Test Match Special

For the last 12 months, Jonathan Agnew has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the England men’s cricket team’s planning to win back the Ashes. Throughout the year, Aggers has spoken to key players, including Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, but also those lesser-known names who play crucial roles. In Episode Three, we meet the backroom staff – the Performance Director who has to work out how many cricket balls the team will need throughout the tour, the nutritionist who hides Frosties at the breakfast buffet, and then the Strength and Conditioning coach who puts players through their paces on the first day of the summer.

After a dramatic few weeks in the UAE, Kate and Alex reflect on victory for Australia. Plus, India superstar Jemimah Rodrigues joins the pod from the Women's Big Bash League.

For the last 12 months, Jonathan Agnew has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the England men’s cricket team’s planning to win back the Ashes. Throughout the year, Aggers has spoken to key players, including Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and many more, but also those names who are less familiar, but still play crucial roles – the tour planners, the nutritionists, the fitness teams.In Episode One, we looked at England’s meticulous planning. But, as we’ve seen over the past twelve months, things don’t always go to plan. Injuries to key players, an entire team having to self-isolate, and a bowler whose social media past comes to light during his Test debut… it’s been another bumpy ride for English cricket.

For the last 12 months, Jonathan Agnew has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the England men’s cricket team’s planning to win back the Ashes. Throughout the year, Aggers has spoken to key players, including Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and many more, but also those names who are less familiar, but still play crucial roles – the tour planners, the nutritionists, the fitness teams. In Episode One, we go back to January. Joe Root is in Sri Lanka, and Aggers catches up with him to find out what England’s long-term plans are. But as the tours of Sri Lanka and India continue, it’s clear that England’s rest and rotation policy is becoming increasingly unpopular, especially as England start to lose in India.

Isa Guha is joined by T20 World Cup finalist Dirk Nannes, T20 World Cup winner Carlos Brathwaite and former England World Cup spin bowler Phil Tufnell to review Australia’s 8 wicket win over New Zealand in Dubai. We also hear from Australia captain Aaron Finch, Australia coach Justin Langer, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, player of the match Mitchell Marsh and player of the tournament David Warner. We also review the tournament as a whole and discuss what the result could mean for the Ashes.

Tymal and Woody reflect on England's T20 World Cup journey coming to an end at the semi-final stage. We get the lowdown on being drug tested and reveal what Eoin Morgan said in the team meeting post-match. Special guest Mark Saxby, AKA the most popular man in English cricket, joins the pod to chat his 15 years working with the squad. He's the masseur, unofficial DJ, and a leader on team culture.

Mark Chapman finds out more about West Indies T20 World Cup winner Carlos Brathwaite and former Premier League defender Micah Richards.The pair met briefly on the Monday Night Club, but here they have a chance to discuss their shared Caribbean heritage, love of football and the difficulty they both faced after their ‘career-defining’ moment in sport.Carlos goes into detail about those four infamous sixes he hit in the 2016 T20 World Cup Final and his subsequent West Indies captaincy, which wasn’t welcomed by many of his colleagues and teammates.We find out if either could have played any other sport and delve into their new jobs in punditry. Plus, the pair try their hand at reading the classifieds, and in a game of ‘This or That?’, we find out just how much they have in common.TOPICS: 01’40 The first meeting on the Monday Night Club 3’30 A shared Caribbean heritage 6’00 Why Carlos moved to Portsmouth 9’00 The ‘Caribbean cricket’ stereotype 10’00 Did either know just how good they were at a young age? 16’00 Why Micah never played cricket 17’00 Micah tests his cricketer knowledge 20’00 The changing image of cricket 25’00 A love of football – Man City v Man United 29’40 Winning the T20 World Cup in 2016 and moving on from ‘career-defining’ moments 34’00 Micah on the pressures of playing for England and winning the Premier League 38’00 Criticism as a captain 41’00 When Micah knew it was time to retire 46’00 Getting into punditry and having to criticise former/current teammates 54’00 Reading the classifieds 58’40 This or that? Just how much do they have in common?

England are into a semi-final and Woody’s finally been fit enough to start a game! Though he did get told off by Eoin Morgan on the field… The boys discuss England’s defeat to South Africa, Jason Roy’s injury, and Sam Billings joins the pod to talk about what it’s like being on the fringes of a starting XI, as well as working out his team of best footballers from the England cricket squad.

Kate Cross and Alex Hartley speak to Kyle Coetzer, the man leading Scotland through a memorable T20 World Cup. Plus, there's LOTS of talk on how Kate's kitchen should be arranged.

Tymal may be out of the World Cup, but it doesn’t mean the podcast is over… Mark Wood and Tymal Mills discuss what it’s like to walk off injured during the middle of an over, and just how much PPE you have to wear when going for a scan outside the bio-bubble. The two are joined by Nathan ‘Numbers’ Leamon, the England team data analyst, to find the most ridiculous question he’s ever been asked by a player, and what his signals from the boundary edge mean. Plus they look back on two impressive wins against Australia and Sri Lanka, including a memorable century from Jos Buttler.