The Analyst Inside Cricket

An extract of the final episode of the five-part series dramatising Great Ashes Tests of the past. This episode revisits the epic series of 1981 - Botham's Ashes - featuring interviews with Botham, Bob Willis, Mike Brearley and David Lloyd and is narrated by Stephen Fry. To listen to the full episode and for more exclusive content join the Cricverse https://cricverse.substack.com/p/great-ashes-tes...

Fourth episode of Great Ashes mini-series telling the story of Donald Bradman and his 1948 'Invincibles' and how they sought to obliterate every English team in their path, and virtually did so. Also tells how Bradman himself became immortalised with his insatiable desire and his incredible Test average of 99.94 and his orchestration of the greatest run-chase in the history of the game. For the fi...

Third of five part series featuring Great Ashes Test matches. Here Simon Hughes retells the dramatic story of the emergence of Australia's ritual destroyer of bowling attacks Donald Bradman, and England's dastardly plan to stop him. This of course was 'leg theory' - soon christened Bodyline' - perpetrated chiefly by Harold Larwood. It erupted into the incendiary Test match at Adelaide in 1933 that...

First of a five part series highlighting great Ashes Test matches through history. Narrated by Simon Hughes, this first episode tells the story of the epic 1882 Oval Test which signifies the birth of the Ashes. In it 'the Demon' Frederick Spofforth is irked by the antics of WG Grace and torpedoes the England batting for just 77 to give Australia their historic first victory in England by 7 runs. I...

This is the story of the epic Oval Test match of 1926, and the finest hour of Jack Hobbs, England’s greatest batsman - by number of hundreds (199) anyway. Hobbs and his great opening ally Herbert Sutcliffe secure England a huge lead on a treacherous pitch and an opportunity to avenge a series of Australian defeats. Their exploits offer much-needed hope and optimism to a post-war ravaged society. #...

Deep Dasgupta, former Indian keeper-batsman, joins the Simons on the podcast to reflect on the Indian women's euphoric day, winning the ICC World Cup for the first time. Deep reveals the investment and personel invested in the women's game and the future growth of the Women's Premier League. Also in this episode - an Ashes update with Deep exploring what it takes to win in Australia too, having wa...

Ian Smith, celebrated commentator and former New Zealand keeper, joins the podcast to talk New Zealand versus England and offer a detached but informed view on the Ashes. Few know or can interpret international cricket better than the sharp-eyed, quick-witted Kiwi who is the definition of a wordSmith. He gives great insights into what makes New Zealand consistently excellent, why the Aussies are f...

The amazing story of how cricket has revolutionized the lives of many of the inhabitants of a poverty-stricken, overcrowded and violent Syrian refugee camp in Beirut. We hear from Richard Verity, the founder of the transformative Alsama Project, and two of his star female pupils who, through cricket, are giving hope and aspiration to a generation of underprivileged children and helping oppressed g...

Former Middlesex and England fast bowler and Ashes winner Steven Finn joins the podcast to reflect on England's build up so far, and compare it to his own experiences touring Down Under. He was of course part of England's triumphant 2010/11 Ashes-winning side under Andrew Strauss. England's rain-ruined T20 series is also discussed as they head into the three odis against New Zealand. Also Finn rev...

A preview of England's T20 series in New Zealand starting in the Kiwi spring even before their domestic season has begun. It will be decidedly chilly at night, a severe contrast to the temperature in Perth in a month's time when the Ashes begin. But a great chance for some of England's players to get in tune before the main show. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann consider the series amid all the noise g...

The combined cells of Hughes and Mann take on the might of Chat GPT to evaluate England's greatest-ever Test cricketer. Prompted by a question from Simon Mann's daughter, they use various criteria to compare and rank England's finest cricketers past and present. So who do they say is England's greatest from the likes of Grace, Botham, Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond, Root, Anderson and Stokes, and does the...

Kyle Hogg is our special guest on the show, discussing his role in the brilliant BBC series Field of Dreams, helping Freddie Flintoff introduce cricket to the uninitiated in some neglected communities of the north-west. Kyle, the former Lancashire bowler, explains how he got involved in the series, the passion he and Freddie share in spreading the game, the fun of their tour to Kolkata and how he...

Lots of your questions answered by Simon Hughes and Simon Mann including - was Peter Moores harshly treated as England coach, who would take over the England job if they lose the Ashes, is this Indian team one of the best white ball team ever to walk the earth, who is the worst Test batter in the world and who invented the reverse sweep, and is therefore the godfather of modern batting? Learn more...

An interview with Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury, who has just completed a booming year as president of MCC. The former Governor of the Bank of England discusses the remarkable sale of the MCC-administered London Spirit franchise for £145m to the so-called Tech-Titans, why he loves both Test cricket and the Hundred and how the English game can prosper on the world stage. Learn more about your...

Peter Moores, the coach who, following Nottinghamshire's County Championship triumph on Friday, has now led three different counties to the title, explains the process behind creating a championship-winning side. With Simon Hughes and Simon Mann, he also explores the way coaching has changed since his first title in 2003 and how the emphasis is more about liberating than controlling. #cricket #cou...

Dickie Bird was one of the most famous characters in world sport, loved by millions across the globe. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann pay tribute to his wonderful persona on and off the cricket field. They discuss why he was so cherished and admired, even when presented with the most bizarre things in the middle, where he officiated with humility and humour for almost three decades. In part 2 they als...

Spearheaded by Josh Tongue, Notts secure a brilliant championship win over Surrey to go top of the table with one match to play. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann analyse where Notts seized control and assess the prospects for the last round of matches. They also hear from former Australian paceman Brett Lee on his thoughts about the Ashes, why he loves Mark Wood and what Freddie Flintoff did to him in...

On the 12th September 2005, 20 years ago, England regained the Ashes for the first time for 18 years. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann look back at the drama and emotion of that day as another eagerly awaited Ashes series looms on the horizon. Also in the show a review of the state of divisions one and two in the county championship, how our five county players to follow have been faring, and where and...

Simon Hughes and Simon Mann return to analyse England erratic performances in the one day series against South Africa. The standouts were Jofra Archer's bowling, Joe Root becoming England's leading ODI runmaker to go with his Test match prowess and 21 year old prodigy Jacob Bethell making his first century in senior cricket with a dramatic displat at Southampton. To enjoy our special video series...

The ninth and final extract from our exclusive 2005 Ashes video series relives the tense drama of the fifth Test at the Oval. The series was still in the balance until late on. the fifth day when Kevin Pietersen plated the innings of his life. It was an incredible piece of sporting theatre and in this episode we hear from Michael Vaughan, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Flintoff, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchri...

The eighth extract from our exclusive 2005 Ashes video series - the (fifth) Oval Test. The climax to the series had a long and very public build up as the nation clung to the hope that England could finally get their hands on the urn that had eluded them since the 1980s. Would Simon Jones be fit? Would Glenn McGrath recover? Could Shane Warne conjure more miraculous deliveries? Did Freddie Flintof...

The seventh extract from our exclusive 2005 Ashes video series relives the drama of England's tense run-chase at Trent Bridge. With the nation on tenterhooks, England - chasing 129 - collapse to 116-7 to the physical and verbal wiles of Shane Warne. The unlikely pairing of Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard come to the rescue. To watch the whole series and receive other special content sign up to Th...

Another extract from our six-part special video series on the 2005 Ashes. The series has moved to Trent Bridge where Freddie Flintoff stars with the bat rather than the ball, and a cheeky 12th man, Gary Pratt runs out an irate Ricky Ponting. To view this exclusive, ad-free video and the other episodes in the series, sign up to the Cricverse on Substack - https://cricverse.substack.com/p/inching-in...

Estimates vary about how many spectators were locked out on the final day - Monday August 15th 2005 - of the 3rd Test at Old Trafford. Some said 10,000, some said 20,000. There's no doubt the series was capturing the nation and 7m were reputed to be watching on Channel 4 as first Ricky Ponting and then Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath denied the hard-working England bowlers victory. At the end the all-...

The fourth extract of our special six-part video series on the 2005 Ashes. Its 20 years this weekend since the riveting third Test of that series at Old Trafford where England tried so desperately hard to take a 2-1 lead. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann hear from reverse-swing maestro Simon Jones, the incomparable Freddie Flintoff and the resourceful Andrew Strauss their memories of that match. To wat...