The Cricket Slouch

Welcome everyone to the Seond Anniversary of The Cricket Slouch.As per tradition, we have done a special episode while the IPL is in full swing, and this time we talk about the important milestones - players, events, administrators - in the evolution of Indian Cricket over the past 5 decades, which was a conscious decision for the sake of brevity. Sandeep, Ajit and Rahul share their valuable input, views and insights towards this discussion that spans India's first win in the Windies and England to the doldrums of the 90s to where they stand now in global cricket. From players like Gavaskar and Sardesai to players like Kohli and Bumrah and everyone in between. Rahul's latest Snickometer channel can be found here. The article on Amar Singh and Mohd Nisar is to be found here.The books mentioned by Sandeep are named Elephant in the Stadium by Anurabha Sengupta, G R Vishwanath's Wrist Assured, and John Wright's Indian Summers, which are all available on Amazon and probably other book retailers too.  

Apologies for the delay in pushing this out due to availability of the speakers, but we finally get round to having a detailed discussion about the performance of the Indian cricket team in the recent India-England test series. Ajit, Shounak and Sandeep give their views and share their observations in this episode. We talk about the name of the series, individual performances if most players, strategies seen, areas for improvement transition of the team, future prospects, DRS and give due credit to the Selectors and the Coaching staff of the team. The blog article on DRS written in 2011 can be found here. Ajit's podcast can be found here on Spotify.And this links to the Guerilla Cricket website. Shounak's articles can be found at Emerging Cricket website.Big thank you to all the listeners for your support and patronage.  

In this episode, I talk to Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake about their record breaking feat and what it is like to be world record holders, to have that spotlight on you, and what this means to the upcoming generation of players in Japan.They also discuss various opponents, budding rivalries, the difference in playing International cricket and Grade Cricket, and future aspirations for the Japan national team. JCL matches are streamed live on their YouTube channel

In this episode, I sit with Alan Curr, Head of Operations at Japan Cricket Association and talk about the rise of Cricket there in the past 12 months, astonishing batting feats in the domestic leagues, their emerging talent, Charlie Hinze, improved fan and social engagement, developing strategic partnerships with MKI and Mizuno, and what the Olympics inclusion means for cricket there, and whether there is a possibility of Japanese robots doing mundane administrative tasks and bats made out of Japanese Willow !We also talk about their upcoming assignments starting with the ACC Challenger Cup in Thailand and other tournaments this year. Website - https://cricket.or.jpInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/japan_cricketX-Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/CricketJapanYoutube - https://www.youtube.com/@japan_cricket 

In this episode Shounak and I capture the joy and the emotions following West Indies magnificent win at The Gabba and what this could mean for the team and the players. Will ths herald the rejuvenation of West Indian Cricket or will this be another false dawn that follows a typical pattern that we have seen in the past. We then talk about the difficulties they have had with resources, broadcasting, the financial support for the team and the wider ramifications of this win. 

Greetings to all listeners.In today's episode, I sit down with Shounak , from Emerging Cricket website, and talk about the rise and growth of cricket in the African region, with special emphasis on its development in Nigeria. We also touch on its decline in Kenya, which is a tragedy in its own right. Shounak's interview with the Nigerian Cricket Federation president can be found HERE !A huge thank you to all the listeners for helping The Cricket Slouch cross 3000 unique downloads and for your continued support and patronage over the past couple of years. We truly appreciate it ! 

Welcome to 2024 dear listeners !The Cricket Slouch podcast hosts Sandeep (@sportsfan3791) and Hamza in this episode for a round of commiserrations and to explore what are the barriers to India winning a series in SA and Pakistan winning one in Australia.. or even at home for that matter, ha !And in our usual meandering way, we go on and talk about the politics of cricket, Boards, preparation, financial incentives, individual responsbilities, and finally bow out with a dig at England and their excuses when they lose. Minor error correction - Rohit Sharma did win the T20 WC in 2007 as a newbie. I guess some things never change :)Find us on X at @Cricketing_Conv  and follow us for cricket related chats, banter, posts, and updates for when new episodes are out. Have a lovely New Year ahead all !

As we approach the end of the league phases of the CWC 23, and head into the knock out phase, Sandeep suggested we talk about memorable knock out matches from the ODI World Cups of the past.And to do just that, Sandeep and I are joined by other regular contributors Ajit, of Armchair Cricket and Guerilla Cricket fame, and Shounak, a regular contributor at Emerging Cricket website.Matches discussed -4:10 - India vs England 1987 WC semi final 18:25 - Pakistan vs New Zealand 1992 WC semi final31:50 - India vs Pakistan 1996 WC quarter final47:30 - Australia vs West Indies 1996 WC semi final61:30 - Australia vs South Africa 1999 WC semi final86:30

This one is a bit Anglo-Australian in its theme and focuses more on the fortunes of the Australian and English teams in the World Cup, and for that very purpose I have roped in James and Damien to share their views on the teams’ progress thus far in the tournament.We also talk about the Angelo Matthews' dismissal, Maxwell's golfing accident, Warner's choice of shaving kit, Afghanistan's performances, Pakistan's chances of making it to the semis, and a re-prediction of the semi finalist spots.

Welcome to week 4 of the WC 2023, or the Ten Team Tournament, where I and Shounak recap the main events and close finishes of the past week, India's strong performances, Australia's upturn, England's downturn, Bangladesh's disappointing show and heartwarming performances by Afg and Netherlands. Shounak - @Shounak_WAThe Cricket Slouch - @Cricketing_Conv 

In this episode I am joined by Sandeep, Hamza and Ajit for a quick recap of the India-Pakistan match and other interesting results from the 2nd week of the tournament so far, and give our prediction for the Ind-NZ , and Pak-Afg match.We also talk about Netherlands' surprising show against SA, and England's disappointing one thus far. The Cricket Slouch - @Cricketing_ConvSandeep - @Sportsfan3791Ajit - @ArmchairCricPod

Welcome to another edition of The Cricket Slouch.Why do we need to talk about ODIs ?In today’s episode Shounak, Sandeep and I talk about the recent comments made by Mark Nicholas on the decline of the ODIs and that perhaps we should stop playing ODIs altogether, other than the World Cup.We look at this from the view of a common cricket fan, like us, and try and parse that statement down from various angles and contemplate on the reason for this, as well as come up with reasons why continuing with the format is equally important for the global health of the sport, especially among Associate countries.I hope we have been able to encapsulate this from the viewpoint of an average cricket fan and done justice to the discussion.We then segue into whether acceptance as an Olympic sport will be of any  benefit to existing and emerging countries, the cons of this, and how much funding is likely to come in. The Cricket Slouch - @Cricketing_ConvSandeep - @Sportsfan3791Shounak - @Shounak_WA Mark Nicholas’ comments can be found on this Cricinfo page.Links to articles penned by Shounak on the Emerging Cricket website.Article 1 – Five Rings, Five Hundred GrandArticle 2 – Cricket makes its long awaited return to OlympicsKimber’s viewpoints reference in this show can be heard on his YouTube channel.Kimber’s Double Century podcast on Player FM  and Apple Podcasts

Hello and welcome to all our dear listeners..This is the last in a 3-part series previewing the teams participating in the ten team tournament, also known as the ICC cricket world cup 2023.Eng and Australia were the last remaining teams which we had not covered earlier, and to help even that out I have James and Damien with me to share their thoughts on matters related to the squad selection and chances of each team. Damien, however is only available via text rather than speech, what a shame... 

Greetings everyone.After starting the Ten Team Tournament preview with India-Pak the last time round, and with next one planned for Aus-Eng, this has become the Meat-in-the-Sandwich episode, and it is a big chunk of meat too as we discuss the squads put forward by New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Afghanistan. We talk using food metaphors, sarcasm, fond nostalgia, play on words, and end with the meaning of Shardul, who is cricket's Rajnikanth.The article by Aryan Surana re: factors affecting swing at Pallekele is to be found at the following link.https://www.guerillacricket.com/69493,how-seam-movement-authored-the-pallekele-chapter-of-asia-cup As always, The Cricket Slouch is on X (ex-Twitter) @Cricketing_ConvSandeep is there too @Sportsfan3791Ajith joins us there @ArmchairCricPodAnd Rahul doesn't post much but can be found @rahulpatilnzPlease follow, chat, engage and help spread the word about the sport !

Greetings and welcome to all listeners to the Cricket Slouch podcast.Today we will touch upon some of the salient events of the past 6 weeks, such as the series wins by Sri Lanka and Pakistan womens teams over England and South Africa respectively, Heath Streak’s passing, and the Indo-Pak section of the ongoing Asia Cup and then discuss India and Pakistan’s WC squads.Today I am joined by Sandeep, as usual, and we have a debutant, named Hamza.Twitter handles are as below -The Cricket Slouch - @Cricketing_ConvSandeep - @Sportsfan3791

This episode focuses on the 3rd Ashes test post-mortem.We talk about Mitch Marsh's return, Stokes heroics, Wood's and Woakes' contributions, Murhpy's baptism, Bairstow's and Warner's poor form, poor cricket tactics from Australia, and possible selection dilemmas and expectations for the 4th test match. 

This episode was recorded before the final match of the CWC Qualifier final between SL and Netherlands, which is a mere formality to decide which team ends in which group for the Ten Team Tournament.It has been a fascinating competition thus far over the past 3 weeks with more than a tournament’s fair share of highs, lows, heartbreaks and feel-good stories.To help talk about this further and share their joy over the developments, I have Shounak, who is an Emerging Cricket correspondent, and Ajith from the Armchair Cricket Podcast. Shounak is on Twitter @shounak_waAjit can also be found on Twitter @ArmchairCricPodThe Cricket Slouch is on Twitter @Cricketing_conv

In this episode, we do a preview of the India-West Indies series.We talk team squads, the arbitrary science of selection, player fitness, Indian bench strength, squad development for the next major tournament, nostalgia about the Windies, press box gossip and the very high probability of India winning comfortably.To discuss this, we are joined by a new guest, Rahul Patil, who wears many hats. He is based out of NZ and writes for the Cook Islands news outlet as well as Sportsfreak, a NZ based sports website. He also manages the Cook Islands mens team, commentates on the side and has a few spicy stories to share. The Sid Monga article on Sarfaraz can be found here -https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/why-is-sarfaraz-khan-not-being-selected-in-india-test-squad-1384618 Rahul is on Twitter @rahulpatilnzThe Cricket Slouch is on Twitter @cricketing_conv  

Welcome to the review episode for the 2nd Ashes test, where i am joined by James and Damien, my Ashes regulars now.In this one, we talk about the cricket and non-cricket drama from the second test of the men's Ashes series. We brush on politics, the loss of Windies from the WC 2023, Border's recent diagnosis, and our expectations from the next match.Long may the shenanigans continue !The Cricket Slouch is on Twitter @cricketing_conv

In this episode, I am joined by Sandeep and Shounak, returning collaborators to talk about the ongoing CWC Qualifiers, the pathway to WC qualification, which team has impressed and who hasnt, our usual ICC bashing, and talk of potential things that can be done to market the game better. TCS can be found on twitter @cricketing_conv