Test Match Special - podcast cover

Test Match Special

BBC Radio 5 Livewww.bbc.co.uk

Insight and analysis from the Test Match Special team, including interviews with top players.

Episodes

Rob Key on England’s Men’s Cricket

Mark Chapman is joined by Michael Vaughan, Jimmy Anderson and England men’s managing director Rob Key. They talk about where England’s men’s cricket is at the moment – what’s next? How will England look to change the picture across the board? And what will the process be to replace Jos Buttler as white-ball captain?

Mar 10, 202552 min

Incredible India win Champions Trophy & Rob Key reacts to England’s woes

Simon Mann presents reaction to India beating New Zealand and winning the 2025 Champions Trophy. He’s alongside England World Cup winner Alex Hartley, the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew & Indian commentator Prakash Wakankar. Hear from India’s winning captain Rohit Sharma, as well as Virat Kohli. Plus, player of the tournament New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra. Also, the managing director of England Men’s Cricket Rob Key looks back on England’s poor Champions Trophy performance an...

Mar 09, 202555 min

New Zealand nail South Africa to reach final

Simon Mann presents reaction to New Zealand beating South Africa to reach the Champions Trophy final. He’s alongside former England allrounder Vic Marks and the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew for analysis of New Zealand’s win in Lahore. Hear from both captains, Temba Mavuma & Mitchell Santner, as well as player of the match, Rachin Ravindra. Simon, Jonathan, and Vic Marks look ahead to the final between New Zealand and India in Dubai. Former New Zealand bowler, and now commen...

Mar 05, 202530 min

India win a thriller in Dubai

Henry Moeran presents reaction to India beating Australia to reach the Champions Trophy final. He’s alongside England World Cup winner Alex Hartley and TMS commentator Aatif Nawaz for analysis of India’s win in Dubai. Former Australia ODI & T20 captain Aaron Finch gives his thoughts on the Aussies’ loss. Hear from both captains, Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith, as well as player of the match, Virat Kohli. Plus, Simon Mann, Jonathan Agnew, and Vic Marks are in Lahore as they look ahead to the se...

Mar 04, 202538 min

England hammered & head home winless

Simon Mann presents reaction to England’s defeat to South Africa from Karachi which means their Champions Trophy campaign ends without them winning a game. For the final time as England captain, Jos Buttler gives his thoughts on the loss. As does South Africa captain Aiden Markram. England bowler Chris Woakes, former England allrounder Vic Marks, and the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew analyse the match, and where the England side go from here. Plus, Brendan McCullum talks about w...

Mar 01, 202535 min

Buttler resigns as white-ball captain

As Jos Buttler steps down as England limited overs captain, we hear from him and coach Brendon McCullum. Plus, Simon Mann is joined by Jonathan Agnew and Vic Marks, who has known Buttler since he was a teenager.

Feb 28, 202527 min

What’s going wrong with English cricket?

After England crash out of the Champions Trophy, Henry Moeran and the TMS team ask just what’s going wrong at the moment. Across the men’s and women’s teams, England have lost 16 out of the 17 games they’ve played in 2025. Is it an attitude problem? An image problem? Captaincy? Or is there more to it than that? Henry is joined by World Cup winner Alex Hartley, and TMS colleagues Aatif Nawaz and Daniel Norcross

Feb 27, 202554 min

Livingstone reflects on Aus loss & Kohli century sees off Pakistan

Henry Moeran presents reaction as Virat Kohli hits his fifty-first ODI century as India pile pressure on Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, with the host nation’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages dangling by a thread. In Lahore, Jonathan Agnew and Simon Mann assess England’s tournament hopes after a defeat to Australia in their first game. England allrounder Liam Livingstone evaluates the game with Aggers too. Aatif Nawaz and England World Cup winner Alex Hartley are alongside Henry in...

Feb 23, 202542 min

England lose to Inglis' Australian heroics

Simon Mann is with former England allrounder Vic Marks, the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew and former England batter Dawid Malan for reaction to England's defeat to Australia in their Champions Trophy opener in Lahore. England captain Jos Buttler gives his thoughts on the loss, as does Ben Duckett despite a record-breaking innings of 165. Australia's Leeds-born game-winner Josh Inglis reflects on the win and captain Steve Smith analyses his side's win. Plus, Henry Moeran is in Du...

Feb 22, 202539 min

The Champions Trophy Preview

Mark Chapman is joined by former England international Steven Finn, and the Southern Brave and Sussex fast bowler Tymal Mills to preview the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai. They look at England’s form coming into the tournament and the criticism Brendan McCullum’s side have received over the amount of training they did in India. We also get the view from Pakistan with TMS’s Henry Moeran and Aatif Nawaz in Karachi, and look at who could be the main challengers to win the title....

Feb 18, 202547 min

‘The Hundred’ sales: What does it all mean?

Eleanor Oldroyd is joined by the BBC’s Sports Editor Dan Roan, Chief Cricket Reporter Stephan Shemilt & TMS commentator Daniel Norcross to analyse ‘The Hundred’ team sales. We’ll hear from ECB Director of Business Operations Vikram Banerjee, as well as Southern Brave & Sussex fast bowler Tymal Mills. We’ll also be answering some of the questions you sent in to the BBC Sport website.

Feb 06, 202557 min

No Balls: WAshes stage is set

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross have a final catch-up before the Women’s Ashes get underway. Kate gives an injury update with the first game right around the corner, and they discuss why women should play more Test cricket. Vote for No Balls in the Sport Podcast Awards 2025 – we’re nominated for THREE categories, and it only takes a minute to vote: Best Cricket Podcast https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-cricket-podcast/ Best Sports Comedy Podcast https://www.sportspodcastgroup...

Jan 10, 202539 min

No Balls: The WAshes await

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross look ahead to the Women’s Ashes which starts in Sydney which week. They discuss who the star performers might be, and what the mentality is inside the England camp after a dominant tour in South Africa. Plus, Alex has some WAshes predictions. Listen to every ball of the Women’s Ashes from Australia on BBC Sounds, or via the BBC Sport website or app. The first ODI starts at 11:30pm on Saturday 11th January.

Jan 06, 202536 min

Australia reclaim Border Gavaskar Trophy

We review another absorbing Test as Australia won by six wickets at the SCG to take the series against India 3-1 and reclaim the Border Gavaskar series for the first time in over a decade. We get analysis from Alison Mitchell, former Australia coach Darren Lehmann and former Australia bowler Stuart Clark. Isa Guha speaks with player of the match Scott Boland plus captains Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah and we also hear from Australian opener Usman Khawja.

Jan 05, 202536 min

Red ball rivalries & white ball worries

Henry Moeran is alongside the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew and TMS statistician Andy Zaltzman to look ahead to England’s Men’s 2025. With a home Test series against India and the Ashes down under at the end of the year, it could prove to be a pivotal year for Ben Stokes as captain.

Jan 01, 202549 min

The 2024 TMS Awards

Henry Moeran is alongside commentator Dan Norcross & TMS statistician Andy Zaltzman pick their global cricketing awards for 2024 - the Full Tosscars. Which India bowler has had an incredible year? Which English batter(s) gets nominated for worst shot of the year? And which side goes home with the best win of the year?

Dec 26, 202455 min

Joe’s route to success

2024 is going to be a memorable year for Joe Root. He became England’s highest ever run scorer, and overtook Sir Alastair Cook’s Test century record for England too, but how did that feel and how did he get there? In his own words, along with England captain Ben Stokes and friend & longtime teammate Jimmy Anderson, he talks us through his incredible year, and how he came to be one of England’s greats.

Dec 23, 202436 min

No Balls: Christmas Special

Alex Hartley and Kate Cross have a festive catch up after Kate’s return from South Africa. They discuss Kate’s back injury which meant she hardly played in South Africa and the road to recovery ahead of next month’s Ashes series in Australia. They also reflect on England’s success in all formats across the series which served as good preparation before heading down under. Plus, what do they both want for Christmas?

Dec 21, 202435 min

Phillip Hughes - 10 years on

It’s been 10 years since the death of former Australia player Phillip Hughes. The 25 year old passed away after being struck on the neck by a short ball during a Sheffield Shield match. It was a tragedy which sent shock waves across the cricketing world and the anniversary is being marked with commemorations throughout Australia. In a special tribute ABC commentator Andrew Moore speaks with Tom Cooper who was Hughes’s batting partner that fateful day, legendary fast bowler Glenn McGrath and form...

Dec 06, 202422 min

No Balls: Kate on tour!

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross discuss England’s dominant displays in England’s T20 series win against South Africa Women, and how the tour is great preparation ahead of the Women’s Ashes next month. Plus, they ask you for your best cricketing look-alikes after Jacob Bethell was likened to… Pat Butcher. noballspodcast@bbc.co.uk Listen to every game of England's tour of South Africa on BBC Sounds, with commentary of the first ODI in Kimberley at 11:45am on Wednesday 4th December....

Dec 03, 202434 min

No Balls: Kates & Dogs

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross look ahead to England’s tour of South Africa with Kate in the ODI and Test squad. She discusses how she’s been preparing for the series having had six weeks away from cricket. They speak to a listener who has named their puppy after one of them, and have you named a pet after someone famous? noballspodcast@bbc.co.uk

Nov 22, 202435 min

No Balls: South Africa awaits

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross talk about how Kate’s preparation has gone as she gets ready to head to South Africa for England’s ODIs and Test. They discuss the tent which has been built at England’s High Performance Centre to help players acclimatise to pitch conditions around the world, as well as more of your stories on naming pets after sport stars. Plus, they play a game to get Kate ready for her trip. Listen to every game of England's tour of South Africa on BBC Sounds, with the first T20 ...

Nov 22, 202432 min

Urooj Mumtaz: from bowlers to molars

Jonathan Agnew speaks to former Pakistan captain Urooj Mumtaz. Now splitting her time between cricket commentary and dentistry, Mumtaz talks about the struggles of not being allowed to play cricket as a child, the opportunities for women in cricket now compared to when she was growing up, and how she'll be straight back to her dental practice once England's tour of Pakistan is over.

Oct 21, 202433 min

Alec Stewart looks back on success with Surrey

Kevin Howells is alongside Surrey correspondent Mark Church to speak to former Surrey Director of Cricket Alec Stewart. They discuss Stewart’s legacy as he moves into a new role with Surrey, as well as his thoughts on the long-term future of the County Championship and how Dan Worrall was his “best signing” at the club

Oct 12, 202444 min

England’s historic 2022 win in Pakistan

Jonathan Agnew and the TMS team share memories of the astonishing England tour to Pakistan in 2022. England won the first series they’d played in Pakistan in 17 years, becoming the first side to complete a 3 nil victory with some record breaking batting and outstanding bowling. Aggers is joined by Simon Mann, Andy Zaltzman, Aatif Nawaz and Alex Hartley plus we also hear reflections from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Oct 08, 202434 min

No Balls: The Golf Day

It's finally here! Kate and Alex take on umpires Anna Harris and Sue Redfern in the first No Balls Players-Umpires golf day. But who will come out on top? Kate also tells us about second part of England's white-ball tour of Ireland and her feelings now her stint as captain has finished.

Sep 20, 202438 min

In at the deep end - the psychology of test cricket

Simon Mann is alongside Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan, Phil Tufnell & Russel Arnold to discuss the pressures of test cricket. From trying to settle in as a debutant to controlling the anxiety of a batter, they tell all as to what was needed to face the challenges at the highest level and where they found their strengths in tough moments. Opening up about issues facing Glenn McGrath, keeping calm when rain delays play, and being “allergic to fielding practice”.

Sep 12, 20241 hr 10 min

No Balls: Kate Cross's Barmy Army

Kate Cross and Alex Hartley are in Belfast after Kate secured her first series win as England captain. She tells us she is enjoying the responsibility of captaincy after taking six wickets in the opening match at the weekend. And we're joined by record-breaking batter Tammy Beaumont, after her latest ODI century.

Sep 11, 202433 min

View from the Boundary - Tony Banks

Jonathan Agnew speaks to musician, and founding member of Genesis, Tony Banks in the TMS commentary box at The Oval. Tony discusses having Allan Lamb invite him to England's dressing room, his classical music work, and having to swap shirts with a stranger to gain access to the MCG.

Sep 07, 202436 min