Stumped

It's a new era for India with Smriti Mandhana replacing Harmanpreet Kaur as captain. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss Harmanpreet’s legacy and if Smriti is the right person for the role? New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson joins the programme as he relaunches a fast bowling challenge that discovered his skills 18 years ago. He hopes the competition can unearth new talent for...

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta discuss what the future could hold for West Indies cricket after the board announced a series of cost-cutting measures. International players face a 25% cut in retainer fees, and the men’s Super50 and women's T20 Blaze competitions have been suspended. Journalist and commentator Fazeer Mohammed tells Stumped the problems have been years in the making. T...

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma look back at Mark Wood’s England career and discuss the toll fast bowling can take on the body. The World Cup and Ashes winner has retired from international cricket, saying “the England dream has slowly been ground out of me over the last year”. IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings have appointed former Indian bowler Zaheer Khan as their head coach on a...

Will Steve Smith feature in the 2027 Ashes? The Aussie legend has hinted that he might not play in the next Ashes series because he’s "in kind of a series-by-series proposition". Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma examine the impact this could have on the Aussie batting line up and whether he’s considered as one of the of the greats of the game, despite not winning the urn away from hom...

India’s Smriti Mandhana continues to rewrite the record books. She’s now the all-time leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket and holds the record for the most international centuries. Alison Mitchell, Sunil Gupta and Clint Wheeldon discuss whether the left-hander is the greatest women’s batter of all time? England have appointed Kevin Pietersen as a specialist mentor for their white-b...

Former Pakistan leg-spinner and current Bangladesh spin coach, Mushtaq Ahmed, tells Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta that he’d love to work with Pakistan again in the future and gives his thoughts on the current instability in the nation’s national team. He believes Pakistan should remain calm and not make any rash decisions after they sent home seven players including two coaches afte...

Cricket isn't short of big rivalries. We can now add another one to the list - Vicars versus Imams! We hear from players from both teams about the mini series which has been going on for almost a decade in Lancashire, England. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta also reflect on Australia's comfortable win over Bangladesh as the Test series ended in a 1-1 draw. For the third time in the la...

Bangladesh stunned Australia by nine wickets in the first Test at Darwin, a result few saw coming. Nikesh Rughani, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss whether Bangladesh were simply too good, or Australia was below par. Jim, however, sees no reason to panic and believes the Aussies will bounce back in the second Test. Plus, former South African batter and Rotterdam Dockers co-owner Jonty Rhodes j...

Scotland and Netherlands say the ICC’s plans to shrink the men’s 2027 Cricket World Cup to 12 teams will make it harder for associate nations to qualify. Alison Mitchell, Charu Sharma and Brett Sprigg discuss the impact this will have on the sport. Three Test series get underway this week with Bangladesh in Australia, India travel to Sri Lanka and England host Pakistan. Brett says the Tigers deser...

Smriti Mandhana joins Stumped to discuss India's strong dressing room culture and the supportive environment that has helped shape the team's success. The elegant left-hander also reflects on winning the 2025 Cricket World Cup and on playing in the historic Test match at Lord’s and in The Hundred. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma reflect on her remarkable impact and discuss what India...

Eleanor Oldroyd, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma react to the news that England have appointed Stephen Fleming as their new Test coach with Joe Root returning as skipper. Charu feels he could be a calming influence, while Jim believes it doesn’t matter that England have appointed another coach from overseas. It’s the first time Fleming has taken charge of a red ball team after having success in franc...

West Indies fast bowling legend Ian Bishop tells Stumped that Sir Garfield Sobers transcended the game and stands alongside sporting icons like Pele, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Sir Gary died at the age of 89 and was regarded as one of the sport’s greatest ever players. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss his legacy and share their memories of meeting him. Plus - would you li...

Premier League winner Christian Fuchs tells Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma about his new love for cricket, hitting sixes into the river Derwent and sledging. The former Leicester City and Austria defender has signed up for his village team Grindleford CC in Derbyshire and is enjoying the switch to a new sport. Is the "Bazball" era coming to an end as Brendon McCullum is sacked as En...

Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has set another record by becoming the youngest ever player to play for India. He was just 15 years and 99 days old when he took to the field in India's second T20 of their ongoing series against England, breaking the long held record of Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut in a Test against Pakistan aged 16 years and 205 days in 1989. Alison Mitchell, Sunil Gupta and...

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss what’s next for England’s Test team following Ben Stokes shock retirement. Who will take the armband, how will Stokes international career be remembered and is it the end for ‘Bazball’? Making it as a professional in one sport is impressive enough but to do it in two is pretty special! That's exactly what 2019 World Cup winner Liam Plunkett has...

India legend Ravichandran Ashwin tells Stumped about his life in the US playing franchise cricket for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket. He discusses his coaching ambitions, whether the 50-over game has a future, and endorses the idea of cricket having a Champions League style tournament. He also says teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is “special” and believes he should enjoy...

Bangladesh created history by securing their first-ever ODI series victory over Australia, winning the recent three-match contest 2-1. The reigning world champions found themselves on the wrong side of the record books and have now lost four of their last five ODI series. Nikesh Rughani, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta discuss if Australia can fix their problems ahead next year’s Cricket World Cup. Th...

Eleanor Oldroyd, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss what’s next for Ben Stokes and England? Joe Root has replaced Ben Stokes as interim captain for the second Test against New Zealand after Stokes and Gus Atkinson were both dropped following an incident in a London nightclub. The team discuss if curfews work, the return of Root as captain and what the future could hold for Stokes? The biggest ev...

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss whether Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are building an IPL dynasty after securing back-to-back titles. The president of France Cricket, Prebou Balane, joins us after 31 men and women connected with the development of the women’s game in France wrote an Open Letter calling for change. Plus, South Africa's Tazmin Brits reveals her Ol...

The Afghanistan Women’s Refugee team are heading to England for a development tour during the Women’s World Cup. The England and Wales cricket board Deputy CEO and Managing Director of England Women, Clare Connor, tells Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma how the tour came about and discusses future funding of the team. With the start of the T20 World Cup just days away, the team hear mo...

Has Virat Kohli earned the right to decide when he calls time on his international career? Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss whether the 37-year-old needs to prove his worth to India’s selectors ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Kohli recently suggested he may not play if he needs to prove himself. The Women’s T20 World Cup is just around the corner and will be bathed in orange, as...

On Stumped this week with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma we discuss if IPL investment could be coming to the Big Bash League? It’s an issue that has divided cricket in Australia, but Charu feels Indian investors may not jump at the chance of buying a stake in a franchise. What’s the point of one-off Test matches? We debate the pros and cons of short series after former Sri Lanka cap...

New Zealand’s Suzie Bates will retire from international cricket after this summer’s Women's T20 World Cup. It marks the end of an illustrious 20-year career and many records to be proud of. Suzie tells the podcast it was a difficult decision but feels it’s the right time and believes the future is bright for the White Ferns with the next generation of players. Plus, Peshawar Zalmi beat Hyderabad...

The Women’s T20 World Cup starts in June and England have included uncapped 18-year-old left arm spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman in their squad. The teenager impressed in the recent intra-squad matches in South Africa. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss her selection ahead of the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders chief executive Venky Mysore says the new Olympic stadium in LA has...

Just weeks after they were brought in, the new rules allowing replacement players in England's County Championship could be changed at the end of the first block of fixtures. Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss how using substitutes in Australian, Indian and English domestic cricket is working and debate the merits of introducing them to international cricket. The team also refle...