Here in NZ test cricket is most certainly alive and well…… the recent series against England proved this. For smaller countries boutique grounds are the answer. The Hagley test was fantastic albeit we lost, the atmosphere was superb particularly the Barmy Army whom entertained us all test. Better than any T20 game I’ve experienced.
I stay up late into the early hours to watch test matches from New Zealand due to the cosy cricket grounds, the regular fans and the kids having a knock about around the ground. I know England gets crowds but they are of a certain social class and income bracket cos it is unaffordable for most. NZ has got the balance
Cheers guys for the podcast ❤. Some good laughs 😂 and interesting questions. I really enjoyed listening to all the different questions from different people 😊!! I hope that you both do more soon!!
Thanks to both of you for considering/answering my question about Jonny Bairstow! Yes Fine player as Nasser mentioned but Eng may have moved on! He got 4 tests in India but didnt go beyond 39 even once! In Limited overs format also he is the same after the Golf injury!
Talking about 6 hitting, Alan Lamb in 1987 hit 18 off the last over against Australia, which included two sixes. The wider cricket world talked about this feat for over 20 years. 18 off the over happens in test matches now let alone 50 over cricket. Different game
What does the hundred do that the T20 blast can’t? I’d have also asked do you have to be interested in women’s cricket too? Most viewers are men and many just aren’t bothered about the women’s game.
On those pitches skills are important than wood archer...bolland is unplayble. On those juicy pitches and with new modified kokkabura ball its very tough...
With regard to club cricket - I remember in the 70’s and 80’s being stuck in the 2nd XI team with no chance of playing for the first team. In that first XI were what we used to call “the old lags” guys well Into their 50’s and 60’s there mainly for the social group and activity that belonged to those long time members. The absurdity of a guy standing at slip with a huge gut, u able to chase a ball is why everything is wrong with club cricket. I’m not saying that all of these older players are not worthy of a first team slot, because some are extremely talented even at their age. I AM saying though that three or four in most teams are not worth their place and are keeping the younger, more hungry players away from improving more in a level above what they are playing. I haven’t a clue if this is still going on, but it was always so - the first XI was reserved for those long time members that did not want to give up their place to a young buck. Club cricket has to diversify and promote a senior team and league (unless this is a thing now) to allow young guys to have a pathway to a higher standard of cricket
Test cricket should give way to skills exhibition- batters v bowlers on trying wickets. That would make it an Olympic sport. For instance- surviving 5 overs of back to back Bumrah and providing points based on technique of bowler/batter.
Re flagging participation, clubs folding or unable to put out seconds or thirds, Home Office needs to allow foreign amateur clubbies to be able to come to the UK and play to at least mitigate the drop in numbers a tad, impart their outside experience while taking away whatever they garner here, translating to evolution and growth of the game and its management/admin and culture wherever they come from in due course. Some just want to come experience competitive UK cricket at own expense and needn't be paid overseas pros but would gladly help juniors or clubs out to take in and contribute to the whole spectrum of our incredible game.
i,m not holding my breath over stoksey going through another op and recovering fully.when you get so many injuries like he,s had and the way he plays i have my doubts.
No wonder Ind is a fantastic side and anybody would count them as a firm favorite for being one of the two finalists in upcoming CT but just because I want the final to be in our Lahore therefore, I just hope India doesnt make it. I know Pak has a chance too but yea Ind are firm favorites.
Do you really want to have a load of teams in an "English league" with dopey Indian names like sunrisers south London or MI Midlands? Teams which most real cricket fans actually hate? Terrible idea.
This was on the cards for a while. The T20 is a perfectly good format for the short form of the game. There was no need for the hundred which has led to this. The county clubs have been screwed over again and again by the ECB. England were so fixated on other countries with their shiny t20 leagues and sponsorships, they didn't realize they had the best system.
Hmm... well, I do not think there has ever been a period, even that mid 80s lull, that Australia ever would have been in contention for a tier 2 relegation, if that was a thing... and I do not think that will ever be on the cards even if it DOES happen. Also, given the ratings, and attendance records for the BGT just gone, I doubt Test Cricket will die. It might die, everywhere else but India and Australia, but that will be a failing of those countries. India seem to always have players willing and ready to play Tests, I guess because they can use it to up their IPL stock, for that auction night, rather than have to worry about being available to be IN the auction if nothing else. Australia, it is different.... the reverence for the Baggy Green has never truly died, not among any serious young cricketers playing juniors are district rep level or above... the aim is not a big IPL or BBL contract, not to wear the green ang gold, or gold and green... all those things are just markers, en route to a investiture which means they have actually fully made it... when they get their own Baggy Green, and that number is forever theirs, in the annals of Aussie Cricket. Red Ball will not die, when players want to play the hardest, best, most trying form of the game for pride, for their own measure, and for their country's glory..... why some Aussie players have even taken long breaks from the payday of the IPL. If you do not breed those kinds of Cricketers, that is a failing of your system, at ground level, and you probably ARE doomed to fall from the Test landscape... and probably deserve to. HOWEVER.... a two or even three tier system, with a whole clutch of countries being given Test status, (maybe we just say that you have to be able to HOST them, have somewhere to, be able to TRAVEL TO them, with all associated staff and logistics, and prove that you have say 15 blokes actually FIT enough to PLAY a proper Summer Test, that is to say, fellas that will not collapse and pass on by day three of Test one in a series if they have to play it outside of England, Ireland or New Zealand... and you can have Tests status)... well that system COULD .... *could* ... actually SAVE many countries from falling out of the Test picture. If you only have to play for promotion, against teams of equal skill, and do not have to play as much, so less costs involved, and really only have to worry about keeping fans, then you can invest a little, market aggressively, and still not lose out when that might just get you 5K fans at games.... and since it would allow more 'commercial', potentially more profitable, Cricket you could use that money to subsidize Tests at that level, ask a bit of charity from players and staff, seek a bit of discount from grounds, etc,. Because if you're free to make more money from Cricket in other ways than you would be having to keep up with the big boys, and aim for staying at the top, trying to stay in contention deep in to something like a WTC cycle, fighting to convince one the big three, who might actually MAKE your Tests money, to come play you instead of each other more, then that would invariably make it easier for the red ball format to hang around. You keep a lot of toes in the pool, just dangling, in. Once they grow their Cricketing systems, including maximizing their profits, and ensuring growth in funds, they can then look at actually making a tighter fist, some year down the line, of improving.. moving from 3 to 2, or 2 to the top. I think Test Cricket right now, does favour monied teams, with strong systems, and strong history and legacies.... not just one of those, all of those... and the rest kind of feel like they have to catch up, or are measuring against those teams, namely the Big Three... Brian Lara's tears at the GABBA when the West Indies won that Test you mention, in a way, kind of highlight just how much more it means, to be on par with say, Australia, even for a game, than say, Bangladesh. But you will just bleed money, and fail to regain the fans, and have those empty stadiums, if you are just not at that level, but are expected to be at that level, or the teams which are get all the money, all the ratings, all the fans, and all the limelight. It is a step in the right direction, I think, so long as there is still a WTC in that format.... whatever form such a system takes, at least, because it will at least hopefully remove some pressures, and the expectations, maybe let some places be 'smaller' on the Red Ball game, small enough they keep it around, and in so doing, hopefully save it in those places.. maybe even grow it in some new ones.
I genuinely feel this has been one of the best podcasts i have watched, please do more of these q and a style pods,will be great
Absolute legends when it comes to Cricket punditry. Truly remarkable, I just keep waiting for the podcast every single time.
I think it's also about the purity & unadulterated nature of their language.
Get a life. Teasing 😂 Same here!
Here in NZ test cricket is most certainly alive and well…… the recent series against England proved this. For smaller countries boutique grounds are the answer. The Hagley test was fantastic albeit we lost, the atmosphere was superb particularly the Barmy Army whom entertained us all test. Better than any T20 game I’ve experienced.
I stay up late into the early hours to watch test matches from New Zealand due to the cosy cricket grounds, the regular fans and the kids having a knock about around the ground. I know England gets crowds but they are of a certain social class and income bracket cos it is unaffordable for most. NZ has got the balance
Quality chat as ever. Hope this kind of question and answer feature becomes a regular occurrence.
These 2 are great cricket pundits absolutely legends on talking cricket 🏏
Make this a regular feature ❤
I am 56 years old. People were talking about the "death of test cricket" back when I was a child in the 70s and the ODIs first started.
Of course Nass isn't going to mention the fact that United were 1 man down and a cheap penalty awarded against them 😂
Funny his takeaway was united parked the bus and not that arsenal bottled it
the pitches in australia have been more bowler friendly then the ones in england in recent times
Yes and that has been the case since 2022.
Isnt that related to the ball as much as the pitches?
@ yh but also they leave a lot more grass on the pitch these days and i think the drop in pitches are slower then the old ones
I love these two
This podcast is gold
Shane Warne is legend
SA have a won an ICC trophy way back in 1998 btw. It was called ICC Knockout those days
Cheers guys for the podcast ❤. Some good laughs 😂 and interesting questions. I really enjoyed listening to all the different questions from different people 😊!! I hope that you both do more soon!!
Great discussion ❤
Thanks to both of you for considering/answering my question about Jonny Bairstow! Yes Fine player as Nasser mentioned but Eng may have moved on! He got 4 tests in India but didnt go beyond 39 even once! In Limited overs format also he is the same after the Golf injury!
Shut up and focus on Indian cricket pal. Not going so well for you is it 😂😂
@@brownbeardedguy9266 Saw Bairstow batting in the SA T20 yesterday. He's turned in to the Michelin Man!
well done to these too keep going in this weird times
Talking about 6 hitting, Alan Lamb in 1987 hit 18 off the last over against Australia, which included two sixes. The wider cricket world talked about this feat for over 20 years. 18 off the over happens in test matches now let alone 50 over cricket. Different game
Banter is unrivaled among these top blokes 😂. True legends
Test matches with the pace in which they’re played should turn into golf like itinerary- Thursday to Sunday. Predictable schedule and weekend games.
gr8,loved it,2 gr8 legends.
As a lifelong United supporter I enjoyed beating Arsenal and drawing with Liverpool of late.
u two r brilliant
S .Cook deserves a place in red ball and white ball team..
Highly Skillful bowler 👍
Quite a collection of books in Nasser's book shelf - Especially Ben Elton books. Maybe one day - you would do your picks for some good reads :)
no way crawley gets any runs in the ashes going by the pitches they produced in the Bgt
Not just crawley don't think apart from brook and root any of the england batsman ll be able to score runs
How did we not get a Carl hooper question in for Nas?!
What does the hundred do that the T20 blast can’t?
I’d have also asked do you have to be interested in women’s cricket too?
Most viewers are men and many just aren’t bothered about the women’s game.
Really enjoyed the pod cast.. Samosa Wallah is impressed.. worthy of some samosas. Thank you for your passion .. thnak you test cricket.
On those pitches skills are important than wood archer...bolland is unplayble. On those juicy pitches and with new modified kokkabura ball its very tough...
You should do more QandA style pods, see how popular Jarrod Kimbers WagonWheel podcasts are every week
Very good podcast...Samosa Wallah is impressed .. Thank you Nass, Thank you Athers, Thank you cricket
With regard to club cricket - I remember in the 70’s and 80’s being stuck in the 2nd XI team with no chance of playing for the first team. In that first XI were what we used to call “the old lags” guys well Into their 50’s and 60’s there mainly for the social group and activity that belonged to those long time members. The absurdity of a guy standing at slip with a huge gut, u able to chase a ball is why everything is wrong with club cricket. I’m not saying that all of these older players are not worthy of a first team slot, because some are extremely talented even at their age. I AM saying though that three or four in most teams are not worth their place and are keeping the younger, more hungry players away from improving more in a level above what they are playing.
I haven’t a clue if this is still going on, but it was always so - the first XI was reserved for those long time members that did not want to give up their place to a young buck.
Club cricket has to diversify and promote a senior team and league (unless this is a thing now) to allow young guys to have a pathway to a higher standard of cricket
What is your opinion of the proposed idea of the two tier system where the big three would play each other only?
Test cricket should give way to skills exhibition- batters v bowlers on trying wickets. That would make it an Olympic sport.
For instance- surviving 5 overs of back to back Bumrah and providing points based on technique of bowler/batter.
Don't agree that Saim makes it yet to next fab 4. Too early for Saim!
Absolute goats
Nasser hussain sir
A bigg fan of u sir
Biggest scary question sir
Why wrist spinners couldn't sustain in test cricket likes of Shane Warne
ECB should have focus on blast more than hundred, blast has potential to go Big...
40:00 Never knew nepotism was a thing in English cricket. Definitely a lot of the same surnames coming in over and over. Cook, Flintoff, Vaughan
Re flagging participation, clubs folding or unable to put out seconds or thirds, Home Office needs to allow foreign amateur clubbies to be able to come to the UK and play to at least mitigate the drop in numbers a tad, impart their outside experience while taking away whatever they garner here, translating to evolution and growth of the game and its management/admin and culture wherever they come from in due course. Some just want to come experience competitive UK cricket at own expense and needn't be paid overseas pros but would gladly help juniors or clubs out to take in and contribute to the whole spectrum of our incredible game.
Did Atherton just say 'cool'?
Love the podcast but the continuous gambling ads are irritating
Its obvious cricket in england died when it was taken off terrestrial tv never had satellite not watched it since
i,m not holding my breath over stoksey going through another op and recovering fully.when you get so many injuries like he,s had and the way he plays i have my doubts.
nasser and mike so u think kholi should retire from test cricket
Sky Sports need to start showing cricket matches rather than just podcasting about them
Leave the intelligent cricket talk for the men and you go and find an online stream to go watch some cricket
A bit of shade there. "KPs work of fiction". 😅😅😅.
What does anthers library look like?
Great podcast but rough start talking about football and women's cricket! 😂
No wonder Ind is a fantastic side and anybody would count them as a firm favorite for being one of the two finalists in upcoming CT but just because I want the final to be in our Lahore therefore, I just hope India doesnt make it. I know Pak has a chance too but yea Ind are firm favorites.
Sky test cricket coverage is fantastic , unfortunately they don’t always get every game. Have to make do with talksport .
Im glad the graphics of the hundred was talked about. Its one thing that I have never liked
Ath don’t lie u say what sky tells to say so please be honest
Do you really want to have a load of teams in an "English league" with dopey Indian names like sunrisers south London or MI Midlands? Teams which most real cricket fans actually hate? Terrible idea.
😢😢😭😭 my questions weren't considered 😭😭
It was a terrible question. That is why
This was on the cards for a while. The T20 is a perfectly good format for the short form of the game. There was no need for the hundred which has led to this. The county clubs have been screwed over again and again by the ECB. England were so fixated on other countries with their shiny t20 leagues and sponsorships, they didn't realize they had the best system.
If Test cricket dies, I leave cricket. I find the commodified white ball cricket to be without much consequence and very crude!!!!!
Hmm... well, I do not think there has ever been a period, even that mid 80s lull, that Australia ever would have been in contention for a tier 2 relegation, if that was a thing... and I do not think that will ever be on the cards even if it DOES happen.
Also, given the ratings, and attendance records for the BGT just gone, I doubt Test Cricket will die. It might die, everywhere else but India and Australia, but that will be a failing of those countries. India seem to always have players willing and ready to play Tests, I guess because they can use it to up their IPL stock, for that auction night, rather than have to worry about being available to be IN the auction if nothing else. Australia, it is different.... the reverence for the Baggy Green has never truly died, not among any serious young cricketers playing juniors are district rep level or above... the aim is not a big IPL or BBL contract, not to wear the green ang gold, or gold and green... all those things are just markers, en route to a investiture which means they have actually fully made it... when they get their own Baggy Green, and that number is forever theirs, in the annals of Aussie Cricket. Red Ball will not die, when players want to play the hardest, best, most trying form of the game for pride, for their own measure, and for their country's glory..... why some Aussie players have even taken long breaks from the payday of the IPL. If you do not breed those kinds of Cricketers, that is a failing of your system, at ground level, and you probably ARE doomed to fall from the Test landscape... and probably deserve to.
HOWEVER.... a two or even three tier system, with a whole clutch of countries being given Test status, (maybe we just say that you have to be able to HOST them, have somewhere to, be able to TRAVEL TO them, with all associated staff and logistics, and prove that you have say 15 blokes actually FIT enough to PLAY a proper Summer Test, that is to say, fellas that will not collapse and pass on by day three of Test one in a series if they have to play it outside of England, Ireland or New Zealand... and you can have Tests status)... well that system COULD .... *could* ... actually SAVE many countries from falling out of the Test picture.
If you only have to play for promotion, against teams of equal skill, and do not have to play as much, so less costs involved, and really only have to worry about keeping fans, then you can invest a little, market aggressively, and still not lose out when that might just get you 5K fans at games.... and since it would allow more 'commercial', potentially more profitable, Cricket you could use that money to subsidize Tests at that level, ask a bit of charity from players and staff, seek a bit of discount from grounds, etc,.
Because if you're free to make more money from Cricket in other ways than you would be having to keep up with the big boys, and aim for staying at the top, trying to stay in contention deep in to something like a WTC cycle, fighting to convince one the big three, who might actually MAKE your Tests money, to come play you instead of each other more, then that would invariably make it easier for the red ball format to hang around. You keep a lot of toes in the pool, just dangling, in. Once they grow their Cricketing systems, including maximizing their profits, and ensuring growth in funds, they can then look at actually making a tighter fist, some year down the line, of improving.. moving from 3 to 2, or 2 to the top.
I think Test Cricket right now, does favour monied teams, with strong systems, and strong history and legacies.... not just one of those, all of those... and the rest kind of feel like they have to catch up, or are measuring against those teams, namely the Big Three... Brian Lara's tears at the GABBA when the West Indies won that Test you mention, in a way, kind of highlight just how much more it means, to be on par with say, Australia, even for a game, than say, Bangladesh. But you will just bleed money, and fail to regain the fans, and have those empty stadiums, if you are just not at that level, but are expected to be at that level, or the teams which are get all the money, all the ratings, all the fans, and all the limelight.
It is a step in the right direction, I think, so long as there is still a WTC in that format.... whatever form such a system takes, at least, because it will at least hopefully remove some pressures, and the expectations, maybe let some places be 'smaller' on the Red Ball game, small enough they keep it around, and in so doing, hopefully save it in those places.. maybe even grow it in some new ones.
Jaker Ali of Bangladesh could be part of your Fab 4.
Came of age against the West Indies this winter, he just needs to back it up.
Sort your hair out Athers,
Marnus labuschange is the huge batsman of the era. Great batsman of the era 🐐🐐🐐🐐
InshAllah Pakistan will win CT 2025....🙂
Why u are always bieas both of u
Why do Indian fans have to post on EVERY cricket video?