Cricket Badger Podcast
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The Cricket Badger chats cricket with top players, coaches, media people and some of the biggest names in the game. With daily podcasts through some of the world's biggest tournaments & series. Contact the show on [email protected], follow us on Twitter @cricket_badger. Thanks for listening.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · June 2026
Cricket Badger Podcast gives serious cricket fans an England-heavy read on Test tactics, selection pressure, and the sport around the match.
Cricket Badger Podcast belongs in Sports as a cricket room for listeners who still want the argument after the scoreboard has gone quiet. The sampled episodes stay close to Test cricket, with England's Ashes post-mortems, the Brisbane defeat, the 2-2 England and India series,…
You want your Ashes post-mortem with sleep-deprived candor and zero access-journalism varnish.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A cricket postmortem focused on the dismissal that swung the Test.
This is a straight cricket postmortem, and it keeps its eyes on the dismissal that changed the Test. It tracks what went wrong, who made the call, and why England still looked in control until that moment.
A measured cricket discussion that frames the groundsman row as a question of cricket judgment.
The discussion stays centered on the groundsman dispute and the reaction to Gambhir's comments, and it gives both sides room without ducking the awkward parts.
Ireland memories, a pink-hair fundraiser, and a chase worth revisiting.
The appeal sits in Kevin O'Brien's cricket memory bank, and the discussion is strongest when it stays with the Ireland years that made him such a familiar name.
A steady Test-match chat about patience, survival, and when to attack.
This episode stays with a familiar Test-match question: when to press, and when to dig in. It is strongest when it returns to patience, using Michael Clarke, Pujara, Dravid, and Ponting to show how much value there is in slowing the game down and staying present.
A calm, candid cricket interview about county life, setback, and the grind behind the scorecard.
Cricket Badger keeps this one at its best when it stays close to David Wiese's account of disappointment, adjustment, and the slow grind of county cricket.
A sharp, unsparing cricket debrief that knows exactly where England went wrong.
It plays like a blunt cricket post-mortem, treating the series as something shaped by planning as much as by play. England's selection calls, McCullum's role, and Australia's read on the conditions all come through with real bite, and the insistence on the wrong ball gives the…
A steady batting discussion about pace, judgement, and disciplined net work.
This is a practical batting discussion, with the focus staying on early season preparation against pace and movement. The strongest stretch comes with the high speed bowling machine routine, then the way that work ties into judgement around off stump, playing late, and keeping…
A bruised Ashes debate with proper cricket detail and little appetite for polish.
This Ashes episode lands on a simple point: England look like a side that has misread the series badly. The chat stays on the bad loss, selection calls, Australia's bowlers, and the familiar ways England keep backing into trouble.
Local cricket, score by score.
Cricket analysis with the lid off.
Loose talk, sharp turns, real feeling.
Cricket reaction with memory and nerve.
The show digs into Australia’s series win and England’s reaction to it.
Cricket Badger Podcast focuses on day one of the second Tests in New Zealand and Australia, with Harry Brook’s 123 off 115 balls against New Zealand framed as the day’s major difference.
Cricket Badger Podcast episode 613 centres on James and two guests dissecting England’s 2-0 Ashes hole after six days of cricket in Brisbane and Perth.
Cricket Badger Podcast focuses on England's 400-plus-run defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton and the broader question of whether Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jacob Bethell, and Zach Crawley are being managed well enough.
Cricket Badger Podcast episode 600 pairs James Buttler with Daniel Norcross and uses the milestone to revisit Buttler’s path from Yorkshire supporter and club employee to podcast host and broadcaster.
Stephen Chalk explains why Brian Close became the subject of One Hell of a Life, citing Alan Hill's earlier biography, Trevor Bailey's praise, and Alan Gibson's line about Close as a "devil of a cricketer." He traces Close from his England debut at 18 and his return at 45 to the repeated controversy around selection, captaincy, and his place in Yorkshire and Somerset cricket.
Tanya Aldred tells the Cricket Badger Podcast why cricket and climate change are now linked by travel, flooding, heat, and waste.
Cricket Badger Podcast 604 focuses on England’s Headingley win over India, with the hosts framing it as a final-day chase led by Ben Duckett and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Cricket Badger Podcast 599 focuses on England’s next 12 months, with the hosts framing the Ashes in Australia as the point where BazBall will be judged.
Dean Wilson discusses Sid Lawrence’s life in cricket, bodybuilding, business, and illness, with the book "In Syd’s Voice" as the frame for the conversation.
The episode turns to the England-India Test series and settles quickly into the bowling questions that define the matchup, especially what Jasprit Bumrah means in different conditions.
Cricket Badger opens with sponsor chatter, then settles into a long conversation with a guest.
The episode opens with an Ashes post mortem and quickly broadens into a talk about English cricket's coaching culture, where former players are handed jobs, interviews, and authority that may not match the real demands of coaching.
The conversation talks about batting as a craft that sits between control and instinct.
The coach gets straight into batting.
Cricket Badger Podcast 605 focuses on England’s one-innings win over India at Lord’s and Australia’s 3-0 Test series victory in the Caribbean.
England's ODI and T20I squads for India and the Champions Trophy are the focus, with James and Lucas saying Joe Root's return fits England's workload management for a major tournament.
Cricket Badger Podcast covers England’s Wellington win and Australia’s Adelaide victory over India, with Michael and Lucas comparing two very different Tests.
Cricket Badger Podcast opens with Lucas arguing that The Hundred was always a route to money, but the £15 million per county and the London Spirit valuation show how much the structure could change county cricket.
Tim Wigmore joins Cricket Badger to discuss Test Cricket: A History, a book he says grew out of a 2020 conversation in Sri Lanka and took more than three years to finish.
If England don't engage their collective cricket brains they are absolutely toast in this series.
James and Lucas preview the 2025/26 Ashes with England heading to Australia for a five-Test series and James saying he starts the first Test at 2 a.m.
The hosts and guests recap the thrilling England vs India Test series that ended 2-2, highlighting key moments like India's dramatic win at The Oval, Chris Wokes' brave injury performance, and Harry Brook's costly dismissal.
The episode opens with the cricket chatter and then widens into the handshake fallout, the comments around it, and why the whole thing has drawn more heat than it needed.
Former Ireland cricketer Kevin O'Brien discusses his unlikely path from failed architecture student to international cricket pioneer, his 15-year playing career including a famous 2011 T20 innings that opened T20 leagues globally, and his current role as assistant coach of Italy's T20 World Cup-qualifying team.
Host James interviews author Annie Chave about her book 'Cricket Changed My Life,' featuring inspiring stories like Waleed Khan's survival from a terrorist attack, Enid Bakewell's pioneering cricket career, and Syrian refugees finding hope through the sport.
Interview with Jamie Porter, 31-year-old English cricketer for Essex County Cricket Club.
James and Lucas open on Australia’s Sydney Test win, saying it took the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back from India and made 2025 start well for Australia.
The Cricket Badger Podcast hosts review 2024 international cricket, awarding categories like best batter (Kamindu Mendes), bowler (Jasprit Bumrah), and emerging player (Yashasvi Jaiswal), while discussing key moments such as India's T20 World Cup win and Jimmy Anderson's career legacy.
Cricket Badger Podcast focuses on New Zealand v England's second Test preview, starting from England's first-Test win after New Zealand dropped eight catches, including five chances to Harry Brook.