81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

We review the fourth Test between India and England in Ranchi – where India sealed a series with a magnificent five-wicket win.  Support 81allout at Ko-Fi Talking Points: The third-innings bowling that capped another brilliant third-day fightback India's forced accelerated transition - with a team full of youngsters Dhruv Jurel's expert batting with the tail Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep - an un...

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 Ind...

We review the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam – where Jasprit Bumrah powered India to a 106-run win.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: A celebration of Test cricket A series with echoes of the 2016-17 home series v Australia  Are England really playing Bazball? India's decision to play five bowlers even with an inexperienced batting line-up Does anyone think of...

We review the first Test between India and England in Hyderabad – where India lost a Test match at home after gaining a first-innings lead of 190.   Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: One of England's greatest wins Ollie Pope's freakish 196 India's approach to facing left-arm spin Why England choose to sweep and reverse-sweep India's spinners Bazball and the approach to risk...

We rewind to England's tour to India in 2001-02 - when India won the three-Test series 1-0 and England leveled the six-match ODI series 3-3. England arrived in India on the back of terrific series wins in Sri Lanka and Pakistan - and despite a green bowling attack managed to gave India a scare in two Tests.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: The uncertainty around the tour because of t...

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 spel...

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...

We are thrilled to have novelist and cricket writer Rahul Bhattacharya to talk about his experiences from the World Cup. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  Cricket writing v cricket analysis - and how each is a specialised job Does the BCCI care for what is written about them in the press? The antipathy towards Indian and foreign fans throughout this World Cup The staggering amount of mone...

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...

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 fo...

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...

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 a...

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...

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,...

We preview the 2023 World Cup - the muted build-up, BCCI apathy, and how the conditions could play such a big role in how some teams progress. Could South Africa or New Zealand finally win the big prize? Can Pakistan overcome their spin-bowling drawbacks. Can Bangladesh make the semi-final? Or will India be too strong when playing at home?   [podcast_subscribe id="1595"] [kofi] Participa...

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 t...

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 O...

The crew chats about the idea of selecting a cricket team, and debates how one can have a meaningful conversation about an inherently unfair process. Should selectors be more transparent about the reasoning behind their choices? Is there a process by which we can judge a good selection? And how can anyone justify the selection of the Indian team when anything less than a victory in a global tourna...

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...

We review the second Test between West Indies and India at Port-of-Spain, which was rained off when India needed 8 wickets to wrap up the win. It meant India won their sixth series in West Indies and continued their dominance when touring the Caribbean.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: The problem with gauging the quality of a Test based on crowds and pitches Does Test cricket have to co...

We review the first Test between West Indies and India at Dominica - which saw a dominant Indian side complete a big win. The conditions were perfectly suited to India's spinners – and gave Ashwin the chance to show his range.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: A 'perfect storm' for West Indies on a pitch favouring spinners The media obsession with the 'death of Test cricke...

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 cov...

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...

We review the World Test Championship final between Australia and India at The Oval - which ended with a 209-run win and the Test mace for Australia. It was India's second consecutive loss in the WTC final - and offered hints that a terrific side is likely past its peak.  Talking Points: Australia's greater depth in bowling Yet another missed opportunity for this Indian side to win a world...

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-impo...