The Grade Cricketer

The Aussie Women show the way, Kohli arrives with the blade, Why Marcus Harris will now be known as 'Boogie', Pakistan, and some huge TGC news round out the opening proceedings here. Richard Hinds then joins to coherently examine the commerce behind female and grassroots cricket, before Victoria's favourite son Brad Hodge does us the pleasure of explaining why Khawaja was probably right last week,...

Australia's pre-series navel gazing is in full swing, and this time not even a Shield Shootout™ can sort the chaff from the chaff. To feel better, we caught up with Australia's new batting saviour, Usman Khawaja, and sought multiple undertakings that he'd make everything okay. Meanwhile, England are doing things Australia men can't do, and the women's team show us how it's done. AskTGC is the usua...

It's a special, in-person interview with the newly minted CEO of Cricket Australia, and one not to miss. Yes, he really does have crystal blue eyes. But fear not, despite those baby blues, we asked some questions. Tune in for TGC x Kevin Roberts on grassroots, 'marching' blokes from the building, the culture review, views on Warner/Smith returning, and nightmares about being timed out. Before that...

Australian cricket has caved in, again. We talk Warner, culture, Peever, Taylor, and everything else, before Dan Brettig helps us wade through the vagaries of cricket administration. Of course, we only deal in Test Captains now, so we locked horns with the greatest keeper-batsman of all time, Adam Gilchrist. Nothing more needs to be said: it's a bona fide must listen. We take your questions to rou...

It was lively, it was special, and the audio worked. On this week's show, we spoke with the 40th and 46th Test Captains of Australia. Tim Paine joined first; we talked about culture, change, and Shaun Young sledging his frosted tips as a fourteen year-old. Steven Roger Waugh came next, and regaled us with stories about Bankstown Oval, Baggy Green mythology, and why Dave should consider buying a te...

Adam Collins - 22m:26s Jason 'Dizzy' Gillespie - 36m:47s #AskTGC - 1hr:56s   EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Identity. Culture. The Australian Way. It’s all up for grabs this summer as we launch season three of the TGC cast in customary too-long and too-loose fashion. Tune in for Gideon’s shakedown of the true sandpaper cause, stay for Ed’s take on JL's new regime. Only AskTGC remains the same. There’s a new fake ad, and there's a new real home: The Diamantina Podcast Network. It's great to be on board....

Our Southern Summer finale. We talk Clarke, Waugh, the culture review and being on Wikipedia. We ask the ABCs Paul Kennedy about his ‘Caught Out’ investigation before he asks us about being champed by umpires. Trent Copeland makes his long awaited bow, discussing nicking off Jayawardene and the 140s club. We close with AskTGC, where Dr Happy provides welcome clinical advice on, well, Dad.   EXTRA...

Australia lost its Captain, Vice Captain and Coach this week. In doing so they ushered in a new Beta era that frankly frightens us all. We went another ninety minutes on this, and couldn’t have done it without Adam Collins in Jo’berg and of course Damien Fleming, who knows more about shaping deliveries than anyone else.   EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omny...

It’s big. 60 minutes of irresistible darkness punctuated by 30 minutes of light. Come for the cheating, stay for Ellyse Perry.  Doyen Sports Writer Peter Lalor brings us comment from Cape Town  before Australia's foremost cricketing role model and adult, Ellyse Perry, joins us from Mumbai to provide a ray of light. Finally, we welcome clinical psychologist Dr Tim Sharp, aka Dr Happy, for some over...

The South Africa-Australia Alpha Wars roll on as Smith feels contact and gets Rabada sent. Or does he? Yes. Meanwhile TGC calls for a crowd-sourced Wikipedia page, before Adam Collins brings actual insights and tells of actual guests on his own cast (it’s a good cast). We finish with the most expansive #AskTGC yet – pondering the important questions about rigs, Dads, alphadom and other new territo...

Let’s be honest, this show’s about sledging. Along the way you’ll hear from Cricinfo’s Dan Brettig, Ed Cowan joins to take your questions, talk retirement, and reinforce his deep affection for George Bailey, and we finish with the most abstract AskTGC yet, where Higgos raises something called The Experience Machine, and the rest of us contemplate the impact of Brexit on rigs. Thanks as always to A...

We return for the clash of the Alpha nations to talk Qantas shares, post capitalism, Andrew Daddo, Ivan Milat, and Dele Alli. Adam Collins helpfully guides us through the cricket itself, and Merv delivers as Merv does.  * Tea and No Sympathy will be out in the UK on June 7.  ** We do events now too. For all your bespoke club cricket entertainment needs in Australia or the UK, talk to us.  Big than...

Double the guests and double the hours of pure alpha to close out our second series. We split this one into two parts. First, we’re joined by freelancer extraordinaire Vithushan Ehantharajah, who explains why England are so good with the white ball and how to doctor a ball correctly. We also talk to Mitch Marsh, the cricketer everyone wants to be, who in-turn talks about the perfection of Marcus S...

Double the guests and double the hours of pure alpha to close out our second series. We split this one into two parts. First, we’re joined by freelancer extraordinaire Vithushan Ehantharajah, who explains why England are so good with the white ball and how to doctor a ball correctly. We also talk to Mitch Marsh, the cricketer everyone wants to be, who in-turn talks about the perfection of Marcus S...

There may be a post-Ashes lull in the Australian summer, but that doesn’t stop us recording the longest show of all time. Stick with it though, as Steve O’Keefe walks us through everything from under 10s rejection to a 12-for in Pune, and everything in between. Izzy Westbury goes a few more rounds with us and explains the Stokes affray thing, and Andrew Walton from MyCricket joins to celebrate 10...

Australia 4, England 0. Was this good? Also,  entrepreneur, philanthropist, community leader and former Shield batsman Ryan Carters joins to talk about better things, like Batting For Change. He’s followed by Australian paceman Jackson Bird, who covers private school cricket, bowling ‘140s’, the post-Ashes circuit and whether he remembers any of us. And then - as ever - it’s #AskTGC EXTRA HOUR of...

Ian Higgins and Dave Edwards are joined by Adam Collins to discuss the state of play after 2 days of Test cricket at the SCG. Mason Crane, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and #AskTGC EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Higgos and Eddos are joined by Ed Cowan and The Times journalist Will Macpherson to discuss SCG memories, Mason Crane, England's tour and of course.... circuiting.    EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look back at the MCG, forward to the SCG, and ask: what happened to Whateley? To help, we speak with writer extraordinaire Jarrod Kimber, a man with a fairly decent view of the Grandstand state of play as it stands. Who will be next? What even is an ‘SEN’? These questions, and a far more interesting chat about Jarrod’s new novella, ‘The Lillee of Campbellfield’, round our conversation. We finis...

A two-man band this week, as Pez and Higgos take up the post-Christmas mantle. We ponder a ponderous Boxing Day Test, before chatting with coaching whisperer to the stars, Trent Woodhill, who explains why everything you thought about cricket is probably wrong. We also catch up with The Times' Will Macpherson to talk about which careers should end and why, and take your questions in an abbreviated...

On this show: Another victory for alpha cricket. It's 3-0, Steve Smith gets the Bradman treatment, Marsh scores a ton in front of Dad, and England lose face. We discuss this and more with writer virtuoso Gideon Haigh, before talking with special guest Simon Katich - who covers Brendon Julian, winning in India, wearing State kit at grade level, impressions of Shane Watson and more. EXTRA HOUR of As...

We head West, where aesthetics may have killed Handscomb, we pay tribute to speed as is custom, we talk Duckett, Magic Bullet Theory and ponder whether the home team circuit too little, there’s Beta dismissals and the Windies, Adam Collins joins with facts and knowledge, #AskTGC continues and – in the greatest and least deserved coup in podcast history – we steal 19 minutes of Michael Atherton’s t...

It's 2-0: are we happy now? We talk Smith, Marsh, Anderson, sledging, fear, entitlement and hindsight post-Adelaide, before Pez and Dave catch up with former England Test stalwart Mark Butcher. #AskTGC closes things up, where we grapple with slight variations on the standard themes of alphas, champs, salads, and Toadie from Neighbours.   EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecr...

Australia 1 – 0 England: we wrap the Gabba, forensically examine the Australian Alpha Playbook, get the UK view from The Times’ Will Macpherson, take your questions on #AskTGC, and chat extensively with Chris Rogers on his own triple C: cricket, commentary and the circuit.   EXTRA HOUR of AskTGC EVERY WEEK: https://patreon.com/gradecricketer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.