81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast (81 All Out)

In this episode, we chat with former India Test cricketer, columnist, author and commentator Aakash Chopra.

Aakash tells us about his initiation into the game – in the mid-1980s – and of learning the fundamentals from his legendary coach Tarak Sinha. He goes on to review his international stint and admits he hadn't fully understood his game until mid-way through his career.

Talking Points:

• Memories of Sonnet Cricket Club
• Thinking about the game from an early age
• The pressure he was under on his Ranji Trophy debut
• Cricket as a team game v cricket as an individual game
• Playing for the team v playing to one's strengths
• The gift (and curse) of Sachin Tendulkar
• Writing his first book Beyond the Blues
• The problem with being fully honest
• Writing for happiness
• Enjoying the game through the tough times
• Finding empathy during the course of criticism
• ... and much more

Participants:

Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Books by Aakash Chopra:

Beyond the Blues: A Cricket Season Like No Other - Aakash Chopra

Out of the Blue: Rajasthan's Road to the Ranji Trophy - Aakash Chopra

The Insider - Aakash Chopra

Related:

Aakash Chopra's ESPNcricinfo columns

Tarak Sinha's 40-year labor of love - Sharda Ugra

First time I was scared... - Aakash Chopra YouTube channel

We preview the upcoming 2-Test series between New Zealand – who have been formidable at home of late – and India – the No.1 team in Tests.

Talking Points

Is India v New Zealand a rivalry that needs more hype?

New Zealand's horror tour to Australia

Wagner the warrior

The trend of fielding first in Tests in New Zealand

India's happy headaches with regard to selection of openers

Should we read anything into Bumrah's ODI performance?

Participants:

Suhas Cadambi (@suhascadambi)

Ashoka Rao (@abvan)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

New Zealand's finest brace for biggest season - 81allout podcast with Michael Wagener

Wagner pounds his beat to good effect - George Dobell

Rewind to India's tour to New Zealand in 1998-99 - 81allout podcast

Our special guests this week – Hassan Cheema, the strategy manager at Islamabad United, and Ahmer Naqvi, a freelance writer on pop culture – analyze Pakistan's performances in their first three games of the T20 World Cup.

Click here to support 81allout on Kofi

Talking Points:

• Why the T20 World Cup is virtually a home tournament for Pakistan
• The emotional reaction to watching Pakistan win three in a row
• The importance of the Pakistan Super League
• A new generation forging a new identity and narrative for Pakistan cricket
• What Babar Azam has meant for Pakistan cricket as a whole
• Shaheen's stupendous opening burst versus India
• Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez - the stalwarts guiding the middle order
• The versatility of Imad Wasim
• Comparing this tournament and the 2017 Champions Trophy
• Pakistan winding back the clock by playing two anchors as openers
• The joy of watching a team do as you expect

Participants:

Hassan Cheema (@mediagag)

Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Why the PSL matters - Ahmer Naqvi - Dawn

Reflections from the Faysal Bank T20 - Ahmer Naqvi and Hassan Cheema - ESPNcricinfo

Rohit ball or Rahul ball: which Shaheen Afridi dismissal was better? - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo

How Mohammad Hafeez has been a T20 giant in 2020 - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo

The Shoaib Malik problem - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo

Understanding T20 - a conversation with Hassan Cheema - 81allout podcast

Pakistan in 1999: the allure, the magic, and the heartbreak - 81allout podcast 

The Old Trafford blowout - 81allout podcast

Conversation with Ahmer Naqvi and Hassan Cheema - Couchtalks with Subash Jayaraman

In the latest episode of the podcast we chat with journalist Annesha Ghosh about the Indian Women cricket team - their journey in 2022 and how much there is to look forward to in 2023.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• 2022: a momentous year for Indian women's cricket both on and off the field
• Mithali Raj: colossus nonpareil
• Jhulan Goswami: a torchbearer who inspired a generation
• The physiological challenges for a woman to bowl fast
• How Kolkata toasted Jhulan during her last match
• The lack of transparency with the Indian selectors
• Shikha Pandey's comeback - and her ingenious practice videos
• India's march to Commonwealth Games final - and the eventual heartbreak
• The sizzling Harmanpreet-Jemima partnership at the final
• How does any team beat Australia? What is the secret sauce
• The allround options in the Indian lower order
• Deepti Sharma's running out Charlie Dean at the non-striker's end
• The incredible potential of the women's IPL
• The BCCI's historical apathy towards women's cricket

Participants:

Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

*

Buy War Minus the Shooting | Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar

Related:

• 2023 could be India Women’s all-at-once year, after everything, everywhere in 2022 - Annesha Ghosh - Moneycontrol
• Jhulan Goswami: A swansong of Indian cricketer who inspired millions of women - Annesha Ghosh - BBC
• The girl who took women's cricket to the next level - Annesha Ghosh - The Cricket Monthly
• The Fire Burns Blue - Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Patnaik - Amazon
• Cameroon bowler Maeva Douma effects four mankads in two overs - Wisden
• Why is there stigma involved in running out a non-striker? Because it's all about power - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• Viacom 18 bags women's IPL media rights for $117 mln - Reuters

Can a bowler find a way to exploit a batter's anatomy and his movements? England did it to Bradman and Co. in the Bodyline series in 1932-33 but modern bowlers have tried a variation of this strategy too and turned in unforgettable spells.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The essence of Bodyline
• Wahab Riaz v Watson in Adelaide, 2015
• The left-armer's unusual advantage when cramping the right-handers
• Mitchell Johnson's spell from hell at the Gabba in 2013
• Why it is relatively easy for a batter to leave some short balls compared to others
• Tendulkar v red hot Australian pace in Ahmedabad in 2011
• Allan Donald v Mike Atherton, Trent Bridge, 1998
• The disadvantage of the back-and-across movement for right-hand batters
• Wasim Akram v Rahul Dravid, Chennai, 1999
• Fearless: Mohinder Amarnath memoir - Amazon

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Prashant DP (@prashantdptweet) | Medium 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related

• Wahab Riaz spell v Watson - YouTube
• Mohammad Amir to Watson - YouTube
• Mitchell Johnson at the Gabba, 2013 - YouTube
• How the summer of Johnson changed cricket - ESPNcricinfo
• Allan Donald v Mike Atherton, Trent Bridge, 1998 - YouTube 
• Allan Donald fast bowling masterclass - YouTube
• Wasim Akram v Dravid, Chennai, 1999 - YouTube
• India. Pakistan. Chennai. 1999 - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - ESPNcricinfo

We discuss the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton.

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

(PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800)

Talking Points:

• The WTC and the extra layer it has added to gauging a Test side
• The abundance of fast bowling riches around the world
• The quality – and variety – of bowling on display
• Kohli opening up his stance, Williamson batting deep in his crease
• India's bowlers' choice of lengths and their exceptional control
• New Zealand's four-man pace attack - left, right, short, full, curve and swerve
• Rishabh Pant and the complexity of the risk-reward judgement
• Unsung Williamson, unsunger Ross Taylor, unsungest BJ Watling
• New Zealand's triumph coming at the perfect transition moment
• Fans from the Big 3 adopting New Zealand as their favourite team

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related

Not luck, not fluke: New Zealand deserve to be World Test Champions - Jarrod Kimber - ESPNcricinfo

Worthy World Champions - Mark Geenty - stuff.co.nz

World Test Championship a glorious tribute to cricket’s ridiculous allure - Andy Bull - The Guardian

New Zealand's climb to the top - Fidel Fernando - The Cricket Monthly

In the latest episode of the podcast we chat with Ajesh Ramachandran, the Executive Producer at the ICC and their Broadcast and Content Lead. Ajesh takes us through the typical day in the life of a TV producer, and goes on to explain the intricacies of a live cricket broadcast.

Note: Readers in India can now buy Mike Marqusee's classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting on Flipkart and Amazon. Readers outside India, can buy the book on Amazon.

Talking Points:

• The responsibilities of an executive producer before an ICC event
• Hiring the crew and inspecting the venues for suitability of broadcast
• The broad vision for the broadcast - melding journalism and entertainment
• Rostering the commentary queue on match eve
• The importance of time-management during pre-match routines
• The producer-director chemistry - and how that often shapes the coverage
• Understanding the rhythm of the contest to guide the storytelling
• Briefing the commentators about the context and gravitas of the tournament
• Being in the commentators' ear through the match and balancing various voices
• Memorable moments from a 20-year career in broadcasting

Participants:

Ajesh Ramachandran (@Edged_and_taken)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

Related:

These pictures brought to you by - Nagraj Gollapudi - ESPNcricinfo

ICC looks to entice a new generation of viewer - Will Strauss - SVG Europe

Remember the game - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - The Cricket Monthly

'I really get annoyed with one-sided cricket' - Ian Chappell interview by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - ESPNcricinfo

Pitch perfect - Harsha Bhogle interview by Arun Venugopal - The Hindu

Mohammad Rizwan match v nets - ICC

Wahab Riaz spell to Shane Watson in Adelaide in 2015 - ICC

World Cup final Super Over at Lord's in 2019 - ICC

What do broadcasters have to do with ball tampering - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo

Where is cricket best enjoyed? Live at the stadium or on a screen many miles away? What do these experiences teach us and what really are we watching when we take in a game? The 81allout crew discuss. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The challenges (and privilege required) to access a cricket ground
• The ordeal of watching a game in an Indian stadium
• The improved quality of television coverage that takes you close to the action
• The complications of a televised game that is carefully directed and packaged
• The distractions during a broadcast: advertisements, crowd shots, sponsor logos
• Experiencing the conditions at the ground and understanding flight and length
• The appreciation to be gained from watching the entire field of play
• The democratic nature of TV - and how it introduces the game to new fans
• The influence of commentary on one's interpretation of the game

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• ‘A TV producer needs to catch the pulse of where the game is going’ – Ajesh Ramachandran - 81allout podcast
• ‘In some ways, a TV director plays God’ – Hemant Buch - 81allout podcast
• What about the fans? BCCI could have avoided the Dharamsala mess - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• Why do spectators get a raw deal - Gideon Haigh - ESPNcricinfo
• Fly Lara Fly - Rahul Bhattacharya - The Cricket Monthly
• A handy rule to have in sports - Osman Samiuddin - The National

In the latest edition of the 81allout podcast we discuss the application of Law 19.8 at the World Cup final at Lord's.

We go on to debate the distinction between cricket laws and societal laws; the idea of "spirit of cricket" and its relationship to the laws of the game; and the authority of umpires as more technology becomes part of decision making.

Participants:
Suhrith Parthasarathy (@suhrith)
Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)
Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

In this special episode of the 81allout podcast, we chat with Michael Sexton on his latest book Border's Battlers, which provides a fascinating account of the iconic tied Test between India and Australia at Chepauk in September 1986. Michael has been a journalist, producer, and sportswriter for over three decades and been a part of ABC, BBC, and Channel Nine. He has written eight books and two of them on cricket - Chappell's Last Stand and Border's Battlers. 

Talking points: 

Contextualizing the state of Australian cricket and Border's captaincy coming into the Test series against India 

Vaudeville reenactment of the last over of the tied Test by Greg Matthews 

Dean Jones's magnificent double-century followed by an ambulance ride to the hospital 

Getting the geographical specificity of Chennai and Chepauk right 

Heroic efforts of Ray Bright and forever-on-the-field 13th man, Mike Veletta 

Influence of Bob Simpson and the elephantine memory of Errol Alcott 

Kapil Dev's brilliant counterattacking century 

Murmurs of a headbutt and the rancorous spirit through the dramatic stages of the match 

The camaraderie and consistency of Dara Dotiwala and Vikram Raju 

Shivlal Yadav's six; a rational and calculative Ravi Shastri under immense pressure 

Parallels and the differences to the tied Test in Brisbane in 1960 

Participants:

Michael Sexton (@Michael_Sexton5)

Siddharatha Vaidyanathan (@Sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

Scorecards of the tied Tests - Brisbane '60 and Chennai '86

Madras Magic - a documentary on the Chennai tied Test

Highlights of the Brisbane tied Test

Martin Smith on how the tied Test ended the career of Vikram Raju

Arunabha Sengupta on the dramatic last day of the Test

Dean Jones and the second tied Test at the Bradman Museum

Books recommendations from Michael Sexton:

Edging Towards Darkness - John Lazenby

Harold Larwood: the Ashes bowler who wiped out Australia - Duncan Hamilton

We are thrilled to bring you the 50th episode of the 81allout podcast.

Our special guest for the occasion is Clayton Murzello, group sports editor of Mid-Day in Mumbai.

We chat with Clayton about his journey - from running a bookstore, managing a cricket club, and covering local sports... before turning into one of the most recognized names in the field of cricket journalism.

Talking Points:

• The charm of the Kanga League tournament in Mumbai
• The stories and legends around Dadar Union Sporting Club
• Tendulkar's arrival on the club and first-class scene
• Schools cricket in Mumbai and the unreasonable expectations it puts on young men
• The legacy of Sunil Gavaskar
• The heyday of corporate and university cricket
• 'Airport duty' and a big scoop
• How a quiz helped a Mumbai cricketer get his pension
• The great storyteller – Raj Singh Dungarpur
• The thrill of collecting cricket books and memorabilia
• Etc

Participants:

Participants:

Clayton Murzello (@claytonmurzello)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Mumbai's cricket cradle - Clayton Murzello

A plateful of biscuits, and an unforgettable car-ride

Kanga League was Madhav Apte's most-loved tournament

How a Facebook quiz won an ex-Mumbai cricketer his MCA pension

In the latest episode we discuss ways in which data is upending the way teams approach the sport - and also question why there is so much resistance to the idea that smart use of data helps everyone understand the game better.

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (recently republished by 81allout):

India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy); Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy); USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy); USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy); Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy); 

For the rest - please check your country-specific Amazon pages.

Talking Points:

• The importance of data in the T20 era - with teams looking for more efficiencies and for ways to exploit match-ups
• The 'anti-data constituency' and why data is such a polarizing topic
• The false-opposition to data: and why observation and experience are data too
• The age-old cliche: 'Numbers don't tell the full story'
• The terminological baggage around terms like 'luck', 'fluke' and 'randomness'
• The difference between descriptive data and predictive data
• The lack of sufficient data in T20s - with so few games played every season
• The issue of player accountability - and the fear of data revealing hard truths
• Do TV channels have a moral responsibility to educate the public about data?
• What does the future of cricket data look like?
• Can one expect more systematic recording of judgement metrics?

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Himanish Ganjoo (@hganjoo_153); Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview); Ashoka (@ABVan)

*

Related:

• Pressure, clutch, choke: the language of cricketing discourse - 81allout podcast
• Understanding T20 - 81allout podcast with Hassan Cheema
• Hitting v Batting: the choice that dictates the shape of a T20 contest - 81allout podcast
• Databall - Kartikeya Date - The Cricket Monthly
• On Analysis And Statistics in Cricket - Himanish Ganjoo - DeepPoint Substack
• Do match-ups work in T20? The data says yes - Himanish Ganjoo - ESPNcricinfo
• The rise of the analyst, coded signals and the DRS revolution - Sky Sports podcast with Nathan Leamon
• Cricket is having its Moneyball moment - Mike Jakeman - Wired UK

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

We celebrate the 100th episode of the 81allout podcast with an illuminating conversation with Gideon Haigh - the gold standard when it comes to cricket writing.

We could have spoken to Gideon about anything – cricket or otherwise - but we chose to focus on his brilliant book On Warne - a remarkably original take on a remarkably original cricketer. Gideon talks about Warne's ability to "make the unscripted look scripted" and why he was such a joy to write about.

(PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800)

Talking Points:

• Writing a book in 31 days
• Warne coming along at the 'perfect time'
• Would a cricketer like Warne have succeeded in the 1970s?
• The SSC Test in 1993 - when Warne found himself in international cricket
• The ball of the century - and the perfection of timing
• The theatre of Warne - and the art of manipulating everyone around him
• Warne and the media - a never-ending saga
• The post-retirement phase in Warne's life
• How the Warne legend is likely to endure

Participants:

Gideon Haigh

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

The man who became legspin - Gideon Haigh - ESPNcricinfo; The ball of the century - cricket.com.au; 'We dominated for over four days but lost in half a session' - ESPNcricinfo on the 1993 Sri Lanka v Australia Test in Colombo; Hits and myths of Shane Warne, a suburban hero - Gideon Haigh - The Australian; Legspin masterclass with Shane Warne - Cricket Masterclass video; 281-degree panorama - Shane Warne on VVS Laxman's 281 in Kolkata in 2001 - The Cricket Monthly

Books discussed:

No Spin: My Autobiography - Shane Warne; The Vincibles - Gideon Haigh; Mystery Spinner: The story of Jack Iverson - Gideon Haigh; Stroke of Genius: Victor Trumper and the Shot that Changed Cricket - Gideon Haigh; Crossing the Line - Gideon Haigh

We review Australia's win over England in the World Cup match at Lord's.

Talking points: England flirting with elimination, Australia hiding their fifth bowler and thatball from Mitchell Starc

Participants:

Peter Miller (@thecricketgeek)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

*

Related:

Peter Miller and Dave Tickner: 28 Days' Data: England's Troubled Relationship With One-Day Cricket

Sriram Veera: Knock, knock, anybody home? 

We discuss the third Test in Sydney, where India held on for a valiant draw.

Talking Points:

• When a draw was like a win
• Steve Smith resumes normal service
• The versatile Mr Jadeja
• Rohit and Gill - partners in promise
• India's decision to pick Pant despite his wicketkeeping problems
• Is one allowed to get run-out in Test cricket?
• Pant's sizzling 97 on day five
• Ashwin and Vihari and the show of defiance
• Can India find 11 fit men for Brisbane?

Participants:

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

A tragicomedy called 36 all out – 81allout podcast

The Melbourne bounceback - 81allout podcast

The Melbourne Miracle of 1981 – 81allout podcast

The draw that meant so much more - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan, 81allout.com

Pujara's triumph: cricket, lovely cricket - Kartikeya Date

Bruised and abused, Indians make their own luck at the SCG - Sidharth Monga, ESPNcricinfo

Rishabh Pant's keeping - Ben Jones, cricviz.com

*

Lead image from here.

In this special episode, we chat with veteran sports writer Sharda Ugra.

From interviewing star cricketers as a college student... to blazing a trail as a sports journalist in the early '90s... to writing on a variety of sports for The Hindu... to being the chief sports writer at India Today... to presently working as a senior editor at ESPNcricinfo... Sharda has been an inspiration for a number of sports writers around the world.

We chat with Sharda about her illustrious career – and are riveted by her range of experiences as well as her inexhaustible bank of anecdotes.

Talking Points:

• The magazines that hooked her on to sports
• The interviews she and her college buddies did with the stars of the 1980s
• Memories of Imran Khan
• Landing her first job
• Finding Sachin Tendulkar's number
• Covering sailing 
• Watching Kenya's biggest cricketing moment
• The match-fixing shock
• The fall of Hansie Cronje
• The Azharuddin she interviewed
• Authoring a book with John Wright
• The Ganguly era
• Player access and the importance of stories
• Women's cricket - past, present and future
• And much, much more

Participants:

Sharda Ugra

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Related:

The stolid buccaneer - Sharda Ugra on Mark Taylor

Hansie-gate - Sharda Ugra's piece on the King Commission hearings

What makes sportsmen go corrupt

Manoj Prabhakar? Love? - on a cricketer Sharda Ugra hated to love

All Indian cricketers should write books like this - Sharda Ugra reviews Sanjay Manjrekar's book

Girls aloud - Sharda Ugra on how TV is redefining TV commentary

Couchtalk with Sharda Ugra - interview with Subash Jayaraman

This is personal - Sharda Ugra's letter to Mumbai post 26/11

In our latest episode we are pleased to put out a random podcast on random cricketing memories.

Highlights:

• When Gavaskar and Dravid sported moustaches
• When Nayan Mongia wore a yellow helmet
• When Phil Tufnell went after Richard Blakey
• When Tim Zoehrer showed his backside
• When Tony Greig and Harsha Bhogle used Pythogoras Theorem to explain cricketing matters
• When the sun stopped play in Chennai
• Etc

Participants:

K Balakumar (@kbalakumar)

Sriram Venkateswaran (@sriram140)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

The truth about Nayan Mongia- Rahul Bhattacharya

Zoehrer scotches sacking claims

Sehwag: the last Samurai- Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Mark Waugh's six over Vettori in Perth- Youtube video

Ball from Mushtaq Ahmed goes between off and middle stump- Youtube video

We speak to British playwright Maatin about his play Duck, which looks at the cricketing events of 2005 through the prism of a 15-year-old boy in a public school in London.

You can buy tickets to the play here.

What the play is about:

It’s the summer of 2005, and Ismail – ‘Smiley’ to his friends – is about to become the youngest-ever player in his elite public school’s First XI cricket team. He sets his sights on immortality – breaking the school batting record and getting his name into Wisden. But at the start of the season, new coach Mr. Eagles takes a particular dislike to him, threatening to derail Ismail’s historic moment. Worse still, no one seems to get what he’s going through. Set during England’s famous Ashes victory and the events of 7/7, Ismail discovers that cricket might not be able to take care of everything as it once did.

Talking Points:

• The impetus to write the play and how closely it resembles Maatin's childhood
• The challenges of being an outsider in the British public school system
• The memories of the 2005 Ashes when seen along with the 7/7 bombings
• Azim Rafiq's testimony and what it meant for minorities in English cricket
• The burden of needing to be a 'good immigrant' in England
• The obviously visible Muslims who have been integral to England's recent rise
• Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid: what wearing their faith on their sleeves has meant
• The backlash Moeen got when he wore an armband in support of Palestine
• The infamous 'Tebbit Test' that questioned people's loyalty to their country
• The complexities around fandom - and how it is hard to explain one's support
• How easy it is to fall in love with the game - and also fall out of love with it

Participants:

Maatin (@maatin)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Watch Duck - details here.
• Anyone But England - Mike Marqusee  - Amazon
• ‘Cricket in England is held back by its own mythology’ – interview with author Duncan Stone - 81allout podcast on 'A Different Class' 
• British Muslim experiences in English first-class cricket - Daniel Burdsey - International Review for the Sociology of Sport
• Moeen - Moeen Ali autobiography - Amazon
• It Isn’t an Easy Time to Be a British Muslim. Cricket Helps - Moeen Ali profile - New York Times
• Stokistan - Scott Oliver on how Pakistani players have lit up the north Straffordshire leagues - The Cricket Monthly
• The rainbow beauty of Hashim Amla - Niren Tolsi - The Cricket Monthly

We review the first half of the World Cup and discuss some of the main themes from the last three weeks.

Talking points: England making the tournament interesting; rain, rain and more rain; teams trying to bounce opponents out; too many captains deciding to field first; and the growing separation between the good teams and the also-ran.

Participants:

Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

*

Related:

Australia's World Cup of gambles by Jarrod Kimber.

Bouncers to the fore as bowlers hunt wickets by Sidharth Monga.

In this special episode, we chat with the veteran cricket writer Vijay Lokapally on India's 1996 tour to England.

Vijay relives the incandescent innings and spells he witnessed through the tour - both in the Tests as well as the tour games. He also gives us a detailed recap of Navjot Sidhu quitting the tour and remembers a special interview he did with Sachin Tendulkar.

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

(PSA: Thank you for contributing towards our fund-raising drive for Covid relief in India. We have matched your contributions and donated to Unicef, who are doing great on-the-ground work and helping those in need)

Talking Points:

• India playing a Test series after more than seven months of one-day cricket
• Vikram Rathour's string of runs in the tour games - and his reputation in domestic cricket
• The Navjot Sidhu fiasco - and Vijay's role in the series of events
• Tendulkar's symphony in the Edgbaston wreckage
• Devon Malcolm's fan-boy moment after Derbyshire's game v the Indians
• Sourav Ganguly's take-that moment at Lord's - and the pristine strokeplay
• Rahul Dravid's immaculate technique - as well as his love for books
• Venkatesh Prasad's break-out tour
• Sandeep Patil's challenges on his first assignment as team manager
• The captaincy changing hands and players who faded away at the end of the series

Participants:

Vijay Lokapally (@vijaylokapally)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

From Bedi to Kohli: a cricket writer's journey - 81allout podcast with Vijay Lokapally; Ganguly all set to make his Test debut - Vijay Lokapally's piece on the morning of the Lord's Test in 1996; Navjot Singh Sidhu's sudden mid-tour retirement raises questions - India Today archive; Lele reveals why Sidhu walked out of 1996 tour - Times of India; The man who stole the show - Wisden Almanac profile of Dickie Bird; Golden debuts - R Mohan's report on the Lord's Test; Highlights of the 1996 Lord's Test - YouTube video; Rahul Dravid 95 at Lord's on debut - YouTube video; Interview with Sourav Ganguly after his debut hundred - YouTube video; Sledges brawls and epic contests - 81allout podcast with Vijay Bharadwaj and Hemang Badani; Meaning of Sport - Simon Barnes; Breath of Sadness - Ian Ridley

In this episode, we chat with the veteran cricket writer Suresh Menon on one of India's greatest cricketers - Bishan Bedi

Suresh talks about his early impressions of Bedi and the spin quartet, and explores his relationship with Bedi as a fan, a cricket writer, a biographer and a friend.

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The late 1960s and the inception of the spin quartet
• Bedi the prodigy - born to bowl spin
• Bedi under Pataudi and Wadekar - the blossoming of an artist
• Suresh's 2011 biography - Bishan: portrait of an artist
• The craft of left-arm spin - Bedi's digital manipulations
• Why Bedi v Pras might have been more logical than Venkat v Pras
• 'No Bedi, no Test'
• The Vaseline affair in 1976
• Bedi's knack for speaking his mind (and getting into trouble)
• Bedi - the father of cricket in North Zone and Delhi
• His various post-playing avatars - but always calling a spade a spade

Participants:

Suresh Menon (@surmenon)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

Bishan: Portrait of an Artist - Suresh Menon's 2011 biography of Bedi - Amazon.com

Graceful and gracious - Suresh Menon on his favourite cricketer, Bishan Bedi - ESPNcricinfo.com

'I was obsessed with bowling' -Bishan Bedi interview - The Cricket Monthly

Never a cricketer of the year - Mike Brearley on Bishan Bedi -Wisden Almanack

Bedi v Kim Hughes - 1977, Sydney - YouTube.com

Sydney Test 1977, Day 4 - Jai Galagali's channel - YouTube.com

Bedi interview with Karan Thapar, 2000 - YouTube.com

Feeling is the Thing that Happens in 1000th of a Second - Christian Ryan - Amazon.com

From Bedi to Kohli: a cricket writer's journey - 81allout podcast with Vijay Lokapally

We review the third and final Test between South Africa and India - which South Africa won by seven wickets and rounded off a monumental series win.

Note: Readers in India can now buy Mike Marqusee's classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting at the Atta Galatta bookstore in Bangalore. They are happy to courier copies to those outside Bangalore if you write in at: Thebookstore@attagalatta.com (You can also tweet at their handle: https://twitter.com/AttaGalatta). It is also available on Flipkart now and will soon be available on Amazon as well.

Outside India, War Minus the shooting is available as a paperback and e-copy on Amazon.

Talking Points:

• A fast bowling shootout - with South Africa's attack tailor-made for the Newlands pitch
• Rabada's stupendous spell, and the absorbing battle with Kohli
• Keegan Petersen coming of age in Test cricket
• Rahane and Pujara - the end of the road?
• Rishabh Pant's exceptional innings on a tricky pitch
• The Elgar DRS moment - and the outrage around the lbw decision
• Kohli's chat via the stump mic - and angst against the broadcaster

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd); Ashoka (@ABVan)

Related:

• A second-innings triumph for South Africa - Kartikeya Date - A Cricketing View; The rise of Petersen, the wisdom of Elgar and a great SA victory - Firdose Moonda and Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo; South Africa needed Rabada at his best to stop Kohli - Telford Vice - Cricbuzz; Petersen the hero of South Africa's iconic home victory - Firdose Moonda - ESPNcricinfo; Temba Bavuma, a cricketer with principles - Niren Tolsi - Newframe; Why Virat Kohli is unlikely to get banned for his Cape Town outburst - Ben Gardner - Wisden; What do broadcasters have to do with ball tampering? - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo; Crime and Punishment - Alok Prasanna Kumar on penalties and breaches under the ICC's code of conduct- The Cricket Monthly 

Buy War Minus the Shooting in:

India (e-copy only)

USA (paperback and e-copy)

UK (paperback and e-copy)

Australia (paperback and e-copy)

Canada (paperback and e-copy)

Germany (paperback and e-copy)

For the rest – please check your country-specific Amazon pages.

In the latest episode we revisit War Minus the Shooting, Mike Marqusee's book on his journey through the subcontinent at the 1996 World Cup.

Participants:

Sharda Ugra; Fidel Fernando (@afidelf); Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related: War Minus the Cliches - Rob Steen's review; Why Cricket? - Mike Marqusee; Mike Marqusee's website with many of his writings; Madras Machinations - Benjamin Golby on Mike Marqusee's novel - The Cricket Monthly; 'You Little Beauty' - 81allout podcast on the 1996 World Cup

Books discussed: War Minus the Shooting; Anyone But England; Slow Turn; Pundits From Pakistan; Beyond a Boundary

In this special episode of the 81allout podcast, we chat with the photographer Mala Mukerjee on her historic photo from the tied Test in Madras in 1986.

Ms Mukerjee watched the last day of that famous Test from the stands in Chepauk and, while anticipating a thrilling finish, clicked a number of photos that captured the dramatic finish. The most famous of those was the shot she clicked at the very end of the match.

Ms Mukerjee has gone on to become an internationally renowned photographer and has held several exhibitions around the world. Her many accolades and awards include honors from the Photographic Resource Centre in Boston, the Academy of Visual Media in New Delhi, and the Bangladesh Photographic Society.

You can view her work here.

Talking points:

Memories of the final day from Chepauk in 1986

The circumstances that helped her be at the right place at the right time

The tension enveloping the ground in the final overs

The challenges posed by the fading light

The final ball and the historic click

A visit from N Ram, the editor of The Hindu

The Hindu front page the next day

The blatant copyright infringement that the photograph has suffered

The luck and skill involved in cricket photography

Participants:

Mala Mukerjee

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@Sidvee)

*

Related:

When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - 81allout podcast with Michael Sexton

Scorecards of the tied Test – Chennai ’86

Madras Magic – a documentary on the Chennai tied Test

Martin Smith on how the tied Test ended the career of Vikram Raju

Arunabha Sengupta on the dramatic last day of the Madras Test

Dean Jones and the second tied Test at the Bradman Museum

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

We review the fourth Test of the England v India series - which India won by 157 runs.

Talking Points

• Two Oval triumphs - 50 years apart
• India once again leaving out Ashwin
• The decision to go with four fast bowlers on this surface
• Shardul the enigma
• How the quality of bowling magnifies the intensity of the viewing experience
• Does Bumrah really set batsmen up?
• The Ajinkya Rahane question
• Rohit Sharma's first hundred outside Asia - and what it meant to one fan

Participants:

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Related:

• 78 all out: England v India, Headingley Test review - 81allout podcast;
• India ride on awesome foursome: England v India, Lord's Test review - 81allout podcast;
• Masterful Jasprit Bumrah is the true architect of India's triumph - Jonathan Liew, Guardian;
• Tireless Jadeja's control on a lifeless pitch justifies Kohli's faith in team combination - Osman Samiuddin, ESPNcricinfo;
• India in the field - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview substack

In our latest episode we chat with ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent – and one of the finest cricket writers in the world – Andrew Fidel Fernando.

Highlights:

• A brief review of the recent Sri Lanka v New Zealand Test series
• Three great Test innings in the last five years - by two Kusals and one Dinesh
• A streak of 26 straight Tests that have yielded results in Sri Lanka
• The soundtrack of Test cricket in Sri Lanka (as well as the sounds that are being missed)
• Fidel's favorite moments from Test cricket in Sri Lanka in this decade
• Is it time to rename Galle as the 'home of cricket'?

Participants:

Andrew Fidel Fernando (@afidelf)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related pieces and podcasts:

'I try and give voice to the fans' emotions'- 81allout podcast with Andrew Fidel Fernando

Mendis' triumph over improbability 

Kusal Perera bats with body, heart and soul in innings of a lifetime

Chandimal's anarchic mayhem lifts Sri Lanka

Dale Steyn, the greatest fast bowler of the century

Galle revels in perfect day

Some cricketers we love at first sight; some, we take time to appreciate; others, we do not understand the fuss; and still others are quick to get under our skins. Often, we review our views over time - and often surprise ourselves by changing our opinions about cricketers. 

Kapil Dev, Ishant Sharma, Ravi Shastri, Ian Chappell, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Steve Waugh - all formidable cricketers. All of whom we have changed our minds over at various stages. And all of whom we focus on in this episode - to understand the evolution of our fandom.

Talking Points:

• What Kapil Dev chasing Hadlee's record meant for many young fans
• The staggering image of Kapil being a combination of Bumrah and Pant
• Ishant Sharma's arrival in Test cricket - and the 'trolling' years that followed
• Post-2016 Ishant - the most improved Indian cricketer this decade?
• The Ravi Shastri stereotypes - and how it is easy to be trapped by all of them
• The legendary forthrightness of Ian Chappell
• Rahul Dravid's purple patch - and why that record needs to be revisited
• Mohammad Azharuddin: a glorious rise, an inglorious fall
• Steve Waugh and the danger of hyping 'mental disintegration' 
• Sachin Tendulkar - the slow journey from hero to mortal

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Prashant DP (@prashantdptweet) | Prashant's cricket posts on Medium

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Talking fandom: love, loyalty, and a sense of belonging - 81allout podcast
• That special whistle: the phenomenon called CSK - 81allout podcast
• Conversation with veteran journalist Pradeep Magazine - 81allout podcast
• Whatever happened to Ravi Shastri 1.0 - Sharda Ugra - ESPNcricinfo
• History’s witness: The IPL final, as Ravi Shastri saw it - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - Yahoo Cricket
• Ishant Sharma interview with Gaurav Kapoor - Breakfast with Champions - YouTube
• Ian Chappell on captaincy and much more - 81allout podcast
• The inscrutable craftsman - Rohit Brijnath - ESPNcricinfo
• Like father, like son - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - ESPNcricinfo
• Out of my Comfort Zone - Steve Waugh autobiography - Amazon
• Captain courageous, like Tendulkar, vs Rihanna - Mukul Kesavan - NDTV

In episode 156 of the 81allout podcast we are joined by former India Test cricketer and Ranji Trophy colossus Abhinav Mukund - who has now turned into an astute analyst on TV. Abhinav is piqued by Kartikeya Date's latest article in ESPNcricinfo (Do India choke in high-profile ODIs) and shares his perspective on how a player approaches (and talks about pressure), and weighs in on the question: is pressure a good parameter to explain the result of a match?

 Talking Points:

• The times when a player feels he is in the 'middle of a volcano'
• How players talk about the game and their part in it
• What players mean when they talk about 'pressure'
• Does pressure affect performance in a sustained manner?
• Talking about skill v talking about mental faculties
• Is it fair for strangers to make assumptions about players' mental abilities?
• The problem with attributing the result to mental strength/weaknesses
• What happened to South Africa in the 2015 World Cup semi-final?
• The value of finding a mindspace when 'nothing matters' 

Participants:

Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Buy War Minus Shooting - Mike Marqusee | Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - Mike Coward

Related:

• ‘I have found my love for the game in the last couple of years’ – 81allout podcast speaks to Abhinav Mukund on his career and challenges
• Do India choke in high-profile ODIs? Here's what the numbers say - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo
• Why there's no such thing as a finisher in ODI cricket - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo
• What pressure does to cricketers - Aakash Chopra - ESPNcricinfo
• The mother of all myths - The Cricket Monthly - Tom Eaton on the narrative of South Africa choking in World Cups
• What Is Clutch? A Look at the Most Overused Term in Sports - Rob Goldberg - Bleacher Report
• Cognitive Biases in Sports: The Irrationality of Coaches, Commentators and Fans - Samuel McNerney - Scientific American

The purple patch of Ben Stokes has provoked a lot of discussion about the greatest allrounders. We take a deep-dive to talk about the role of allrounders in Test cricket, the great allrounders over the years, and how to make sense of their immense contributions.

Our guests for the episode are Arj and Rav. They have recently started a cricket project called CricVestigate which aspires to uncover hidden cricket truths - past and present, and to provide alternative opinions and analysis.

Talking points:

What is a good definition for an allrounder?

The allrounder index created by CricVestigate to rank the allrounders

Batting allrounders vs Bowling allrounders

Great cricketer vs Great allrounder

The pitfalls of the allrounder obsession and its impact on team balance

Narrative fallacies around allrounders - mixing formats, aggregate career stats vs peak phase stats

Is it possible to nurture an allrounder?

Do the different skills of an allrounder necessarily add value to the team?

Are wicketkeeper-batsmen allrounders? Making sense of the Gilchrist phenomenon

Allrounders XI playing in their positions

Participants:

Arj

Rav (@rav_man0)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

*

Lead image from Wisden.com

Related:

Cricinfo's S. Rajesh on Gary Sobers - an allrounder like no other and Imran Khan - A giant among allrounders

Gideon Haigh on Garry Sobers and Kapil Dev

Osman Samiuddin on Imran - the original transformer

Cricinfo's Greatest allrounder poll

Kartikeya Date on Kallis, a great batsman but no allrounder

CricVestigate's allrounder index:

 In the first episode of the 81allout podcast, we talk to Vijay Arumugam, a cricket fan based in Sydney, and discuss the first-ever Test match at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Vijay and a group of friends drove from Sydney to Canberra, and he shares some of their experiences from the recent Australia v Sri Lanka Test.

Podcast participants: Vijay Arumugam (@vijayarumugam), Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee), Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd )

In the latest episode of the podcast we chat with Roberta Moretti Avery, the captain of the Brazilian women's cricket team.

Roberta talks about how she stumbled upon cricket and describes the growing popularity of the game in Brazil - especially among women.

Note: Readers in India can now buy Mike Marqusee's classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting on Flipkart and Amazon. Readers outside India, can buy the book on Amazon.

Talking Points:

• Roberta's transition from golf to cricket, and the freedom of the 360-degree swing
• The Brazilian version of street-cricket called Taco
• Setting up pathways for young girls to progress through the system
• The challenge of explaining the complexity of cricket to those new to the game
• Changing the grammar of cricket with a mix of English and Portuguese
• The exposure one gains from tournaments like the Fairbreak Invitational
• Supporting women cricketers in their late 20s and early 30s
• A five-year vision for Brazil cricket

Participants:

Roberta Moretti Avery (@MorettiAvery)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

Related:

The Brazlian city with more cricketers than footballers - Melinda Farrell - Sporting News

Why cricket is gaining popularity in Brazil - The Economist

How cricket is gaining new ground in Brazil - Shashank Kishore - ESPNcricinfo

Matt Featherstone on cricket in Brazil - ICC

Cricket growing in popularity in Brazil - CGTN America

Cricket Female Initiative of the Year - ICC

Brazil v Canada, 2021 - @CricketBadge - Twitter

Cricket's Fair Break - Jarrod Kimber - YouTube

We review India's dominating win over South Africa in the recently concluded home series.

Talking Points:

The superlative performance of the Indian fast bowlers

South Africa's inability to retain control while bowling, and the fierce test their batsmen failed to pass

Rohit Sharma's stellar start as a Test opener

The inspired decision to opt for the specialist wicketkeeper

A bold call on Mayank Agarwal

Kohli's cruise mode

Participants:

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

Saving the Test - Mike Jakeman

On the difficult of watching Kohli when he is cruising along - Karthik Krishnaswamy

*

Lead image from BBC

We review the second Test between India and New Zealand in Pune where Mitchell Santner bowled New Zealand to their greatest series victory. 

Support 81allout on Ko-fi

Talking Points:

• New Zealand's finest hour: breaking India's 13 year home streak
• When India were dominated in typical Indian conditions 
• Mitchell Santner's golden Test
• India's batters caught between defense and attack
• India's spinners undone by a barrage of sweeps and reverse-sweeps
• Washington Sundar's terrific spells 
• Were India's spinners too quick for this pitch?
• The question of length: and the problem in front of Ashwin and Jadeja 
• Rohit Sharma's urge to attack - and how it could be getting him in trouble
• Jaiswal's blistering knock
• India's problem of a core group aging together

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Santner Collects Thirteen, New Zealand Make History - Kartikeya Date - Cricketing View Substack
• Black Caps' greatest achievement fuelled by unlikely spin-bowling hero Mitchell Santner - Andrew Voerman - Stuff.co.nz

• Bittersweet moment for India, as one of cricket's great winning streaks ends - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo

One of the themes in our episode on team selection was how the change in playing conditions of ODIs had made selection hard. We dialed in on how the change in Powerplay rules, along with the two new balls at both ends, has reshaped in the cricketing contest in ODIs and thereby reshaped the way teams are being selected.

Support 81allout via Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• How profound has the impact of the ODI Powerplay rules been since 2015?
• Is there clear evidence that introduction of two new balls at both ends has skewed the contest more in batters' favour?
• Has the elimination of the middle overs stalemate resulted in a diminishing role for part-time bowlers?
• How relevant are the middle-order accumulators since the new Powerplay rules came into being?
• Are teams fielding deeper bowling attacks than they did in the past?
• Is there scope for touch players under the new order?
• How have different teams responded to the change in Powerplay rules over the years?
• Given the competitive nature of teams in this format, can there be an overwhelming favourite at this World Cup?
• Has the elimination of stalemate resulted in bowlers attacking more in the middle overs or are batters scoring more runs at a faster clip? Can both be true?
• Has the Powerplay rule change enhanced the parity between bat and ball. Or has it diminished it?

Participants:

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Related:

Rule  changes in ODI cricket over the years - Lalith Kalidas and VS Aravind - Sportstar

How to watch ODI cricket - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview

How the ODI rule changes have affected run-scoring - S Rajesh - ESPNcricinfo

What we talk about when we talk about selection - 81allout podcast

Is there any other sport that allows recreational players to rub shoulders with superstars? Scott Oliver has traced down these delightful stories in a new book called Sticky Dogs and Stardust and we speak to Scott to understand his passion for this type of story and how these experiences can reveal so much about a cricketer and their love for the game. 

Among the several superstars to have played in club cricket in England, the book tells the stories of all-time greats such as Adam Gilchrist, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Wasim Akram, and Shane Warne - and also reveals what these cricketers' presence meant for their amateur team-mates. 

Support 81allout on Ko-fi

*

Sticky Dogs and Stardust by Scott Oliver is available to buy in hardback and ebook formats. You can get 10% off the standard price at ⁠thenightwatchman.net⁠ with coupon code 81ALLOUT. Hardback (£15.30 + shipping when you use 81ALLOUT): ⁠https://www.thenightwatchman.net/buy/sticky-dogs-and-stardust⁠ Ebook (£4.49 when you use 81ALLOUT): ⁠https://www.thenightwatchman.net/buy/sticky-dogs-and-stardust-ebook⁠ 

Talking Points:

• The allure of the big star playing the small game
• The thrill of seeing a youngster with the potential for greatness
• Seventeen-year old Adam Gilchrist finding himself in England
• The remarkable story of Viv Richards in his pomp at Rishton CC
• The sight of great fast bowlers like Marshall and Donald terrorizing amateurs
• The cult of Garry Sobers at Norton CC
• The cricketers who disappointed their clubs 
• The passing of an era - and how cricket's current economy doesn't allow for superstars to be part of an amateur setting 

Participants:

Scott Oliver (@reverse_sweeper)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Books republished by 81allout:

• War Minus the Shooting - Mike Marqusee
• Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - Mike Coward
• The Summer Game - Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Sticky Dogs and Stardust review - Martin Chandler - Cricketweb.net
• List of Scott Oliver's articles

In episode 152 of the podcast we review the second Test between India and Australia in Delhi. The match see-sawed for two days until Australia collapsed on the third morning - and India sealed a six-wicket win.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• Australia's tactic to sweep against spinners on a pitch keeping low
• Batting in India in the third innings - a most perilous task
• The Smith sweep to Ashwin, and Labuschagne playing the ball off the pitch
• Ashwin and Jadeja - and the subtle variation in lengths across innings
• Could Australia have used their feet and lofted more in the second innings?
• Ashwin's mesmeric spell on the first morning
• Nathan Lyon's drift and turn from around the wicket
• How the Axar-Ashwin partnership tilted the scales

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Ashoka (ABVan)

*

Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee |

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

*

Related:

• Jadeja's seven-wicket haul - BCCI.tv video
• If Jadeja doesn't get you, Ashwin must - 81allout podcast review of the 1st Test
• R Ashwin and the story of a most magical over - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• Ashwin-Jadeja combo a nightmare for any touring team to India - Dinesh Karthik - Cricbuzz
• India get the better of Australia, one flick at a time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• The Plan: How Fletcher and Flower Transformed English Cricket - Steve James - Amazon
• Batsmen could learn from the Hayden way - Andrew Ramsey - cricket.com.au

We review India's win over Pakistan in the World Cup match at Old Trafford.

Talking points: Rohit's majestic hundred, Pakistan's strange tactics, and a most forgettable batting performance

Participants:

Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

*

Related: India v Pakistan in World Cups

We rewind to the 2011 World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh - and talk about ODI cricket back then, the bowler-friendly nature of many games, the big upsets, the nail-biting finishes, and a cathartic moment for India - and a generation that had never knew what it meant to win a World Cup. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The roundabout connection between the hosts of the 2011 World Cup and India taking part in the 2007 World T20
• How India had turned into a feisty ODI side leading up to the World Cup
• The close ODI series in South Africa before the World Cup
• Sehwag and Kohli trouncing Bangladesh in the opening game
• The pulsating tie against England in Bangalore
• Australia's first loss in a World Cup since 1999 - against Pakistan
• Steyn leading South Africa to a thrilling win in Nagpur
• Sri Lanka thriving in their home conditions - throttling the opponents
• Sri Lanka's thumping of England in the quarter-final - and echoes of 1996
• India's bowling attack - dealing in cutters, slower ones and knuckle-balls
• An unforgettable night at the Motera - when India overcame Australia
• The hype before Mohali - and the eventual anti-climax of India v Pakistan
• Mahela's silken grace in the final - an innings for the gods
• The riveting partnership between Gambhir and Kohli  
• Dhoni... finishes off in style

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

DP Prashant (@prashantdptweet)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Related:

• Previous 81allout episodes on World Cups - 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003
• On Board Test, Trial, and Triumph: My Years in BCCI - Ratnakar Shetty - Amazon
• The Test of My Life: From Cricket to Cancer and Back - Yuvraj Singh - Amazon
• 'I wanted to hug him and hit him at the same time till he confirmed we'd won the World Cup' - India's players look back on their triumph - The Cricket Monthly 
• BJP's Control of Cricket in India - Sharda Ugra - Caravan
• Kevin O'Brien's record century against England - ICC - YouTube
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast

We review the India v Pakistan match in Ahmedabad - and chat about the other themes developing in this World Cup.

Support 81allout on Ko-fi

Talking points: 

• India's enviable bowling attack for the conditions
• Jasprit Bumrah - the magician
• Kuldeep and Jadeja keeping Pakistan quiet
• Siraj and the cross-seam attack
• Rohit Sharma's evolution as an ODI batter
• Shreyas Iyer's approach to playing spin
• The joy of the Australian collapse
• New Zealand's deceptive dominance in the early stages of the World Cup

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Related:

• India demonstrate their all round strength, hammer Pakistan - Cricketingview substack
• India's bowling unit: Gods of small things - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• 81allout preview of the 2023 World Cup
• Previous 81allout episodes on World Cups - 2011, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003
• Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast
• Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

 

In this podcast, we look back at India's tour of New Zealand in 1998-99.

India had pulled off a thrilling Test series win at home against Australia earlier in the year, followed by some memorable wins in ODI tournaments, before the disheartening loss in the one-off Test in Zimbabwe in the lead up to the NZ series.

Talking Points: Simon Doull's spell from hell. Azhar's brilliant back to the walls century. The Nash-Vettori partnership that took the game away. Tendulkar's peak that produced a dazzling century. A Boxing day Test without a tradition. McMillan's short balls. Srinath's fifer, Prasad's batting, and Dravid's twin hundreds.

We review India's win over South Africa in the World Cup match at Southampton.

Talking points: Jasprit Bumrah's Test-match-style opening spell, KulCha's delightful drift, turn and dip, and Rohit Sharma's Nine-to-Five hundred

Participants:

Sriram Dayanand (@sdayanand)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

T20 started in the early 2000s but what if the format was invented 15 years earlier. Who were the players who would have excelled in the shorter format? We decided to pick a T20 side from the era before the IPL and debated how Aravinda de Silva and Brian Lara might have changed their game for T20s. And if players like Ricardo Powell and Adrian Kuiper would have had more illustrious careers than they did.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The evolution of ODIs and T20s - and how both took about 20 years ago mature
• Would players like Sunil Narine have been as big a star if not for T20s?
• The West Indian legacy in terms of accelerating the T20 evolution
• Which players from the past would have thrived in this format?
• Would you have heard much more of Alistair Brown and Michael Di Venuto had T20s been around earlier? 
• Would Aravinda de Silva have continued his Mad Max avatar in T20s?
• Ricardo Powell, Atul Bedade, Robin Singh - the superstars who could have been
• Players like Lance Klusener who rigorously practiced range-hitting 
• The value of a good googly bowler in T20s

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Deepauk Murugesan (@complicateur) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

•  Ijaz Ahmed's 84-ball 139 v India in Lahore in 1997 - YouTube
• When Surrey smashed the 50-over World Record thanks to Alistair Brown's 268 - YouTube
• When Kapil Dev hit four sixes in a row to avoid the follow-on at Lord's - YouTube
• Atul Bedade's big day in Sharjah - YouTube

We review the Super 8 phase of the T20 World Cup and touch upon Afghanistan's glorious triumph, India's sweet win against Australia, and the hopes for the semis and final.

Talking Points:

• Afghanistan's historic wins over Australia and Bangladesh
• Gurbaz and Zadran - the rocks around Afghanistan's journey
• Playing their first official cricket match to 2004 to a semi-final in 2024
• The political question around Afghanistan - and absence of public pressure
• Rohit Sharma's assault against Australia in St Lucia
• India and South Africa thriving with their Test-quality attacks
• The mystery of Kuldeep - and his indecipherable fastish spin
• Looking ahead to the semis and final

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• ‘Cricket is the only source of happiness back home’ - Ben Morse and Masoud Popalzai - CNN
• The World catches up with Australia - Gideon Haigh - Cricket et al. substack
• Perfect Imperfection for Imperfect Tournament? - Neil Manthorp - Manners-on-cricket substack
• Human rights question hangs over success story of Afghanistan's men - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo

We review the third Test between India and England in Rajkot – where a terrific all-round performance helped India go 2-1 up. 

Support 81allout at Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• India's magnificent bowling on Day 3
• How the flat pitches in this series are neutralizing Bazball
• India's spinners - turning the ball more with greater control
• Why England's batting tactics are actually a tribute to India's great bowling
• Why India are actually relentlessly attacking while England are highly defensive
• Why England should have played an extra seamer in all three Tests
• The problem for England's spinners in India - lack of control
• Sarfaraz Khan's old-school method of lofting spinners 
• Shubman Gill's tweak to his technique
• Ashwin's 500th, Jadeja's stupendous Test
• Mohammad Siraj - non-stop relentless 

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Craft Kuldeep undoes Bazball - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• India win by 434 runs - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack
• What next for Bazball after India crush England - Sky Cricket Vodcast - YouTube
• R Ashwin: the 5D chess master of modern cricket - Jarrod Kimber - YouTube

In the latest episode of the 81allout podcast, we are delighted to be joined by Trinidad-based writer, editor, and historian Vaneisa Baksh.

We talk to Vaneisa about her experiences of writing about cricket in the Caribbean, the rampant sexism she had to battle early in her career, her research on the life and career of Sir Frank Worrell, and how West Indies have taken to T20s like a duck to water. 

Also featuring: Vaneisa's ten-year fight to become a member of the Queens Park Cricket Club, and the enduring legacy of CLR James.

Participants:

Vaneisa Baksh

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Some of Vaneisa's pieces:

Christopher Henry Gayle. What can I say? 

Inside sexism

Darren Sammy, WICB slayer?

West Indies' mentorship problem

Worrell becomes captain

Take one for the team

The shoulders of a captain

In this episode of the 81allout podcast, we zero in on the cliche that makes an appearance in all sporting contests: the moments that mattered. We discuss how for fans some moments take on more significance than others, why writers need to guard against falling into narrative traps, and how the struggling media ecosystem is fertile ground for turning cricketing stories into those of heroism and villainy.

We also discuss how one approaches writing about selection, and predict what sportswriting might look like five or ten years down the line.

Participants:

Sidharth Monga, assistant editor, ESPNcricinfo

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related pieces:

Against narratives - Kartikeya Date

What's the story, Morning Glory - 81allout podcast

Rahul Tewatia and the romance of the struggle - Sidharth Monga

Who removed my spinner - Sidharth Monga

The mother of all myths - Tom Eaton, The Cricket Monthly

Why there is no such thing as a finisher in ODI cricket - by Kartikeya Date

Clock ticking on Dhoni, the T20 finisher - Sidharth Monga

We review the India v Australia match in Chennai - a tense contest that India won by six wickets.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking points: 

• India's threat with their seamers as well as spinners
• How this World Cup is rewarding Test-quality spinners
• Australia's lack of depth in the spin department
• Pat Cummins' problem at first-change
• The Kohli-Rahul partnership
• Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, and India - the early favorites
• How is 2 for 3 different from 80 for 3 when chasing 200?

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Related:

• KL Rahul's cut de grace - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• 81allout preview of the 2023 World Cup
• Previous 81allout episodes on World Cups - 2011, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003
• Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast
• Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

In the latest episode we talk to author and journalist Gideon Haigh about his recent collaboration with Wasim Akram on his memoir Sultan.

We talk about the process of writing the book and the challenges that Gideon had to overcome to ensure he told the story in Wasim's voice.

Talking Points:

• The process Gideon followed and the contrast with On Warne
• The conversations Gideon had with Imran, Dravid, Shastri, and plenty of others
• Settling on a voice for the book - how people imagine Wasim will speak like
• Wasim's ability to praise and slam his team-mates - often in the same paragraph
• Wasim's evolving relationship with Waqar - their partnership and falling out
• The physical and emotional hurdles Wasim had to overcome through his career
• The challenge of writing the chapter on match-fixing
• Was Wasim the greatest bowler of all time?
• Revisiting the great spells via YouTube

Participants:

Gideon Haigh

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar and War Minus the Shooting (both books republished by 81allout)

Related:

The wonder that was Waz - Gideon Haigh - ESPNcricinfo

'The match-fixing rumours were like a trauma... no one trusted each other' - Wasim Akram interview - Guardian

At 56, Wasim is turning his thoughts to his legacy - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo

'He made you believe the impossible' - Gideon Haigh on Shane Warne - 81allout podcast

On Warne - Gideon Haigh - Amazon

The Unquiet Ones - Osman Samiuddin - Amazon

Pakistan in 1999: the allure, the magic, the heartbreak - 81allout podcast with Ahmer Naqvi and Hassan Cheema

We review England's win over India in the World Cup match at Edgbaston.

Talking points: Is Jason Roy the new Sehwag? Is Bairstow creating imagined enemies? And what was Dhoni trying at the end? 

Participants:

Daniel Norcross (@norcrosscricket)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

(Lead pic from here)

We review the India v England match in Lucknow - and chat about the other themes emerging in the World Cup. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking points: 

• The brutal simplicity of Mohammad Shami
• Jasprit Bumrah: the bowler with the joystick
• Rohit Sharma: the ultimate problem-solver
• England's awful batting slump
• Joe Root lbw Bumrah 0
• Ben Stokes - reckless or calculated?
• Pakistan's problem with no big hitting and no quality spin
• New Zealand losing with respectability 
• The furore over umpire's call
• Bangladesh's forgettable World Cup campaign

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) 

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• World Cup weekly review - Kartikeya Date - Cricktingview Substack
• This is Mohammad Shami's World Cup - Andrew Fidel Fernando - ESPNcricinfo
• Sky Sports Cricket podcast - Nasser Hussain and Eoin Morgan dissect England's loss - Spotify
• Wasay & Iffi - YouTube
• Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast
• Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

(PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800)

In the latest episode we chat about India's historic triumphs against West Indies and England 50 years ago.

Cricket writer and author Nishad Pai Vaidya and veteran sports journalist Clayton Murzello join us to relive the heady moments through a series of anecdotes.

Talking Points:

• Indian cricket in 1971 and what the sport meant for a young nation
• The selection drama before the West Indies tour - Rusi Jeejeebhoy in, Daljit Singh out
• The 'great what if' around Kenia Jayantilal
• The dominating presence of Vijay Merchant in Indian cricket
• A largely unknown Sunil Gavaskar on his debut tour - and his glorious returns
• The inspired choice of Ajit Wadekar as captain
• The value of Dilip Sardesai across the twin victories
• Eknath Solkar and the never-say-die spirit - and that catch to dismiss Alan Knott
• Salim Durani's twin strikes in the Trinidad victory
• Wadekar getting the better of both Garry Sobers and Ray Illingworth
• The touching story of Saeed Hatteea

Participants:

Nishad Pai Vaidya (@NishadPaiVaidya)

Clayton Murzello (@claytonmurzello)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Twice Upon a Time: India's Fairytale Cricket Victories of 1971 - Nishad Pai Vaidya and Sachin Bajaj - Amazon.com

Sunny Days - Sunil Gavaskar - Amazon.com

The Beginning of India's Cricketing Greatness - Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya - Amazon.com

My Cricketing Years - Ajit Wadekar - Amazon.com

India v West Indies, 1971 - Video - Jai Galagali's YouTube channel

The History of Indian Cricket - Mihir Bose - Amazon.com

India's day of glory - Martin Williamson - ESPNcricinfo.com

The Oval Test of 1971 - YouTube video (uploaded by Martin Williamson)

Ajit Wadekar recalls his Test debut and gift from Sobers - Cricketcountry.com

The other great '71 victory - Clayton Murzello on Bombay's triumph in the 1970-71 Ranjit Trophy - Mid-Day

 In the latest episode of the 81allout podcast, we are delighted to be joined by ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent Andrew Fidel Fernando.

We talk about Fidel's experiences of covering Sri Lankan cricket and discuss the various aspects of putting together a piece on deadline. Fidel talks about what was going through his head when Kusal Perera was rewriting the history books in Durban, and the manner in which he 'joined the dots' after Sri Lanka's scarcely believable Test series win in Port Elizabeth.

Also featuring: Sandpaper-gate, Rangana Herath, Sri Lankan cricket administration, and much more...

Podcast participants: Andrew Fidel Fernando (@afidelf), Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee), Ashoka (@ABVan)

In the latest episode of the podcast we chat with cricket journalists Adam Collins and Bharat Sundaresan about their unforgettable trip - covering Australia's first tour to Pakistan in 24 years.

Note: Readers in India can now buy Mike Marqusee's classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting on Flipkart and Amazon. Readers outside India, can buy the book on Amazon.

Talking Points:

• The uncertainty over Australia's tour to Pakistan in the build-up
• The historic first day at Rawalpindi - despite the flatness of the pitch
• The Shane Warne jolt at the end of day one of the first Test
• Abdullah Shafique's ability to shift gears against a quality attack
• The Karachi Test - and Cummins and Starc paying homage to the two Ws
• Khawaja resists, Babar enthralls, Rizwan adds the cherry to the cake
• The grandeur of Lahore - and memories of the terrorist attack in 2009
• Umpire Ahsan Raza's poetic moment
• Is there anything Cummins can't do?

Participants:

Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07); Adam Collins (@collinsadam); Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Ashoka (@ABVan)

Related:

So far yet so near - under Shafiq's watch rises Abdullah - Bharat Sundaresan - Cricbuzz

The last night in Pakistan - Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon - The Final Word podcast

Ahsan Raza’s dream return to Lahore 13 years after bloody attack - Nic Savage - News.com.au

The menace and unfairness of Pat Cummins - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo

Shaheen, Naseem and a partnership of devastation - Bharat Sundaresan - Cricbuzz

The final frontier - Adam Collins, Dan Brettig and Shannon Gill - The Greatest Season That Was Presents podcast

Shane Warne - magical, tireless, immortal - 81allout podcast

We preview the upcoming five-Test series between Australia and India. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The marketing of the India v Australia rivalry: and its evolution over the years
• The profusion of India-Australia cricket in the last 25 years - and the relative dearth in the 15 years prior
• The influence of Kerry Packer on modern cricket commentary
• The legends around the Australian teams from the past: rugged, macho, sleek, hyper-efficient
• The IPL effect: and how it is much harder to hype this current Australian team
• The importance of Jasprit Bumrah through the five Tests
• The potential XI for both sides for Perth: will India go with Reddy or Prasidh?
• Australia's own ageing problem - and how it could soon catch up with them
• A great chance for many young Indians to leave a mark on the series

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• The day Kerry Packer tore apart Nine anchor Mark Nicholas - Fox Sports 

• Why Australia vs India is Test cricket's premier rivalry - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo

• 81allout podcast archives from the 2020-21 series: Preview | Adelaide | Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Interview with journalist Bharat Sundaresan

In this episode, we look back to India’s tour of Australia in 1980-81.

India went into the Test series against a strong Australian team after playing merely one Test since the end of the home series against Pakistan in 1979-80. India suffered a thumping loss by an innings at Sydney, just about squeezed out a draw at Adelaide, and registered a miraculous win in Melbourne – overcoming a massive first-innings deficit, a near-forfeiture by their captain, and injuries to three of the four bowlers in their attack.

Talking Points:

Greg Chappell’s serene double hundred

Vengsarkar’s rough start to his Test career

Lillee playing against India for the first time

The allure of Pascoe’s pace and the charm of Kim Hughes

Sandeep Patil’s sparkling 174 at Adelaide

Gavaskar’s near-forfeiture and Wing Commander Durani’s timely intervention

Viswanath’s priceless hundred

Ghavri’s “rank long hop”

Doshi’s marathon spell in the first innings and bowling through pain in the second

Kapil’s miraculous spell powered by painkillers

Participants:

S Giridhar (@midwickettales)

Raja Swaminathan (@Raja_sw)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Our special guest this week is Nadeem F Paracha, an historian, author, and cultural critic who writes a regular column for the Dawn newspaper.

NFP, as he is fondly known, has been a keen observer of Pakistan cricket for close to half a century. Drawing on his vast knowledge of history and culture, he brings a unique perspective when writing about the game. And he adds vital context with regard to the political and social conditions that have prevailed across the years.

Talking Points:

• Wasim Raja - a man ahead of his time
• Pakistan's historic win in Sydney in 1977
• Mushtaq Mohammad - a largely forgotten captain
• Zia-ul-Haq's love for television
• Javed Miandad's immortal six in Sharjah
• The 1987 World Cup - and Imran's retirement
• The ugly 1990s and the match-fixing scourge
• Inzamam and the Zia school of captaincy
• Misbah's ideology-free pragmatism

Participants:

Nadeem F Paracha (@nadeemfparacha); Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

Like Nation, Like Cricket: How Cricket Has Mirrored The Political Evolution of Pakistan - nayadaur.tv - Nadeem F Paracha; Pakistan cricket: A class, ethnic and sectarian history ; The biggest unfulfilled talent - Nadeem F Paracha on Wasim Raja; West Indies v Pakistan, Fifth Test, Kingston, 1977 - YouTube upload; Misbah's story: How the almost forgotten cricketer rose to become an icon; Cricket columns by Nadeem F Paracha in Dawn; The multi-faceted domestic giant - Gul Hameed Bhatti obituary - - Osman Samiuddin; With Allah on their side - Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2006 - Osman Samiuddin

Books discussed:

The Pakistan Anti-Hero: History of Pakistan Nationalism Through the Lives of Iconoclasts; End of past: An immediate eyewitness history of a troubled nation; Unquiet Ones; Cutting Edge; Imran: Autobiography of Imran Khan; Inside Out; Art of Captaincy

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

(We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800)

Our special guest this week is Jai Galagali, a cricket fan who runs a YouTube channel focused on Indian cricket history.

Jai talks about falling in love with the game in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his quest to seek out clips from the Films Division of India.

"How do we remember so much from some phase of our life and so little from many others?" Jai explores this question through the conversation.

Talking Points:

• Discovering the inner child and love for cricket
• Seeing Chandra, Vishy, Prasanna and so many larger-than-life figures for the first time
• Watching cricket highlights in the cinema theaters in the 1970s
• Viswanath and the poetic essence of cricket
• The history of the Films Division and documenting a young nation's evolving cultural, political and social landscape
• Zul Vellani - the master of the universal Indian accent
• The difficulty of procuring archives from the Film Division of India
• The cancellation of his YouTube channel and Shashi Tharoor's role in its revival
• A personal trauma that propelled Jai towards his passion project
• Interviewing CD Gopinath about India's first Test victory

Participants:

Jai Galagali (@jaigalagali)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Jai Galagali's YouTube channel

India v West Indies, Bangalore, 1974 - YouTube

Vinoo Mankad: interviews - YouTube

Kapil Dev's first Test century - India v West Indies, 1979 - YouTube

Subhash Gupte original bowling action - YouTube

India v England, Golden Jubilee Test, 1980 - YouTube

Vijay Hazare radio autobiography - YouTube - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Now playing: vintage Indian cricket reels on YouTube - Kanishkaa Balachandran - The Hindu 

The things we remember, the things we forget - 81allout podcast

From mustache to Mushtaq - 81allout podcast

What we talk about when we talk about cricket - 81allout podcast

In the latest episode of the 81allout podcast we discuss recent controversies around umpiring and the seemingly gradual erosion of umpires' authority.

Was Dhoni justified in walking onto the field and arguing with the umpires?  Is there data to prove that umpiring standards in this IPL has been worse than in previous editions?

We touch upon the effects of technology on assessing umpires, the role of commentators on shaping the narrative and how it is impossible to sometimes say whether an umpire got a decision right or wrong.

Participants:

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch),

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview),

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee),

Max (@maxdavinci)

We review the World Cup final where Travis Head and Pat Cummins inspired a triumph for the ages.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi.

Talking points: 

• Australia's remarkable achievement - and this triumph in comparison to their previous World Cup wins
• Rohit Sharma's approach at the start of the innings
• Virat Kohli and the ability to strike at six an over on any pitch
• The slowdown in the middle overs against fine Australian bowling
• Cummins, Hazlewood and their brilliant variations
• Shami opening the bowling instead of Siraj
• Bumrah's beauty to dismiss Steve Smith
• Travis Head's unforgettable assault

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Great final caps Australia's greatest year - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview
• Watch out for Shami when he's running in like a horse - Bharat Arun - ESPNcricinfo
• Advance Australia, inevitably - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo
• Krishnamachari Srikkanth's analysis of the final - YouTube
• Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast
• Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

We review the the first Test between Australia and India at Perth - a remarkable game where the ball dominated the bat... until it did not. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• The significance (and surprise) of India's 295-run victory at Perth
• The toss advantage, and how India made the most of it
• Watching a game live at Perth - and how different it was
• Is a Test match in Australia now like a destination wedding for Indians?
• Jasprit Bumrah's latest greatest spell
• The lengths from hell: what makes Bumrah so good
• Jaiswal's range of strokeplay
• Rishabh Pant's keeping and the wide area he opens up for the slips
• The Kohli industrial complex
• Nitish's Reddy's impressive debut
• KL Rahul's technique against the moving ball
• Australia's top order problems 

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• India beat Australia by 295 runs - Kartikeya Date - Cricketing View Substack
• Bumrah post-match press conference - YouTube
• Bumrah dominates Australia in the first test match, a breakdown - Jomboy Media - YouTube
• Australia's mission improbable: crack Jasprit Bumrah's genius in 10 days - Barney Ronay - Guardian
• To watch cricket at the ground or on TV? It’s complicated - 81allout podcast

• 81allout podcast archives from the 2020-21 series: Preview | Adelaide | Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Interview with journalist Bharat Sundaresan

How much does bowling matter in T20s and how does one measure the potency of a bowler in this format? What are the measures of excellence for a T20 bowler? 

Support 81allout on Ko-fi

Talking Points:

• How does one describe a good T20 bowler?
• Is it possible to separate actions and outcomes for T20 bowling? 
• A format that offers the bowlers almost no leverage
• What is the role of bowlers in a contest designed to be between bat and bat?
• Does a great T20 bowler need any particular skills? 
• The value of bowlers with unconventional actions
• What Jasprit Bumrah does well in T20s
• Why T20 bowlers can't be viewed in the same way as Test or ODI bowlers
• Can we gauge bowling in T20s before hitting has reached its full potential?
• The future of T20 bowling - and why some rule changes can bring bowlers into the game
• The Harshal Patel problem for T20 bowlers
• Are teams being inefficient when paying huge sums for bowlers?

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Karthikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Hitting v Batting: the choice that dictates the shape of a T20 contest - 81allout podcast
• Bowling doesn't really matter in T20 - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview
• Ferociously fast and thrillingly direct: how Mayank went bang, bang, bang - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• 'If you go searching for wickets in T20, you're playing into the batsman's hand' - Samuel Badree interview by Nagraj Gollapudi - The Cricket Monthly
• ICC recommends ODI rule changes - Cricket Australia 

We review New Zealand's win over India in the first World Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.

Talking points: Jadeja's blinder, Dhoni's elimination of risk, and New Zealand winning a game of inches. 

*

Participants:

Mithun Subramanian (@smithun0)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

In the latest episode we talk to author and journalist Nicholas Brookes about his recent book An Island's XI: The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket.

We talk about Nicholas' journey in learning about different aspects of Sri Lankan cricket and touch upon some of the key themes in the book - the early 'whistle-stop tours', yearning for Test status, the massive victory against India in 1979, the aura of Satha, Opatha and the rebel tourists, Arjuna, Aravinda, Sanath, Murali - and the politics that has never been too far from the game in Sri Lanka.

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy); Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy); USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy); UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy); Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Talking Points:

• The class structure in Sri Lankan cricket and how school's cricket is so fundamental to cricket on the island
• Grace, Hobbs, Bradman, Sobers, Worrell - just some of the illustrious early visitors to Ceylon
• M Sathasivam - the charm of the cricketer, the mystique around the man, the tragedy of an accusation
• The 'rebels' who visited South Africa and the cloud that hung over the tourists
• The chaotic years leading up to the 1996 World Cup triumph
• Aravinda de Silva - everyman one minute, spectacular artist the next
• The evolution of Sanath Jayasuriya leading up to 1996
• A conversation in Peshawar: when Saqlain spoke to Murali about his doosra
• The complexity of the Murali story - the politics, the cricket, and the man himself

Participants:

Nicholas Brookes (@brookeswites); Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

The story of De Saram and Satha: batting geniuses who went to jail - Nicholas Brookes - The Cricket Monthly; In Colombo, three is not a crowd - Nicholas Brookes and Benjamin Golby - The Cricket Monthly; A Murder in Ceylon: The Sathasivam Case - Prof Ravindra Fernando - Amazon; Growing up with Murali - Andrew Fidel Fernando - The Cricket Monthly; When Murali bared his soul - Vithushan Ehantharajah - The Cricket Monthly; War Minus the Shooting - Mike Marqusee - Amazon; The lost boys of Jaffna - Andrew Fidel Fernando - The Cricket Monthly

In the latest episode of the 81allout podcast, we are delighted to be joined by ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent Mohammad Isam.

Isam opens up about the terrorist attack in Christchurch, and how it has offered him a new perspective towards cricket. We go on to talk about Bangladesh's squad for the World Cup. And their problem with chasing big totals.

Also featuring: Jersey-gate, the Imrul Kayes riddle and Rubel Hossain's Bradman-esque (bowling) average

Participants:

Mohammad Isam (@isam84),

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee),

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Some of Isam's pieces:

'There's a shooting here, please save us'

The story of the Dhaka Premier League

On the campaign trail with Mashrafe Mortaza

Mohammad Ashraful profile

We review the the third Test between Australia and India at Brisbane. Australia piled on 445 but rain helped India keep the series at 1-1. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• India's decision to persist with four bowlers an an allrounder
• The need for insurance in the lower order against Australia's attack
• Akash Deep's incisive spells with little reward
• India's multipronged. issues with their transition
• Rohit and Kohli: poor form or slowing reflexes. Or mostly bad luck?
• Pat Cummins: the master of seam and length
• Jasprit Bumrah's ability to create jeopardy at will
• R Ashwin's decision to retire midway through the series 
• Ashwin's astonishing strike rate and the legacy he leaves behind

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related

• Ashwin :the great problem-solver who played cricket for cricket's sake - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• Ashwin retires - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack
• The Encyclopedist - Gideon Haigh - Cricket et al. (subscription)
• How Ashwin remained a committed cricketer and a team man till his sudden and surprising exit - Sriram Veera - Indian Express

In this episode, we talk to S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath, authors of the book Mid-wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar.

Giri and Raghu take us through their lifelong journey as cricket fans - and help us understand the magic and aura that surrounded some of the greats from the past. Memories, anecdotes, technique, literature: the stories never stop.

Talking Points:

• Learning about the game through books, radio commentary and at stadiums
• The singular Mr Venkataraghavan - a breed apart in Tamil Nadu cricket
• The joy of watching close-in catchers as India's great spin quartet spun a web
• Why Neil Harvey is so revered among old-timers in Madras
• Gundappa Viswanath - batting side-on, oozing class against the greatest attacks
• Bedi's poetry, Chandra's electricity, Prasanna's flight
• The extraordinary Kapil Dev and his ability to rotate strike at will
• The great slip catchers - and Azhar pouching them without a sound
• An all-time XI from the guests' experience of following the game

Participants:

S Giridhar (@MidWicketTales)

VJ Raghunath

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

Mid-Wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar - S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath - Amazon.com

From Mumbai to Durban - India's Greatest Tests - S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath - Amazon.com

Wrist Assured: an autobiography - S Giridhar on G Viswanath's autobiography - Hindu BusinessLine

They too played for India - S Giridhar - ESPNcricinfo

The kinship of cricket lovers - S Giridhar - Hindu BusinessLine

Unexpected beauty - Suresh Menon on TE Srinivasan - ESPNcricinfo

The art of Bedi - Suresh Menon on the 81allout podcast

The greatest slip catcher - Ian Chappell on Bob Simpson - ESPNcricinfo

Street cricket chronicles moves to Tamil Nadu and we were delighted to be joined by Tamil Nadu's promising wicketkeeper batsman Narayan Jagadeesan to talk about playing amateur cricket in his formative years in Coimbatore and the influence of tennis ball cricket on some of the TN legends. We also bring plenty of color from the street cricket culture in Chennai.

Jagadeesan opens up about his journey from Coimbatore to the Tamil Nadu Ranji side, playing alongside TN legends, being part of the CSK squad, and about working with Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni.

Talking points:

The hierarchy of balls: Rubber, Cork, Rubber-Cork, Tennis - Mercury > Cosco, Leather

First world problem of poor outfield in Coimbatore vs no field in Chennai

The legend who may or may not have taught L Balaji on how to grip a cricket ball

Boost-Bournvita bat, maavu bat, oil bat, oil sheet bat, modus operandi of seasoning the bats

Different dynamics of sodukku ball in Tennis ball vs Cricket ball

Transitioning from Tennis ball to professional cricket - influence of bat flow and the great horizontal swing

Common grounds of conflict - right arm over, edged but wide, constantly changing popping crease, line belongs to the umpire

Local cricket parlance - Idea batting/bowling, tough-a-podu, OC gajee, adeetail, maanga, bat-pitch, kaatu suthal

Characters of the game - Idea Mani, Veera Afridi, Switch-grip batsman

Imitating Dhoni-Gilchrist-Haddin, bowling like Mohammad Zahid, copying Dravid's classical leave and Azhar's flicks

International cricketers best suited for Chennai street cricket

Substantial rise in representation of district players in Tamil Nadu

Being part of TN team and CSK squad

Contrasting experience of working with Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni

Participants:

Narayan Jagadeesan

Ashoka Rao (@Abvan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

*

Lead image from here

Related:

Ashwin talking about his street cricket experiences (From 20.57)

Glossary of street cricket terms in TN

Street Cricket Chronicles from West Bengal - 81allout archive

Street Cricket Chronicles from Delhi – 81allout archive

Street Cricket Chronicles from Karnataka – 81allout archive

We review the recently concluded five-Test series between England and Australia that ended 2-2 - with Australia retaining the Ashes. It was a series defined by England's 'Bazball' approach to batting - though that undersells how well Australia's batters resisted English bowling and how well Australia bowled in largely batting-friendly conditions.

https://ko-fi.com/81allout

Talking Points:

• A neutral view of the Ashes - and how it is hard to pick a team to support
• The limits of Bazball - and why England's recent success stems from their bowling depth
•  Australia's bowlers adjusting to the flat pitches and England's risk-taking
• Why did England not want to prepare seamer-friendly pitches at home and capitalise on their big strength?
• Stokes v Starc on the final morning at Lord's
• The cult of Bazball - and how it fits in well with the English cricket establishment's exceptionalism
• Mark Wood's pace and Nathan Lyon's absence
• The effect of Bazball on England's bowling attack
• Stuart Broad's cinematic goodbye
•  England's chances in the five-Test series in India next year

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

Ashoka (@ABVan)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Why did Bazball fail to regain the Ashes - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack
• Stokes and McCullum want to save Test cricket but we must look beyond Big Three - Jonathan Liew - Guardian
• England 'wanted to pick Wood' but settle for Tongue in all-seam attack - Matt Roller - ESPNcricinfo
•  Bazball: a cult of bruised masculinity where you win even if you lose - Barney Ronay - Guardian
• Mark Wood and the primal theatre of pure pace - Ben Gardner - Wisden

We review two weeks of the World Cup - and chat about Maxwell, Shami, Siraj, Omarzai, Williamson, Shreyas, and much more.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  Maxwell's freakish 201* How well did Afghanistan bowl to Maxwell? The curious case of Australia's batting in this World Cup Are Afghanistan in the same phase that India were in the 1990s? India's bowling attack - the finest quintet for these conditions? Rohit and Kohli - taking chances v taking no chances Are India due a bad day? Or will they finish the World Cup unbeaten? New Zealand's NRR and the connection with how efficiently they are built South Africa's conundrum - Rabada or Shamsi?  Angelo Mathews and the moment the Nagin rivalry peaked Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon  

In this episode, we chat with journalist, blogger, author, podcaster, vlogger – or in short, the Mark Waugh of cricket coverage – Jarrod Kimber.

We focus on a piece Jarrod wrote last year titled 'The Ugly Australian: the evolution of a cricket species'. He talks about his formative experiences with sledging and hyper-aggression at the club level and how his views on behavior and moral codes have changed over time. No other team treats cricket as a team sport like Australia does, says Jarrod, but they also stretch the limits of what team-mates must do.

Talking Points:

• The island that is Australian cricket - with moral codes and 'good bloke, bad bloke' conventions that combine into the 'Australian Way'
• Club cricket in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s - when the game was sometimes a violent, contact sport
• The atmosphere at Australian cricket grounds in the pre-2000s
• The culture of Australian cricket that built up to Sandpapergate
• The two sides to Allan Border's legendary quip to Dean Jones in the furnace of Madras in 1986: 'let's get a tough Queenslander out here'
• Cameron Bancroft and the demands of young players fitting in
• The ruthless punishments handed out post Sandpapergate
• How David Warner would have been seen in the Australia of the 1980s
• The drinking culture in Australian cricket
• The vastly different culture around Australian women's cricket
  

Participants:

Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber), Patreon 

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Reverse-swing: cricket's ball-tampering in plain sight - Jarrod Kimber, ESPNcricinfo

The problem with the Australian Line of Control - Sharda Ugra, ESPNcricinfo

Crossing the Line - Gideon Haigh's book post Sandpapergate

Steve Smith's Men - Geoff Lemon's book post Sandpapergate

Man, Manlier, Manliest - Geoff Lemon, The Cricket Monthly

When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - 81allout podcast with Michael Sexton

Kumar Sangakkara welcoming Shaun Pollock to the crease in the league game of the 2003 World Cup

Warwick Armstrong keeps Frank Woolley waiting - Arunabha Sengupta, Cricketcountry.com

Justin Langer's bail-nudging incident in Sri Lanka - YouTube video

Brad Haddin dislodging the bails before the ball hit the stumps - YouTube video

In the latest episode of the 81allout podcast we are delighted to be joined by ace sports writer Rob Smyth, who has written for the Guardian, Wisden, ESPNcricinfo and a variety of other publications.

Rob is one of the most prolific over-by-over and minute-by-minute commentators, and has written multiple books on cricket – like The Spirit of Cricket and Gentleman and Sledgers– as well as on football.

He talks about his journey in sports journalism, the joys and challenges of live text-commentary, and the breed of cricketers he is drawn towards. He remembers England's woeful one-day adventures in the 1990s and 2000s, and puts the achievement of the current ODI team in perspective.

Also featuring: English fans' love-hate relationship with KP, Patrick Patterson's most violent spell, and England's "omnifiasco" in India in 1992-93. 

Participants:

Rob Smyth

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Some of Rob’s pieces:

The scariest Test England ever player

The joy of Kevin Pietersen

The unimprovable game: Australia v South Africa, Edgbaston, 1999

Fumbles, fallouts and faulty planes: England's nightmarish 1993 tour of India

Recalling Duncan Spencer

The little genius in the corner: Graham Thorpe

Bharat Sundaresan's piece on Patrick Patterson

(Lead image from here)

We discuss the fourth Test between India and England in Ahmedabad.

Talking Points:

• India's terrific achievement across eight Tests
• A triumph of depth for the Indian team
• Axar's 27 wickets and his perfect debut series
• Why Ashwin's value to the side is double that of their best batsman
• Mohammad Siraj - the classic Indian fast bowler
• Rahane, Pujara and the problems of mortality
• Rohit Sharma's ability to tune his game as per the conditions and situation
• Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and the value of time against pace
• Washington's possible future as a top-order batsman
• Looking ahead to the World Test Championship fina

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

A two-day shootout: India v England, 4th Test review - 81allout podcast

A tale of two series - Kartikeya Date

The full range of Rohit Sharma - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

Munaf Patel: A fast bowler and the slow life - Sriram Veera - Indian Express

Ravi Shastri sees glimpses of himself in Washington Sundar - Outlook India

What Rishabh Pant did in the last two months, no one would do that in a lifetime: Ravi Shastri - NDTV.com

We review the two-Test series between South Africa and India - which ended 1-1 after a bowler-dominated shootout in Cape Town. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• India's missed opportunity to finally win a series in SA
• Why the Cape Town pitch backfired on South Africa
• India's lack of fast bowling depth - a sign of more struggles in future away series
• Mohammad Siraj's dream spell on the first morning in Cape Town 
• Dean Elgar's century: a tale of plays-and-misses and cashing in on poor bowling
• Aiden Markram's astonishing attack
• Where Rabada and Bumrah showed their class: figuring out the conditions
• Rohit Sharma's comments about the pitch - and potential double-standards
• Are these short Tests harming the format? Or are they ideal for entertainment? 

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• India prove their golden age has plenty of kick left - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo 
• Mean Reversion - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview - Substack
• Newlands pitch the tip of WP’s iceberg of problems - Telford Vice - Wordpress
• On the ICC pitch evaluation system - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview - Substack
• Crime and punishment: warnings, fines, bans and let-offs - Alok Prasanna Kumar - The Cricket Monthly 

In the latest episode of the podcast we discuss the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia - where England were crowned champions. We focus on some of the themes of the tournament - upsets, teams assessing a variety of conditions, exploiting ground dimensions, and the overall calibre of strokeplay - and wonder how some of the great bowlers are largely nullified by the format.

[podcast_subscribe id="1595"]

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (recently republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy)Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy)USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) 

Buy Mike Marqusee's classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting on Flipkart and Amazon.

Talking Points:

• A World Cup full of memorable upsets
• Navigating the conditions across Australia - and the effect it had on teams
• Batting against length v batting against the field
• Why some great batters are misfits in the format
• India's problem at the top - and KL Rahul's T20 v Test fortunes
• The Nasim Shah over to Jos Buttler in the final
• The big difference between batting in an ODI and in a T20

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview); Ashoka (@ABVan)

*

Related:

• England's approach may lead other teams into the T20 era - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• The England white-ball machine - Jarrod Kimber - YouTube
• The 'rationally irresistible' rise of Jos Buttler, T20 opener - Matt Roller - ESPNcricinfo
• Who was to blame for India's defeat - Cricviz
• Why T20 hitting is not just a more risky version of batting - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo

We talk to the veteran journalist and author - Pradeep Magazine.

We discuss the major themes of his books - Not Quite Cricket and Not Just Cricket – and talk about the lessons from the match-fixing epidemic in the late 1990s and how the player-journalist relationship has altered over time. Journalists of the 1990s had enough access to the inner circle to get an inkling of the shadiness, says Magazine, but journalists of today are sadly in the dark.

⁠Support 81allout on KoFi⁠

Talking Points:

• A chance-meeting with a bookie in 1997 that opened up the world of fixing
• Writing about match-fixing before the big story broke
• Interviewing Sachin Tendulkar about match-fixing in 1997
• Kapil Dev accusing his players of being distracted by money in 1983
• Magazine's relationship with Kapil Dev over time - from fan to critique
• The two sides of Mohammad Azharuddin and how it was hard to separate both
• The problem for investigative journalists today cut off from the inner circle
• A new book that casts light on the corruption that could engulf the game
• The nexus of politics and cricket - and propaganda taking over the game

Participants:

Pradeep Magazine (@pradeepmagazine)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Pradeep Magazine's books - Not Quite Cricket and Not Just Cricket
• Neeraj Kumar's book - A Cop in Cricket
• A T20 tournament that wasn't - how fixers fabricated the UvaT20 League - Guardian
• It is far more than a game, this cricket - Conversation between Pradeep Magazine and Rahul Bhattacharya - Kolkata Literary Meet - YouTube
• With sports becoming so commercialized, sports journalism has become more challenging: Pradeep Magazine - Times of India

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

In this episode, we look back to England's tour to India in 2012-13.

England had not won a series in India since 1984-85 and they began the tour as underdogs - especially after a heavy defeat in the first Test in Ahmedabad. The turnaround began in Mumbai – thanks to some splendid spin bowling followed by hundreds from Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen – and England went on to defy expectations in the final two Tests.

Talking Points:

• England's tours to UAE and Sri Lanka before the India series
• Kevin Pietersen's "reintegration" into the side
• Monty Panesar not playing in the first Test in Ahmedabad
• Sehwag's hundred, Pujara's double-hundred
• The Cook-Prior rearguard in the second innings
• Panesar's ball to Tendulkar on day one in Mumbai
• Pujara's masterful innings against spin
• Pietersen brutal hitting and the shock in the stands
• Tendulkar's innings on day one in Kolkata
• James Anderson's spell of reverse-swing
• The Cook marathon – with support from Trott
• Jonathan Trott's lesson in patience
• The slow Nagpur pitch
• The consequences of the defeat for India – and the end of many journeys
  

Participants:

Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

The Wisden Almanack report for the series - ESPNcricinfo

The balls of the century - Monty Panesar to Sachin Tendulkar - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

First step to redemption, India go 1-0 up - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Cheteshwar Pujara: the worker ant - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Dhoni's pitch flawed - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

Patient Tendulkar middles it this time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Quick wickets but no miracle this time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Post lunch, humble pie - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Pads on, DRS isn't watching - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Zaheer Khan. Left arm... over? - Karthik Krishnaswamy - Indian Express

Be bold, be practical, do the right thing - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

We review New Zealand's 2-0 series win against India in the recently concluded series.

Talking Points:

How NZ winning Tests within three or four days is bad financial news for their board.

Were the pitches too green or green enough?

When extra pace perhaps worked against India's fast bowlers.

The swing masters - Boult and Southee

The dangers of Pujara's natural game in specific conditions

Pant's indecision

Jamieson, the all-round star

NZ open up the World Test Championship

Participants:

Michael Wagener (@mykuhl)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

New Zealand's home advantage - Michael Wagener

How the Blackcaps became a powerhouse in their conditions - Michael Wagener

Shami needs a defensive trick up his sleeve - Karthik Krishnaswamy

A bowler for each batsman: how New Zealand plotted India's downfall - Karthik Krishnaswamy

New Zealand's finest brace for their biggest season - 81allout podcast with Michael Wagener

In our latest episode of the podcast we chat with former Bangladesh Test cricket Shahriar Nafees and ESPNcricinfo journalist Mohammad Isam.

Talking points:

• Street cricket in Dhaka
• Legends of tape-tennis cricket
• The value of age-group cricket in Bangladesh
• The period when cricket started to overshadow football in Bangladesh
• Memories of cricket from the 1990s
• The Fatullah Test against Australia in 2006
• A heady period for Bangladesh between 2005 and 2007
• The pressure of having to live up to expectations

Participants:

Shahriar Nafees

Mohammad Isam (@isam84)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Shahriar Nafees' YouTube channel 

Unbelievable to have scored a T20 hundred - Shahriar Nafees interview

Nafees leads Bangladesh's brilliant charge - ESPNcricinfo report

When Mohammad Ashraful took on McGrath and Gillespie - ESPNcricinfo

That winning feeling - Rabeed Imam on Bangladesh's win over India in 2004 - ESPNcricinfo

We review England's tie against New Zealand at the World Cup final at Lord's. We review the tie in the Super over. We also review the bizarre rule that handed England the trophy. In short: we review one of the maddest games of one-day cricket. 

Talking points: England's lucky breaks, Williamson's choice of Boult for the 50th over, and all the drama off the very last ball. 

*

Participants:

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

We review the India v New Zealand match in Dharamshala - and chat about the other themes as the World Cup nears its halfway stage. We also pay our heartfelt tribute to one of India's greatest cricketers: Bishan Bedi. 

⁠Support 81allout on Ko-fi

Talking points: 

• The poetry of Bishan Bedi - and what he meant to a generation of fans
• New Zealand running India close in Dharamshala 
• Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra trying to hit Kuleep out of the attack
• Jadeja's discomforting pace - and his ability to calibrate it so finely
• Rohit and Gill taking their chances against a quality opening spell
• Kohli's quest for a century - and the needless uproar around it
• Afghanistan and Netherlands showing their class
• Why aren't teams looking to limit the damage with NRR?
• Will Australia sneak into the semi-finals?
• Will England's batters finally fire?
• Who will go after India's bowlers? New Zealand try but fall short? 

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• The Art of Bedi: Our conversation with Suresh Menon - ⁠81allout podcast
• Previous 81allout episodes on World Cups - 2011, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003

• Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
• War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podcast
• Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

We review the opening match of the World Cup between England and South Africa at The Oval.

Talking points: England's scary batting depth, South Africa's tame run-chase, and the value that Joffra Archer brings to a bowling attack. 

How does any team beat this England side? Can South Africa bounce back. 

Participants:

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

In the latest 81allout podcast we look back at India's tour of West Indies in 1996-97. A mostly soporific series came to life for four days in Barbados, and handed the '90s generation of Indian cricket fans a heartbreak of such epic proportions that many have still not stopped thinking about it. 

We talk about the lasting pain of cricket losses, the dramatic deterioration of the Barbados pitch, the no-ball (non) calls, the first hundred partnership between Dravid and Sachin in Tests, Sidhu's crawl to a double-hundred, the two unlikely all-time greats to rise from the shadows of Sachin and Lara, and the impact of this series loss on Sachin's captaincy legacy.

Also included: Karnataka domination of the Indian squad, Walsh's run out of Sachin, Chanderpaul bowling legspin from round the wicket, and spicy tidbits from R. Mohan's match reports.

Participants:

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Krishna Murali (@mkrishna23)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

In the latest 81allout podcast we look back at the World Cup in 1999 when Australia came back from the dead to win the tournament.

We talk (a lot) about the most dramatic ODI match of all time, India's meltdown in the chase against Zimbabwe, Steve Waugh's brilliant century, the thrill of watching Shoaib Akhtar from the ground level, Warnie rising to the occasion just in time, Venkatesh Prasad's 5 wicket haul against Pakistan, Pakistan's pinch-blocking strategy, Dravid's glorious run, and Zulu.

Also included: Mark Waugh's serenity on the field, parochial plaint on Venkatraghavan missing out on the final, and Imran's wisdom.

Participants:

Krishna Murali (@mkrishna)

Suhrith Parthasarathy (@suhrith)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee),

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Vijay Arumugam (@vijayarumugam)

Between 1947 and 1971, only one Pakistani cricketer from the east of the country was picked in the Test team.

Then Bangladesh was born, and there were far more important matters to attend to than worrying about cricket.

But the passion survived in pockets and slowly, through schools and club cricket, the game made its way into the public consciousness.

By the early 1990s, several foreign stars were taking part in club cricket in Dhaka. And the Bangladesh national team gradually improved, before being granted Test status in 2000.

ESPNcricinfo's Mohammad Isam and BCB senior manager (media and communications) Rabeed Imam tell us how cricket survived through the '70s and '80s before finally dethroning football as the most popular sport in the late 1990s. They talk us through some of Bangladesh's famous wins and introduce us to cricketers who sustained the passion through the trying times.

Participants:

Mohammad Isam (@isam84)

Rabeed Imam (@rabeedi)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related reading:

The original premier league - Mohammad Isam

Reliving the 1999 miracle - Mohammad Isam

The defeat that launched Bangladesh's World Cup ambitions - Mohammad Isam

Javed Omar, no, yes, sorry - Hate to Love - Mohammad Isam

The unassuming hero - Mohammad Rafique

Victorious in Dhaka - revisiting the first Champions Trophy

81allout interview with Mohammad Isam from May, 2019

Our special guest this week is Mudar Patherya, a cricket writer for Sportsworld magazine through the 1980s - before he moved on to other interests.

Across five trips to Pakistan, visits to Sharjah, a tour to West Indies, and several assignments within India - Mudar made a name for himself as one of the finest writers on the game. The more we listened, the more we were convinced that he was the 'Forrest Gump of cricket' in the '80s.

Talking Points:

• Covering India's tour to Pakistan in 1982-83
• The fascination with Abdul Qadir
• Getting to know Imran Khan
• Javed Miandad's famous six in Sharjah
• The shock and disbelief in Lahore on that evening in 1987
• The World Cup final at Eden Gardens
• The fiery passion for cricket in a small corner of Calcutta
• Meeting (and shocking) a president of the MCC
• The genius of Mushtaq Ali
• The magnificent Mr Pataudi
• The craze for football in the Calcuta of the '70s and '80s
• When Sanjay Manjrekar was the Wall
• Sachin Tendulkar's first day in Test cricket
• Collecting cricket memorabilia
• and much more…

Related:

Lessons from a middle-aged cricketer - - ESPNcricinfo - Mudar Patherya

Does Kolkata still love Test cricket - ESPNcricinfo - Mudar Patherya

Third Ground - The Cricket Monthly - Mudar Patherya

A man of opposites - ESPNcricinfo - Mudar Patherya on Tiger Pataudi

Charmingly villainous - The Cricket Monthly - Mudar Patherya on Imran Khan

An Old, Old Cricketer Speaks - Wisden Cricket Monthly - Mudar Patherya interview with DB Deodhar

'Every generation needs its writers to tell its stories' - Sharda Ugra podcast on 81allout

England XI v Australians in 1921

Victor Trumper's iconic 335 and a smashed boot factory window - Cricketcountry.com - Pradip Dhole

Books by Mudar Patherya:

The Penguin Book of Cricket Lists - Mudar Patherya and Barry O'Brien

Wills Book of Excellence: Cricket - Mudar Patherya

Ultimate World Cup Cricket Quiz - Mudar Patherya and Ravikant Srivastava

Books discussed in the podcast:

Another Bloody Day in Paradise - Frank Keating

Beyond a Boundary - CLR James

We review India's win over Sri Lanka in the World Cup match at Headingley.

Talking points: The Rohit juggernaut rolls on, Malinga bids adieu, and India's happy headaches for the semi-final

Participants:

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Max (@maxdavinci)

Our special guest this week is Nishant Arora who, over two decades, has worked in multiple capacities within cricket – as a TV journalist, a player agent, a media manager with the BCCI, and a digital producer with ICC. We speak to Nishant about his career that has spanned over two decades and delight in some of his anecdotes from behind the scenes. 

Talking Points:

• Playing junior cricket with Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh
• Big-hitting Yuvraj losing SG balls at the world's most elevated cricket stadium
• Yuvraj scoring 358 in a match when the opponents scored 357
• Harbhajan Singh's emotional day after taking India's first hat-trick in Kolkata
• The challenge for Nishant to separate his journalism and friendships
• The rare Dhoni interview in Islamabad
• Visiting Virender Sehwag's house and getting him to talk about his 155 in Chennai
• The challenges of interviewing Sourav Ganguly
• When Yuvraj's cancer was kept top secret
• The breakdown in the player-journalist relationship
• Why Ashish Nehra must be appointed the lawyer for bow

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Nishant Arora (@NJA21)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

The Test of my Life: From Cricket to Cancer and Back - Yuvraj Singh, Amazon.com

Anatomy of a classic - Chandrahas Choudhury and Nishant Arora - ESPNcricinfo

When Singh was king - Karthik Krishnaswamy - The Cricket Monthly

Nehraji unfiltered - Breakfast with Champions - Gaurav Kapoor

We chat with Karthik Krishnaswamy and Kartikeya Date about the role of luck in cricket and how we can better describe the game by separating actions from outcomes. 

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

• Luck v skill - and why the two are not opposed to each other
• The traditional method of describing cricket - by ascribing reasons for outcomes
• Why it is hard for fans to accept 'luck' as a major part of a sporting contest
• The luck component in different sports - and the 'optimal' luck cricket needs
• The brief phase in each ball when neither batter or bowler is in total control 
• India's loss to New Zealand in 2020 against an attack best suited for the conditions 
• England's strategy v spin in the 2019 World Cup compared to their strategy in the 2023 World Cup
• The model of the game that views contest without the layer of chauvinism 
• The post-facto analysis that accompanies most discussions around captaincy

Participants:

Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk) | ESPNcricinfo page

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• What's luck got to do with it: a control review of the World Cup - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo 
• Virat Kohli's battle with himself - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• The Virat Kohli century that was a trip back in time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
• What we talk about when we talk about pressure - Podcast with Abhinav Mukund - 81allout
• What we talk about when we talk about cricket - Podcast with Daniel Norcross - 81allout
• Are some points in Tennis more important than others? - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview substack
• Luck and skill untangled: the science of success – Michael Mauboussin interview – Wired
• Why it’s so much harder to predict winners in ice hockey than basketball – Vox – YouTube

We are thrilled to be joined by two former India cricketers - Hemang Badani and Vijay Bharadwaj.

Hemang and Vijay enjoyed stupendous domestic careers and took part in some of the most memorable Tamil Nadu - Karnataka contests in the Ranji Trophy. There was no shortage of banter and competition when we paired them up for this podcast.

Talking points:

• Their first memories of playing against their arch-rivals
• The day when Karthik Jeshwant told Vijay Bharadwaj about the importance of scoring against Tamil Nadu
• The Ranji final in 1996 - when Karnataka piled on a mammoth score (as Hemang watched from the stands)
• A match in RSI grounds in 2001 when matters got heated and the players nearly came to blows
• The never-ending batathon at Tirunelveli in 1998
• The constant threat of D Vasu in these contests
• Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson: never short of fire in the belly
• The Cauvery politics and how it affected the players
• How Karnataka players benefited from playing league cricket in Chennai
• and much more...

*

Partipants:

Hemang Badani (ESPNcricinfo player page, Twitter handle: @hemangkbadani)

Vijay Bharadwaj (ESPNcricinfo player page)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

Related:

From Bangalore's parks to the Indian team - Vijay Bharadwaj on the 81allout podcast

Travails of TN tragics - 81allout podcast about following the TN Ranji side

The Tamil Nadu - Karnataka rivalry through the ages - V Ramnarayan - ESPNcricinfo

When brothers were pitted against each other in the final - Deccan Herald

Karnataka retain title with innings win - match report of the 2015 Ranji final - ESPNcricinfo

Hemang Badani interview with Reena D'Souza

Vijay Bharadwaj interview with Karthik Jeshwant for Star Sports Kannada

We preview the upcoming 2-Test series between India and Bangladesh – which will include the first ever day-night Test to be held in India.

Talking Points:

Bangladesh's tumultuous lead-up to the series

The Shakib Al Hasan shocker

Why would Bangladesh's greatest-ever cricket overlook something so fundamental?

How public sentiment fluctuated over the hectic few days between the players' strike and Shakib's ban

Mominul Haque's big challenge as captain

The novelty around the day-night Test, and how that could actually give Bangladesh a small opening in Kolkata

Will Taizul Islam and Mehidy Hasan fancy their chances against a batting order that is likely to go after them?

Participants:

Sakeb Subhan, sub-editor at Daily Star in Dhaka (@SakebTS)

Ashoka Rao (@abvan)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

'What Shakib is going through is hard to explain in words' - Mohammad Ashraful interview

Bangladesh's steep learning curve against legspin - Mohammad Isam

Time for introspection - Sakeb Subhan on Bangladesh's Test loss to Afghanistan

*

Lead image from here

In the latest episode we discuss popular terms used to describe a cricketing contest - and why these are often lazy alternatives with no standard definition.

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy); Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy);  USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy); UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy); Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Talking Points:

• The category error in sports - when stories are used to describe contests
• The narrative around 'big moments' and how some phases are assumed to 'decide' contests
• The rampant discourse around 'pressure situations'
• The belief that some players are superior at the finish than at the start
• Jordan and Robert Horry - and the spread of the clutch narrative
• Australia v South Africa, Edgbaston, 1999: a narrative gold
• The future of cricket discourse - and ways to describe the entire contest 

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd); Ashoka (@ABVan)

Related:

• The episode that really matters - 81allout podcast with Sidharth Monga
• What's the story, Morning Glory - 81allout podcast with Karthik Krishnaswamy
• What we talk about when we talk about cricket - 81allout podcast with Daniel Norcross
• Anatomy of a classic - Virender Sehwag on his 155 in Chennai - Interview by Chandrahas Choudhury and Nishant Arora - ESPNcricinfo
• Bias Case - Steve Tignor - Tennis World
• James Anderson and reverse-swing - Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara discuss - YouTube
• Against narratives - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview
• Why there is no such thing as a finisher in ODI cricket - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo
• Roger Federer opens up - Interview by David Remnick - New Yorker
• Paddy Upton's interview of Allan Donald - Apple podcasts
• 'I wanted to be there at the end. That was my drug' - Lance Klusener interview - The Cricket Monthly
• Rudi Webster - Think Like a Champion - Amazon.com

In this episode of the 81allout podcast, we dive headfirst into the banal talking points that dominate our sports related conversations, how they propagate, and the deleterious impact these narratives can have on the popular discourse.

We also discuss the need for data transparency and how to use the data into defensible, digestible narratives that truly inform avid viewers of the sport. Is this a niche or a basic need? Would love to hear what our listeners think!

Participants:

Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related pieces:

Should you teach your kids to bat like Steve Smith- Hussain and Sangakkara discuss on Sky Sports

Pujara swears by his survival guide- by Karthik Krishnaswamy

Shiv on the shore- by Rahul Bhattacharya

Why there is no such thing as a finisher in ODI cricket- by Kartikeya Date

The mother of all myths- Tom Eaton on South Africa's choking narrative

We talk to legendary Australian captain and batsman Allan Border about his experience of touring the subcontinent in the 1980s -  taking in the tied Test in 1986, the World Cup win in 1987, and the controversial tour of Pakistan in 1988.

Joining Border is veteran journalist Mike Coward, whose classic book - Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - we recently republished via 81allout Publishing.

Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar:

India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy)

Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

For the rest - please check your country-specific Amazon pages.

Talking Points:

• The cultural shock in the subcontinent for Australians of Border's generation
• Coming to grips with the heat, the noise, and the way of life in India
• The pressure that Border was under in the lead-up to the tied Test
• Dean Jones' epic innings and the role Border had in it
• The final day of the tied Test - when players and umpires felt the heat
• Bob Simpson's contributions as manager of the team during the 1987 World Cup
• Defying the odds in Lahore as Steve Waugh silenced the capacity crowd
• Gatting c Dyer b Border 41 (and the moment when a World Cup final turned)
• How Mike Coward managed to be both empathetic towards the players and ruthlessly objective when reporting the crisis in Pakistan in 1988
• The legacy of Frank Tarrant and the pioneering Australian tour of 1935
• The institution of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: its cache and its future

Participants:

Allan Border

Mike Coward

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar: the revival of a classic book - 81allout

A lifetime in cricket writing - 81allout podcast with Mike Coward

The subcontinent beyond the cliches: revisiting a landmark cricket book - Dan Brettig and Russell Jackson discuss Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - 81allout podcast

Embracing the East: Suresh Menon on Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - ESPNcricinfo

Mike Coward's books 

The Final Frontier: Mike Coward - The Greatest Season That Was podcast

'It long irked me that sports writing, in this country, has been devalued' - Mike Coward's speech at the ASC Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2015

We discuss the third Test between India and England in Chennai

Talking Points:

• Where did this pitch stand in the Premadasa-Sabina scale?
• The importance of consistent bounce in the ICC evaluation system
• England's misreading of the pitch and the selection of one specialist spinner
• Don't India have enough of an all-round bowling strength to not rely on turners?
• Rohit Sharma's ability to adjust to all formats
• The technique of playing spin - and what made Root, Foakes, Rohit and Kohli stand out
• Ashwin's off-break that looks like a straighter one - thanks to the remarkable drift
• Axar Patel's surreal start to his Test career
• Axar's ability to adapt his game to the conditions
• Memories of the Mumbai Test in 2004 - when Murali Kartik won India a low-scoring thriller
• The high-quality umpiring in the Test - and the performative challenge for third umpires
• The Joe Root DRS reversal - and what it captured about umpires' call

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related:

The ICC's pitch evaluation system - Kartikeya Date

Motera pitch could be a backhanded compliment to England - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

When Singh was king - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

Ashwin's two dismissals of Ollie Pope - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

England got themselves into a spin against Axar Patel - Nasser Hussain - The Daily Mail

In the latest 81allout podcast we rewind to the World Cup in 1996 – when Sri Lanka refused to be beaten. 

We remember Brian Lara's exquisite strokeplay, Aravinda de Silva's mastery, Tendulkar's magic with a sponsor-less bat, Jayasuriya reducing medium-pacers to offspinners, Paul Strang's wizardry and Ambrose getting stumps to fly. 

Also included: Richie Richardson's sweep shot crashing into umpire BC Cooray's head, Mike Marqusee's seminal book 'War Minus the Shooting', and Sultan Zarawani walking out to bat in a hat and preparing to face Allan Donald.

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Aditya Shrikrishna (@gradwolf)

We preview the upcoming Australia v India Test series, which has seen more headlines about bio-bubbles, quarantine, and player absences than the great rivalry between these two teams. Talking Points: Impact of Kohli's partial absence for both commerce and cricket. How badly would India miss Ishant Sharma? India's choice of third seamer. The permutations and combinations for both playing XIs in each Test. Pattinson's workload and case for him to play at MCG. Lyon's effectiveness against India. Could this be the breakthrough series for Shubman Gill? Eminence of Steve Smith. A January Test at Gabba. Saha vs Pant. The never ending Shaun Marsh comebacks. Quality of Bumrah-Shami. Jaywant Lele's legendary prediction. Participants: Rav (@rav_man0) Ananthasubramanian (@_chinmusic) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

In the latest 81allout podcast we look back at the India-Pakistan rivalry in World Cups, from 1992 to 2015.

Highlights: Miandad v More in '92, Jadeja v Waqar in '96, cricket amid war in '99, Tendulkar's three shots in '03, the greatest anti-climax in '07, Mohammad Hafeez' brain-fade in '11 and Misbah's lone hand in '15

Participants:

Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal)

Subash Jayaraman (@cricketcouch)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

*

Related reading: 

The Haal of Pakistan- Osman Samiuddin 

It all began in South Africa- Rahul Bhattacharya

Pundits from Pakistan- Rahul Bhattacharya 

We talk to Michael Wagener about New Zealand's impressive Test results over the last 3 years and get a rundown of their strengths & weaknesses ahead of their series against Australia.

Talking points:

The pitches used for the England series

Is Tom Latham a bully?

The unYoutubable B J Watling

How Colin de Grandhommme found himself alongside the legendary Aubrey Faulkner

And the most fascinating bowler in the world - Neil Wagner

Participants:

Michael Wagener (@mykuhl)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Related:

Michael Wagener's super geeky cricket blog 

And his Firstpost columns

From extreme to mainstream: How Neil Wagner has wanged his way to the top - Sidharth Monga in ESPNcricinfo.com

Black Caps make convincing case as New Zealand's best test side in history - Ian Anderson in stuff.co.nz

We chat with ESPNcricinfo assistant editor Karthik Krishnaswamy and freelance writer Saurabh Somani on making sense of cricket in these times of excess. With leagues mushrooming around the world, and multiple formats to track, can journalists be expected to have a holistic view of the game?

Talking Points:

• The evolution of cricket - and pressures on journalists - over the last decade
• The near-impossible task of watching cricket across formats and geographies
• The difficulty of 'connecting the dots' from age-group to international cricket
• The need to change one's writing to suit the rhythm of the format
• Making peace with not watching most of the cricket that is being televised
• The lack of bandwidth to take in the big picture
• The future of one-dayers and how its extinction could have far-reaching effects
• A future where journalists will need to pick formats to cover
• Balancing the demands of the market with the demands of journalism
• The future of cricket coverage with advances in video and Artificial Intelligence

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Participants:

Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk)

Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42)

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Karthik Krishnaswamy's articles on ESPNcricinfo
• 'Hard for journalists today to probe serious issues in cricket' - Pradeep Magazine  - 81allout podcast
• A Cop in Cricket - Neeraj Kumar - Amazon
• Will IPL franchise owners swallow international cricket whole? - Osman Samiuddin - ESPNcricinfo
• Is there too much cricket? - Cameron Pononsby - Wisden
• Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution - Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde - Amazon
• Hitting against the Spin - Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones - Amazon
• IPL, basketball and the tamasha paradox - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - sidveeblogs

We speak to the veteran journalist and author Mike Coward, who has watched and covered cricket over six decades. Coward rewinds the clock to various points in his illustrious career and talks about the importance of journalists and players trusting each other. He also opens up on his experience of being an openly gay journalist - and how the male cricketers can take a lead from the women  on making it a more inclusive game.

Note: War Minus The Shooting now available on Amazon.com, Amazon.in, Flipkart

Talking Points:

• An Adelaide childhood - and Les Favell as a 'summer god'
• Working in the newspaper industry in the 1960s - the smells, sights, and sounds
• A dream stint in England - meeting Rod Laver, the 1972 Olympics, and Ashes
• The magnanimity of Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell
• World Series Cricket and how it polarized the game and media
• The importance of Allan Border for India-Australia relations
• Covering the 1986 tied Test from an open press box, bathed in sweat
• Bradman, Tendulkar, Warne and Gilchrist - genius in contrast
• The experience of being an openly gay sports writer

Participants: Mike Coward; Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Related: Mike Coward's books; Collection of Mike Coward's articles for ESPNcricinfo; A boy's own idol - Mike Coward on Les Favell - Wisden Asia Cricket; The subcontinent beyond the cliches - 81allout podcast on Cricket Beyond the Bazaar; Calypso Summer - YouTube documentary on the 1960-61 series; Madras Magic - YouTube documentary on the tied Test in Madras; Calypso Summer - Mike Coward - Amazon.com; Little Master becomes mere mortal - Mike Coward - Fox Sports; The warmth of a sweltering city - Mike Coward on Chennai - ESPNcricinfo; Embracing the East: Suresh Menon on Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - ESPNcricinfo; When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - 81allout podcast; The Final Frontier: Mike Coward - The Greatest Season That Was podcast; Mike Coward's speech at the ASC Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2015