81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

Is there any other sport that allows recreational players to rub shoulders with superstars? Scott Oliver has traced down these delightful stories in a new book called Sticky Dogs and Stardust and we speak to Scott to understand his passion for this type of story and how these experiences can reveal so much about a cricketer and their love for the game.  Among the several superstars to have played in club cricket in England, the book tells the stories of all-time greats such as Adam Gilchrist, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Wasim Akram, and Shane Warne - and also reveals what these cricketers' presence meant for their amateur team-mates.  Support 81allout on Ko-fi * Sticky Dogs and Stardust by Scott Oliver is available to buy in hardback and ebook formats. You can get 10% off the standard price at ⁠thenightwatchman.net⁠ with coupon code 81ALLOUT. Hardback (£15.30 + shipping when you use 81ALLOUT): ⁠https://www.thenightwatchman.net/buy/sticky-dogs-and-stardust⁠ Ebook (£4.49 when you use 81ALLOUT): ⁠https://www.thenightwatchman.net/buy/sticky-dogs-and-stardust-ebook⁠  Talking Points: The allure of the big star playing the small game The thrill of seeing a youngster with the potential for greatness Seventeen-year old Adam Gilchrist finding himself in England The remarkable story of Viv Richards in his pomp at Rishton CC The sight of great fast bowlers like Marshall and Donald terrorizing amateurs The cult of Garry Sobers at Norton CC The cricketers who disappointed their clubs  The passing of an era - and how cricket's current economy doesn't allow for superstars to be part of an amateur setting  Participants: Scott Oliver (@reverse_sweeper) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Books republished by 81allout: War Minus the Shooting - Mike Marqusee Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - Mike Coward The Summer Game - Gideon Haigh --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Sticky Dogs and Stardust review - Martin Chandler - Cricketweb.net List of Scott Oliver's articles

The 2024 edition of the IPL has seen hitters step up to a new level - with 200-plus totals becoming routine and 200-plus chases being achieved too. Is this an inflection point for the format? And how should we be talking about the sport if this is the new normal?  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: Why has this IPL seen a sudden jump in totals? Has the impact-player rule played a significant role in raising totals? Have teams found more hitters to accomodate in the XIs? Jake Fraser-McGurk - the prototypical T20 hitter The effect of non-capped Indian players like Abhishek Sharma, Ashutosh Sharma  Why Dhoni bats so late in the game: the effect of platooning  What does it mean when you wish for a balance between bat and ball in T20s? Why higher scores suggest the hitters are more in control of their shot-making Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Karthikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Hitting v Batting: the choice that dictates the shape of a T20 contest - 81allout podcast What’s the deal with T20 bowling? - 81allout podcast Jake Fraser-McGurk, the ideal T20 batter - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo How Do International Cricketers Do At The IPL? - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview

How much does bowling matter in T20s and how does one measure the potency of a bowler in this format? What are the measures of excellence for a T20 bowler?  Support 81allout on Ko-fi Talking Points: How does one describe a good T20 bowler? Is it possible to separate actions and outcomes for T20 bowling?  A format that offers the bowlers almost no leverage What is the role of bowlers in a contest designed to be between bat and bat? Does a great T20 bowler need any particular skills?  The value of bowlers with unconventional actions What Jasprit Bumrah does well in T20s Why T20 bowlers can't be viewed in the same way as Test or ODI bowlers Can we gauge bowling in T20s before hitting has reached its full potential? The future of T20 bowling - and why some rule changes can bring bowlers into the game The Harshal Patel problem for T20 bowlers Are teams being inefficient when paying huge sums for bowlers? Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Karthikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Hitting v Batting: the choice that dictates the shape of a T20 contest - 81allout podcast Bowling doesn't really matter in T20 - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Ferociously fast and thrillingly direct: how Mayank went bang, bang, bang - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo 'If you go searching for wickets in T20, you're playing into the batsman's hand' - Samuel Badree interview by Nagraj Gollapudi - The Cricket Monthly ICC recommends ODI rule changes - Cricket Australia 

T20 started in the early 2000s but what if the format was invented 15 years earlier. Who were the players who would have excelled in the shorter format? We decided to pick a T20 side from the era before the IPL and debated how Aravinda de Silva and Brian Lara might have changed their game for T20s. And if players like Ricardo Powell and Adrian Kuiper would have had more illustrious careers than they did. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: The evolution of ODIs and T20s - and how both took about 20 years ago mature Would players like Sunil Narine have been as big a star if not for T20s? The West Indian legacy in terms of accelerating the T20 evolution Which players from the past would have thrived in this format? Would you have heard much more of Alistair Brown and Michael Di Venuto had T20s been around earlier?  Would Aravinda de Silva have continued his Mad Max avatar in T20s? Ricardo Powell, Atul Bedade, Robin Singh - the superstars who could have been Players like Lance Klusener who rigorously practiced range-hitting  The value of a good googly bowler in T20s Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Deepauk Murugesan (@complicateur)  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related:  Ijaz Ahmed's 84-ball 139 v India in Lahore in 1997 - YouTube When Surrey smashed the 50-over World Record thanks to Alistair Brown's 268 - YouTube When Kapil Dev hit four sixes in a row to avoid the follow-on at Lord's - YouTube Atul Bedade's big day in Sharjah - YouTube

We review the fifth Test between India and England in Dharamshala – where India stamped their authority with a win by an innings and 64 runs. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: A one-sided – and thoroughly expected – end to a Test series in India The Bazball delusion  England's inadequate bowling resources thoroughly exposed Kuldeep the genius - a wristspinner with both variety and control  R Ashwin caps off his 100th Test with signature spells The first morning - when Bumrah and Siraj made the ball talk The challenge against spin for Duckett, Pope, Stokes, and Bairstow  Did England Bazball enough or too much? And why it doesn't matter When Shubman Gill was at his fluent best The problem with England playing Anderson and hardly bowling him England not replacing the injured Leach and Rehan - and over-bowling Bashir Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related:  IND Win By An Innings In Dharamsala, Finish Series 4-1 - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview On Ravichandran Ashwin - India's greatest matchwinner - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview  Just sit back and get ready to marvel at R Ashwin, for the 100th time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo Joe Root on facing Ashwin and Lyon - Sky Cricket podcast - YouTube How India Bazballed England - Himanish Ganjoo - X (formerly Twitter)  

We review the fourth Test between India and England in Ranchi – where India sealed a series with a magnificent five-wicket win.  Support 81allout at Ko-Fi Talking Points: The third-innings bowling that capped another brilliant third-day fightback India's forced accelerated transition - with a team full of youngsters Dhruv Jurel's expert batting with the tail Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep - an undecipherable trio  Bazball sucking all the oxygen out of the England media Did England miss a trick by not bowling Anderson and Robinson enough? How England's statements often ran opposite to their actions Could England have done better in India if they shelved Bazball? Akash Deep's dream first spell Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Ranchi win epitomises current era of India's Test team with promise for the next one - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo India Pull Off Sensational Heist Against Negative England In Ranchi - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack Fog of post-truth Baz-chat obscures England’s progress under Ben Stokes - Barney Ronay - Guardian England lose series in India - Sky Cricket Vodcast - YouTube  

We review the third Test between India and England in Rajkot – where a terrific all-round performance helped India go 2-1 up.  Support 81allout at Ko-Fi Talking Points: India's magnificent bowling on Day 3 How the flat pitches in this series are neutralizing Bazball India's spinners - turning the ball more with greater control Why England's batting tactics are actually a tribute to India's great bowling Why India are actually relentlessly attacking while England are highly defensive Why England should have played an extra seamer in all three Tests The problem for England's spinners in India - lack of control Sarfaraz Khan's old-school method of lofting spinners  Shubman Gill's tweak to his technique Ashwin's 500th, Jadeja's stupendous Test Mohammad Siraj - non-stop relentless  Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Craft Kuldeep undoes Bazball - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo India win by 434 runs - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack What next for Bazball after India crush England - Sky Cricket Vodcast - YouTube R Ashwin: the 5D chess master of modern cricket - Jarrod Kimber - YouTube

We review the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam – where Jasprit Bumrah powered India to a 106-run win.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: A celebration of Test cricket A series with echoes of the 2016-17 home series v Australia  Are England really playing Bazball? India's decision to play five bowlers even with an inexperienced batting line-up Does anyone think of drawing a Test match these days? Jasprit Bumrah: an artist operating on a different plane to the rest James Anderson's spell and the mystery around how little he bowls in India Did England pick one spinner too many? Yashasvi Jaiswal's crackling double-hundred Shubman Gill making the most of his luck to a fine Test hundred Do these pitches give India the best chance v England? Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Jasprit Bumrah press conference after Day 2 - BCCI.tv Sky Cricket podcast with Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain - YouTube India Beat England By 106 runs- Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack Jasprit Bumrah's spells in West Indies in 2019 - Antigua, Kingston - YouTube

We review the first Test between India and England in Hyderabad – where India lost a Test match at home after gaining a first-innings lead of 190.   Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: One of England's greatest wins Ollie Pope's freakish 196 India's approach to facing left-arm spin Why England choose to sweep and reverse-sweep India's spinners Bazball and the approach to risk-taking India's batters getting out to unforced errors after being set Jasprit Bumrah's astonishing range  Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Sky Cricket podcast with Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain - Sky Sports How England cracked the risk-reward equation in Hyderabad - S Rajesh - ESPNcricinfo England begin their series in India with a win... Again - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack Jasprit Bumrah interview with Ali Martin - Guardian Bharat Arun interview - 81allout podcast  

We rewind to England's tour to India in 2001-02 - when India won the three-Test series 1-0 and England leveled the six-match ODI series 3-3. England arrived in India on the back of terrific series wins in Sri Lanka and Pakistan - and despite a green bowling attack managed to gave India a scare in two Tests.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: The uncertainty around the tour because of the events around 9/11 India's eventful 2001 - epic wins, big defeats, and plenty of controversy  The similar (yet contrasting) narratives around the captaincy of Nasser Hussain and Sourav Ganguly  How England's raw bowling attack found a way to restrict India's batting line-up The legend of Ashley Giles bowling a negative line from over the wicket Tendulkar's peak - and the unrealistic high standards everyone set for him Craig White and Matthew Hoggard: coming of age on a tough tour The Bangalore Test that could have been played in Headingley The threat of Sehwag at No.7  Marcus Trescothick's dream run in the one-dayers When Flintoff took his shirt off Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) DP Prashant (@prashantdptweet) Ashoka (@ABVan) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy) Australia (paperback, e-copy) USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy) UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Related: India v England, Ahmedabad Test highlights, 2001-02 - YouTube India v England, Bangalore Test highlights, 2001-02 - YouTube England divided by safety worries - Mike Selvey.- Guardian Playing with Fire - Nasser Hussain autobiography - Amazon Coming Back to Me - Marcus Trescothick autobiography - Amazon