98 Not Out - The Cricket Podcast

Former Kent and England cricketer Rob Key chats to us about classic encounters between Kent and Essex and why he loved playing at Chelmsford. He also reveals the story behind the title of his book, "Oi, Key!", as well as his transition from the playing field to the commentary box.

Barry Hearn is best known for bringing snooker, darts and boxing to the public's attention and making household names of the biggest stars. In our chat we talk about his love of cricket and why, as a traditionalist and lover of the red ball game, thinks that for the sport to survive, the white ball game might need to take centre stage. Should the ECB have engaged with him earlier to take the game...

Jarrod Kimber's film "Death of a Gentleman" was a real eye-opener about the ICC and the governance of cricket and the allegation that the English, Australian and Indian boards were attempting to grab control with the intention of financial gain. It caused a huge stir at the time and the issues raised are still being discussed today. Therefore, we thought Jarrod would make a fascinating guest and h...

Rob Andrew is probably best known as the prodigious point scorer kicking goals for England, when he played fly-half as part of Will Carling's team of the late 80s and 1990s. He tells us about how rugby was an amateur game back then and how even top players had to juggle playing international rugby with holding down a day job. But before all that, Rob won Cambridge Blues at university in both rugby...

Former Surrey, Kent and England opening bat MICHAEL CARBERRY talks us through his journey from the streets of South London to playing for England in front of ninety thousand fans at the MCG on that tour of 2013-14, where England was thumped 5-0 by Australia and the tour was remembered not only for the result, but also the withdrawal of Jonathan Trott on health grounds and Graeme Swann's shock deci...

Bunbury-in-Chief David English gave us a rollercoaster of a chat across subjects ranging from teaching the all star Hollywood cast of "A Bridge Too Far" to play cricket, fielding in the slips with Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman, managing the Bee Gees and witnessing Elvis Presley's unique way of changing the channel on his tv at home in Graceland. Of course, there are plenty of cricket stories, includ...

We caught up with Ali Martin from "The Guardian" who is in Australia covering The Ashes. After the heavy loss at the GABBA, we discuss the prospects for the day/night Test next up at Adelaide and whether England can salvage the series.

At the age of 13, Roland Butcher arrived in England and after a chance opportunity at Stevenage Cricket Club, he advance to be one of five black players in the Middlesex squad and go on to be the first black player to represent England. Ironically, he made his Test debut in his native Barbados against that feared West Indies attack on the tour of 1980-81. He compares his experience to that of fell...

One of England's great wicket keepers talked to us about playing for his country; a debut at lord's in 1988, followed by a memorable clash with Australia a year later, getting sledged and getting runs! He also recalls batting at Johannesburg during Mike Atherton's heroic innings against South Africa ion 1995. We also talk about a reputation he gained for unusual habits and routines... Of course, t...

Mark Pougatch is known to millions as the presenter of football on ITV - 28 million tuned in to the England vs Denmark Euro 2020 semi final - but he is also a huge cricket nut! We spoke to him about a new podcast he has produced on the 1986/87 Ashes tour, which is fascinating listening. He also had plenty to say on cricket as a whole and revealed a very in-depth knowledge of the game. Catch it via...

Former Middlesex, Essex, Hampshire and England batter Owais Shah spoke to us late in 2020 from Sri Lanka, where he was on commentating duty for England's Test series there. He spoke about playing and covering cricket in Covid conditions and hoped that dan Lawrence would continue a fine tradition of Essex players in the national side. He looked back on his career and how much he loved playing at Lo...

An excellent chat with Dean Headley about his days at Kent and Middlesex playing alongside some legends of the game and how dressing room culture has changed down the years. At the same time he talks about how the game has always needed to embrace change to evolve in the modern world and mentions the impact of World Series Cricket, the arrival of the 40 over game and of course T20. He recalls memo...

In today's podcast episode, we go back to our chat with former England bowler Gladstone Small, who talked to us just as cricket was emerging from lockdown and the West Indies were arriving to play a Test series behind closed doors. "Gladys" told us about his own exploits in an England shirt against the West Indies and brought us up to date with his current work for the PCA, Lord's Taverners and hi...

Trotty tells us about his favourite ground he played at around the world and how the advance of social media and camera phones ruined the experience for players touring overseas. We talked about the all-conquering England side he was a key part of, especially beating India and Australia away in 2010-2011. We get an insight into the mind of Kevin Pietersen and also his toughest opponent Dale Steyn....

Earlier this year, "98 Not Out" made it to the Final of UK Cricket Podcast of the Year, only to be soundly thrashed by "Zero Ducks Given", a superb podcast hosted by Toby Tarrant with Dan Norcross and Stephen Finn. We caught up with Toby to talk cricket, fund-raising for the Lord's Taverners, losing a bet with Chris Moyles and his appreciation of Ben Foakes's thighs!

We caught up with one of England's great characters and got him to reminisce about his days playing with Gatting, Gooch, Gower and of course Ian "Beefy" Botham. He recalled a few stories from those great Ashes Tests and also what it was like to bat against that fearsome West Indies attack, where he openly admits "I could die here". He tells us of his greatest team mates and also the opponents he a...

Jahid Ahmed is the third player from Essex to reveal accounts of racism, bullying and intimidation at the club. He pulls no punches in our chat and remembers some extremely painful episodes from his playing days. Now a coach, he reveals his hopes for the game becoming more inclusive and ridding itself of the horrors of the past. A riveting listen and we were so pleased that he gave us some of his...

Former Surrey, Essex & England pace man spoke to us about home schooling during lockdown, his days at Essex and Surrey; how he never had a drink until he was 31 (he's a rum man now!) and how he thrived against a strong Australian side Down Under. He also explains why his mum still hasn't forgiven Graham Thorpe for not letting him get a Test century, leaving him stranded on 99 not out...

This was absolute quality! We caught Monty on top form as a serious chat about lockdown and doing your bit to help others progressed into taking the wicket of his hero Sachin Tendulkar, Monty's tips for working out at home, then he demonstrated a hitherto unknown talent for accents and gave us his Australian, West Indian and even Cockney voices. Brilliant!

In one of our landmark interviews, we managed to get hold of David Gower in the summer of 2020 and had a great chat about his time playing for England alongside the likes of Botham, Lamb and Gatting. The largesse of Sir Elton John Down Under and how the perfect tea for him would be some  Bollinger, caviar and blinis! We also talked about his work for the Lord's Taverners, where he is currentl...

In July 2020, international cricket returned after the Covid break. Memorably, the West Indies was the first team to visit England and we caught up with Sir Clive Lloyd after his team had beaten England in the 1st Test at Southampton. He talks about the inequality distribution of wealth currently in world cricket and illustrates just how expensive it is for the West Indies to host international to...

Ashes 2005 hero Matthew Hoggard relives his glory days, striding through the Long Room at Lord's on the first day of that memorable series, how the series unfolded and the unforgettable scenes in London as the team paraded the Ashes from an open top bus. He also talked about taking a Test hat-trick in Brabados in 2004 and the emergence of a certain Kevin Pietersen. On retiring from the game, Hoggy...

We caught up with the busiest man in cricket in a gap in his schedule to get his thoughts on the game; is white ball and franchise cricket a threat to the red ball game? What is the current state of cricket in the West Indies and can Chris Gayle go on for ever? Top global coach Donovan Miller told us all!

A highly entertaining chat with Ed Piller, a lifelong cricket fan, who played u14s for Essex, but his career as a budding professional leg-spinner tailed off as selection chances fell away. HIs love of the game never left him and he tells us about following England all over the world and why he is no fan of the Barmy Army. A commercial opportunity at Surrey saw Ed become great mates with the Holli...

We caught up with South African twirler Simon Harmer, just as the 2021 English season was getting underway. He told us how the Essex squad was the fittest he has ever trained with and how he is excited by the crop of young players coming through from the academy. He recounted that memorable T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston in 2019 and also talked team mates and playing alongside Sir Alastair Cook.