricketers are paid so little, and why does the BCCI want Int'l cricketers to prioritise domestic over IPL
- Saudi Money & Golf - How will they move forward with Cricket
- IPL salaries vs the World's best leagues (Swaroop's piece is linked here)
- Indian Cricketers Association - The Late Anshuman Gaekwad and current President V Chamundeswarnath, a sexual harassment accused and also an IPL Governing Council Member.
Recommendations
Sharda
Swaroop
Aditya - The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha
Richa - Mystery novels by Tana French
