Mark Butcher, Phil Walker and Yas Rana preview England's Test series against Sri Lanka which gets underway at Old Trafford this week. There's discussion about Ollie Pope's role as captain in Ben Stokes' absence, Dan Lawrence opening the batting, debate over team balance and whether Sam Curran should have been considered. Also on the agenda is the conclusion of the men's Hundred and a thrilling low-scoring Test between West Indies and South Africa, before Surrey and England legend Alec Stewart jo...
Aug 19, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Four years into the competition's existence, Katya Witney and Ben Gardner discuss the state of the women's Hundred, as well as trying to pinpoint where it's all gone wrong for Southern Brave in 2024. Elsewhere in the show, Lauren Winfield-Hill joins Katya to chat about Oval Invincibles' campaign, and there's a snippet of Phil Walker's fascinating interview with Danni Wyatt. 0:00 Intro / 1:12 Lauren Winfield-Hill / 20:09 Women's Hundred / 36:04 Danni Wyatt / 44:58 Outro The Metro Bank Girls in Cr...
Aug 16, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ben Gardner, Phil Walker and ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller chat about the potential impact of Ben Stokes’ injury on England’s Test side, The Hundred, Matthew Mott’s replacement and much more. Mark Butcher also joins the show to discuss some of the best young talent in The Hundred this season as well as the England white-ball head coach vacancy. 0:00 Graham Thorpe / 5:19 Gulliver’s Sports Travel / 5:49 Ben Stokes & England’s Test side / 16:38 The Hundred / 45:11 Mark Butcher / 1:01:15 Matthew Mott /...
Aug 13, 2024•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laura Wolvaardt joins Katya Witney to discuss the state of women’s cricket in South Africa, globetrotting on the franchise circuit, Test ambitions and more. 0:00 Intro / 1:52 Laura Wolvaardt interview / 23:05 Bangladesh update / 24:00 Outro 🎙️ LIVE SHOW: Birmingham, September 12: https://bit.ly/WCWPLiveShow0924 📊 WISDEN SURVEY: Complete the Wisden survey: https://bit.ly/WisdenSurvey 👉 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/@WisdenCricket?sub_confirmation=1 ✍️ LATEST NEWS: https://www.wisden.com �...
Aug 09, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode from November 2020, Phil Walker, John Stern and Yas Rana were lucky enough to be joined by the late Graham Thorpe to pick Wisden's Test Team of the 1990s. We're doing another live show, this time in Birmingham! Details here: https://bit.ly/WCWPLiveShow0924 You can follow Wisden Cricket on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok: https://www.facebook.com/WisdenCric https://www.instagram.com/wisden_cricket/ https://twitter.com/WisdenCricket https://www.tiktok.com/@wisdencricket The...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner and Phil Walker pay tribute to Graham Thorpe, who sadly passed away this week at the age of 55. They reflect on the career of one of England's greatest batters – a fan favourite for so many throughout the 90s and 00s – share their favourite memories, consider his impact as a coach on the current generation and much more. Our thoughts are with Graham's family, friends and everyone who knew him. Later in the show there's discussion about England's latest Test squad, Matthew M...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill are joined by a very special guest this week – Sri Lanka legend, Chamari Athapaththu. They discuss Sri Lanka’s historic Asia Cup triumph against India, pathways for Sri Lanka’s women and an incredible few years for Chamari both internationally and on the franchise scene. Later in the show, Yas is joined Bangladesh expert Tawhid Qureshi to discuss the ongoing unrest in the country and how that might impact the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year. 0:00 Intro / 1...
Aug 02, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast *We apologise for Yas' microphone quality* On this bonus episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Yas Rana speaks to Adam Hollioake. 20 years on from leaving Surrey as a player, he's back in South London as part of their coaching staff. And he’s been through a fair bit in that time. He moved back to Australia shortly after the death of his brother Ben, created a TV show, started his own business, was declared bankrupt, was a boxer and cage fighter, and more recently, coached around the worl...
Jul 31, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner and Santokie Nagulendran of the Caribbean Cricket Podcast reflect on England's 3-0 series win and wonder what's next for the West Indies. There's discussion around the narrative surrounding West Indies' performances, the state of cricket in the Caribbean, why some familiar names are missing from the Test side and more. Elsewhere in the show there's chat about a slow start to The Hundred, and Mark Butcher joins Yas to review the Test series from an England point of view. 0:0...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lauren Winfield-Hill and Yas Rana review the first week of the women's Hundred. There's chat about Lauren's Oval Invincibles getting off to a winning start, the differences between The Hundred and other competitions, and one of the best uncapped players in the country. Later in the show, Yas is joined by Sara Begg – an ECB coach developer – to talk about what coach developers do and why they're needed. 0:00 Intro / 1:39 The Hundred / 19:36 Coaching / 29:23 Outro The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket F...
Jul 28, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner, Jim Wallace and Mark Butcher review England's series-clinching 241-run victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge. There's discussion on an improved West Indies performance, England's three centurions, Shoaib Bashir's fourth innings spell and England's struggles bowling at the tail. Elsewhere in the show the panel assess the state of The Hundred ahead of its fourth season, India have a new head coach and Harry Tector joins us as Ireland prepare to take on Zimbabwe in a one...
Jul 22, 2024•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lauren Winfield-Hill and Yas Rana look ahead to the start of the 2024 women’s Hundred and reflect on England’s unbeaten summer against Pakistan and New Zealand. England batter Alice Capsey joins the show to discuss the summer, wanting to be a genuine all-rounder, her Test cricket ambitions and more. 0:00 Intro / 1:20 The Hundred / 11:06 England vs New Zealand / 17:50 Alice Capsey / 21:18 Alice Capsey interview / 38:02 Domestic restructure update / 41:55 Outro The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund...
Jul 21, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner and Katya Witney cover all the latest news from the world of cricket this week. There's more reflection on James Anderson's final Test, discussion about who should replace him at Trent Bridge and a conversation about how the ECB could help Cricket Ireland. Elsewhere in the show there's T20 Blast action, a review of India's 4-1 win in Zimbabwe and an exciting potential debutant for Australia's tour of the UK. Mark Butcher joins Yas to discuss Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith's d...
Jul 16, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Phil Walker reflect on the first Test of the English summer, which saw James Anderson's illustrious career come to an end as England thrashed West Indies by an innings and 114 runs. Off the field, there's discussion about the Test as a spectacle, the huge disparity between the two teams financially, what more can be done to help West Indies and whether Lord's is a good Test venue. Back on the field, there's chat about Gus Atkinson's remarkable debut and a promising start to life in ...
Jul 12, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lauren Winfield-Hill and Yas Rana look back at the first three T20Is of England’s series against New Zealand that have served up a few clues for how England will attack this year’s T20 World Cup. They also discuss the future of Test cricket and whether it should be held up on a pedestal in the same way that it is in men’s cricket. 0:00 Intro / 1:13 England vs New Zealand / 9:19 The future of women's Tests / 18:06 Outro The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund in collaboration with the ECB aims to tr...
Jul 12, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner and Jo Harman look ahead to James Anderson's 188th and final Test match for England, as his astonishing career comes to an end this week at Lord's. There's also a preview of the series against West Indies, an interview with England's new keeper Jamie Smith and chat about a remarkable round of County Championship action. Mark Butcher joins Yas to reflect on the early years of Anderson and some of his career highlights. *This episode was recorded a couple of hours before Engl...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill discuss the latest news around the domestic restructure, England's convincing ODI series victory against New Zealand and Tash Farrant's position in the England setup. 0:00 Intro / 0:53 County contracts / 10:45 Tash Farrant / 15:18 ENGvNZ & Lauren Bell / 23:24 Outro The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund in collaboration with the ECB aims to triple the number of girls’ cricket teams by breaking down barriers and creating supportive and inclusive spaces. Help transf...
Jul 05, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this very special episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, Yas Rana, Phil Walker and Jo Harman are joined by the one and only Brian Charles Lara. A legend of West Indies cricket, Lara joins the show to discuss the release of his new book, Lara: The England Chronicles, written alongside Phil, which is out now. Before diving into some stories from years gone by, Lara gives his thoughts on the recent T20 World Cup, West Indies’ upcoming Test tour of England and even answers some listener qu...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this bonus episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, there's reaction to India's thrilling T20 World Cup final victory against South Africa and England's Test squad to take on the West Indies. 0:00 Intro / 1:42 England's Test squad / 25:14 Win T20 Blast tickets / 25:47 T20 World Cup final / 41:01 Mark Butcher on the Test squad / 47:21 Outro We're delighted to be working with Kia UK once again! Win tickets to Surrey vs Hampshire in the T20 Blast: https://www.kia.com/uk/about/sport-sponsors...
Jul 01, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Phil Walker and Ben Gardner come together for an emergency podcast to discuss England's crushing defeat against India last night. 0:00 Intro / 1:25 Mark Butcher on ENGvIND / 19:11 England / 30:34 India / 36:24 What next for England? / 51:19 Key, Mott & Buttler / 54:59 Outro We're delighted to be working with Kia UK once again! Enter Kia's Young Cricketer competition – http://www.kia.com/uk/about/sport-sponsorship/oval-surrey-cricket/kia-oval-competitions/kia-grassroots-cricket.html You...
Jun 28, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill react to England's convincing win in the first ODI of their series against New Zealand yesterday. They also chat about Ryana MacDonald-Gay's first England call-up, the Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day and Smriti Mandhana's incredible performances against South Africa. Later in the show, Katya Witney is joined by Olivia Thornton – CEO of Cricket ACT – to chat about what life is like for the Afghanistan women's cricketers currently living in Australia. 0:00 Intro ...
Jun 27, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and the returning Phil Walker are joined by Kate Mason of TNT Sports to react to all the latest action from the T20 World Cup. The panel reflect on a dramatic week in the Super 8s and look ahead to the semi-finals, with India taking on England and Afghanistan – having sensationally knocked out Australia – facing South Africa. Elsewhere in the show there’s chat about the tournament's scheduling, the life of a cricket television broadcaster, Phil's book with the legendary Brian Lara and m...
Jun 26, 2024•2 hr 38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill catch up after a busy week that saw Lauren appointed as captain of Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. They chat about leadership, preview the Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day and look ahead to England's series against New Zealand. Later in the show, New Zealand batter Lauren Down joins Katya Witney to discuss her international return after maternity leave, and how she's finding life juggling motherhood with a career as a professional sportswoman. 0:00 Intro / 1:44...
Jun 21, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner, Katya Witney and Mark Butcher reflect on the T20 World Cup group stage and look ahead to the Super Eight phase. There’s chat about a rare tournament failure for New Zealand, England’s narrow escape at the expense of Scotland and whether the new format has been a success. Scotland spinner Mark Watt joins the show to discuss their performances, their frustrations at not progressing to the next round and wanting to become a full member nation. Elsewhere in the show there’s a ...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Ben Gardner react to England’s ODI squad to take on New Zealand, before the rest of the episode explores the role of the wicketkeeper in women’s cricket. Lauren Winfield-Hill talks to Yas about what separates the good from the great, while Rhianna Southby of the Southern Vipers and Southern Brave joins the show, chatting to Katya about her route into the role and experiences so far. 0:00 Intro / 1:22 England's squad vs New Zealand / 5:47 Lauren Winfield-Hill on wicketkeeping / 16:14...
Jun 14, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Ben Gardner reflect on another week of thrilling T20 World Cup action, including a dominant performance from Australia, USA's famous win against Pakistan and tricky pitches in New York. Mark Butcher joins Yas to chat about England's campaign and the changes he'd make to the XI, while Saj Sadiq gives his views on Pakistan disastrous start to the tournament. 0:00 Intro / 1:30 Mark Butcher on England's World Cup so far / 20:15 Kia's Best Seats in the House / 20:48 Australia, England & ...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pakistan icon Bismah Maroof joins Katya Witney on this week's show to reflect on her incredible international career. They discuss retirement, debuting as a 15-year-old, returning to cricket after becoming a mother and much more. Later in the episode, Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill chat about the structures and pathways outside of the 'Big Three' nations, and a young star to keep an eye on in the English domestic game. 0:00 Intro / 2:51 Bismah Maroof / 19:20 Pathways and structures / 26:01 In...
Jun 07, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana, Ben Gardner and Jo Harman reflect on the opening round of T20 World Cup action from the US and the Caribbean. There’s chat about England’s washout against Scotland, tricky conditions in New York, an India-Pakistan preview and much more. Mark Butcher then joins Yas for an in-depth Q&A with Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything). Later in the show, the panel discuss the start of the T20 Blast, Kumar Sangakkara’s club cricket appearance and a new issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly. 0:00 Intro / 4:51...
Jun 05, 2024•2 hr 46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yas Rana and Lauren Winfield-Hill reflect on England's 2-0 ODI series victory against Pakistan, with Nat Sciver-Brunt hitting a brilliant 124* in the final match of the series at Chelmsford. England fast bowler Lauren Bell joins the show to look at the summer ahead and her journey so far with Katya Witney, before Tim Wigmore speaks to Yas about the evolution of fast bowling in the women's game. 0:00 Intro / 1:43 England vs Pakistan / 14:49 Lauren Bell interview / 24:11 The future of fast bowling...
May 31, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former England captain and World Cup winner Eoin Morgan joins the show to preview the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the US with Melinda Farrell. Mark Butcher also dials in to give his predictions for the tournament, which gets underway later this week. Elsewhere in the show, Yas Rana and Ben Gardner look at the tournament structure and give a few predictions of their own, before discussing the latest round of County Championship action, Jofra Archer's successful return to international cric...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
