WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY: Live From The Wheeler Centre

·1 hr 3 min·4 clips

Mitchell Starc's red-ball value is framed as greater than his white-ball reputation.

The Wheeler Centre hosts the recording. Erin Vincent welcomes the room and places it as the centre’s first 2026 event, with the usual acknowledgement of Country and a nod to how much the venue enjoys live podcast recording. Haig and Lawler are introduced as the night’s draw, and the room gets the feel of two writers talking rather than performing a polished set piece. The first proper topic is Australia’s Test batting order. Usman Khawaja’s breakdown in the first Test is treated as the moment that changed the series, and Travis Head moving up is framed as the happy accident that followed. They argue that the move may also change the way Australia thinks about batting from here on. Leadership and coaching get credit for being willing to let Head have his head. They note that he had already done the job in India and Sri Lanka. The Perth circumstances made the move feel possible. Marnus Labouchagne going to open is mentioned as the precursor that did not really work. From there the conversation pushes back on the idea that the top six can bat anywhere. That only works if the rest of the order can support the chaos. Head is described as adaptable, but not in the sense of being a one-trick pony. Smith’s future becomes the next question, and his captaincy record is laid out plainly, with eight wins, one draw, and one loss. The closing stretch brings in spin, South Asia, and a Jim Higgs joke before the live event signs off with the familiar goodbye from one voice and goodnight from the other.

As heard by us

A live cricket chat that turns Australia's batting reshuffle into a thoughtful argument about leadership, adaptation, and the top order.

The episode treats Australia's batting reshuffle as a proper cricket problem, not just a passing talking point. Gideon Haig and Peter Lawler work through Travis Head opening after Usman Khawaja's injury, the case for Marnus at three and Steve Smith at four, and the wider…

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Why you'd press play

You want two veteran cricket journalists working through Australia's top-order reshuffle with proper Test-match logic.

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