The Grade Cricketer

Steve O'Keefe steps into the guest co-host chair this week as we bring you a special show, in-person, from North Sydney Oval. Are the Scorchers too good and too scary? What is a spin camp and what is a scarified deck (and how do you say it?). England can’t play white ball cricket anymore, Mott Ball is a myth and sounds a bit like an Irishman saying Moth Ball, India and New Zealand are doing highly...

The cricket industrial complex rolls on mercilessly, dragging our tired minds and eyes with it, so it’s a BUMPER show this week. Higgos takes an overdue breather, so Pez steps in with guest co-host Ed "Ted" Cowan. The Aussie women annihilate Pakistan, Ash Gardner speaks up about Australia Day, Smith’s doing savant stuff, Dan Christian and Steve Eskinazi join the show, Cricket NSW is a DISGRACE acc...

We get 45 minutes with “Players’ Boss” Todd Greenberg this week, to traverse the Afghanistan situation, the future of cricket, broadcast rights, Warner, and everything else other executives don’t seem to want to talk about. Elsewhere, India and Australia announce their squads, the Amazon Doc dropped with some incredible, as-yet unreported revelations, the BBL vibe remains strong-if-cartoonish, Meg...

A drab draw closes out the Test summer, and we’re asking: what the fuck was that? Sure Australia destroyed all-comers, passing records and milestones with frightening ease - but why couldn’t they deliver this specific thing exactly as we wanted it? And why did Cummins declare on Khawaja? The reason will shock you (he wanted to win). Elsewhere, there’s a bit of money knocking about for the TV right...

Is this good or is this the end? Boxing Day delight for the Aussies as we bury our head in the sand like an emu that can't walk backwards. How good's the COAT of arms? What does this mean for the SCG? Can we get a new toy to fuck around with? Something new for the eyes would be nice. Alex Malcolm is in studio to give us some actual analytics and analysis of what cricketers and high performers do....

The GABBA deck, Sydney Lime all out 15, Rehand Ahmed's debut, Morne Morkel and a son on detention.   Budgy has both us and you covered wherever you are the world. There’s a new drop of gear across underwear, party shirts, Christmas jumpers, golf wear, stubbies, bucket hats. All new, for you, at budgysmuggler.com(.au)   Watto at T20 Stars is backing you, too. Sorry about the value. Use the promocod...

It was absolute boot-filling stuff against the West Indies, but now it's 1 vs 2 in the WTC table against South Africa. Brisbane is sold out, then it's Christmas and then it's New Year. David Warner's leadership ban remains, in yet another ugly chapter in the whole, sad debacle. The Big Bash starts today. Is that good? Maybe it's good. Daniel Brettig joins us in studio to discuss Mike Baird becomin...

“Forget the scorecard,” advises Viru. Well, we can’t. Marnus tripled, Smudge doubled red, Gareth took six and Australia (essentially) cantered. It’s all we asked for, but is it enough? Of course not. So fresh, raw meat is mooted in Adelaide, in the form Lance Morris – all sunken eyes, Dieter Brummer salad – because we demand more. Or maybe it doesn’t matter, because Cummins took a knee. No wonder...

Isn’t it beautiful when blokes just care? Once again our golden generation bails us out of cricketing dystopia in ways “everyday” Australians understand. Forget our systemic sleepwalk into decline, what we really want to know is: who is the alpha? The answer is neither Cummins nor JL, and may surprise you. Elsewhere, blokes continue the eternal quest for social capital, but this time they’re thiev...

A special day in the annals of TGC as we sit down with an all-time great: Wasim Akram. The man of such prodigious and electrifying cricketing ability spends just over 30 minutes with us and we cover some ground: being spotted in the streets, circuiting with Imran, playing in England, hooping it, partying, addiction, and much more. The chat coincides with the release of his memoir: Sultan. Wasim te...

TGC lands another white whale, without question, the one with the best obliques and leanest body mass. Faf du Plessis joins us to discuss nearly every sordid and amazing achievement of his glittering career. From being told to sit in a bathtub from his idol, Daryl Cullinan, to taking us into the showers of the Durban dressing rooms during Sandpaper-gate, Faf bares all for TGC. We hear stories of A...

We start this week with a full dissection of a run out at the non-striker's end in sub-district cricket in Melbourne. Australia have won an ODI series against Drunk England 3s, but is the team winning HARD enough? Steve Smith has found his hands again, though not the captain's armband. Dave Warner's leadership ban is set to be lifted and the WBBL is getting into the business end, but do we like th...

Get TGC hoodies, t-shirts, caps, and bucket hats at our brand spanking new website:  gradecricketer.com/shop . Sign up to Patreon for a 10% or 20% discount using a special code at  patreon.com/gradecricketer This episode is brought to you by Budgy Smuggler. Buddy are about to release a new line of underwear! Use the code ALPHA for 20% off your order! You can get free shipping on your order by usin...

They're calling it the best World Cup ever but Australia is out and no one cares about it anyway.... unless you like T20 in which case it is absolutely sensational. Australia is out of the tournament, so what does this mean for the future of the sport in this country. Ed Cowan helps us out with these big issues and also signals that the start of the summer must be approaching. South Africa submit...

You can get Watto's new book 'Winning The Inner Battle' from November 7 at his new website, http://shanewatson.au EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Cup is absolutely ruthless and so is the weather. It's all to play for as we head into the second week of round fixtures. Do New Zealand have a loss in them? Can Australia overturn their NRR? How did England lose to Ireland? South Africa is doing something good and Pakistan is out. Far Du Plessis describes the culture of the dressing room when he first started playing and we discuss a fe...

ANNOUNCING OUR NATIONAL LIVE SHOW TOUR We’re live and in the flesh for the first time in three years, returning to the stage for a national tour accompanying the most hotly-anticipated double Test series specifically involving both the West Indies and South Africa in recent memory. Fresh(ish) from our sometimes-chart-topping podcast (charts mean nothing), adoption of paywalled content, and selling...

  Get TGC hoodies, t-shirts, caps, and bucket hats at our brand spanking new website:  gradecricketer.com/shop . Sign up to Patreon for a 10% or 20% discount using a special code at  patreon.com/gradecricketer This episode is brought to you by Budgy Smuggler. Buddy are about to release a new line of underwear! Use the code ALPHA for 20% off your order! You can get free shipping on your order by us...

Recorded from a bed at a 1 star hotel in an undisclosed location, Australia's Adam Zampa joins us 24 hours before The World Cup proper begins at the SCG. We cover friendship, sportswashing, leadership, June, match-ups, and most importantly, the importance of the "Get Rarer" movement, crystallised by the donning of lids on lids. Incidentally, should you wish to partake in the movement, the ZAMPA x...

We're joined by ornament to the game, Harsha Bhogle, for a one hour, feature-length interview. We wanted it reverent, he wanted irreverence, so we found a middle ground. We traversed the Asian Century, new and old India, run-outs, the future of cricket, Axar Patel's relationship with the stumps, great lines in commentary, birds, blokes bowling in black belts, Kohli clickbait stuff, whether or not...

The World Cup is finally here and TGC kicks it off with possibly the loosest show since the last World Cup. Who are the favourites? Is Che La Luna the song of the summer? Will Warner ever captain again? Can Western Australia go all the way after their win over India? What's New Zealand up to? Bharat Sundaresan makes his TGC debut from a seedy hotel in Hobart to give us his insights into his net-re...

Get TGC hoodies, t-shirts, caps, and bucket hats at our brand spanking new website:  gradecricketer.com/shop . Sign up to Patreon for a 10% or 20% discount using a special code at  patreon.com/gradecricketer This episode is brought to you by Budgy Smuggler. You can get free shipping on your order by using the code 'CHAMP' at  https://www.budgysmuggler.com.au   Check out our Patreon for exclusive c...

Huge news: TGC now has kit! Get TGC hoodies, t-shirts, caps, and bucket hats at our brand spanking new website:  gradecricketer.com/shop . Sign up to Patreon for a 10% or 20% discount using a special code at  patreon.com/gradecricketer This episode is brought to you by Budgy Smuggler. You can get free shipping on your order by using the code 'CHAMP' at  https://www.budgysmuggler.com.au   Check out...

National and global cricketing icon, Ellyse Perry joins us for a special interview direct from TGC HQ, aka Higgos’ apartment. Arguably Australia’s greatest ever Womens cricketer, Pez generously fields questions on important matters: like her what’s app messages, her defensive positioning for the Matildas, horses, and whether or not she agreed to this interview for image and brand purposes only. Of...

Mankads, mankads, mankads. How do they make us feel? Is that relevant? Should you just stay behind the line or is that too simplified an argument? Is this the new normal? Who owns cricket? Is any of this funny? We discuss it all after the Charlie Dean and Deepti Sharma 'incident' at Lord's. In better news, TGC is back on stage in Melbourne on November 2 and we want you to come along. In even bette...