

Test Match Special
BBC Radio 5 Live
The Test Match Special team bring you the very best reaction, insight & analysis of the Ashes Test series with daily episodes from down under.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 30, 2025 • 37min
No Balls: Alex arrives in India with World Cup fever!
Kate Cross & Alex Hartley actually talk cricket as they look ahead to the 2025 Women’s World Cup.They discuss Alex’s not-so-smooth journey to India, why this World Cup could be the closest ever, and why Australia are still Alex’s pick to win the competition. Plus, how Emma Lamb’s “frightening” form can help England on their way to challenge for the title.Also, Crossy challenges Alex in ‘How well does Hartley remember her World Cup win?’

Sep 23, 2025 • 39min
No Balls: A trio of trophies & Crossy's England future...
Alex Hartley is alongside Kate Cross to discuss Crossy's England future as she announces that her England contract hasn't been renewed. They also talk about Crossy's domestic dominance as she wins her THIRD trophy of the season as Lancashire win the One Day Cup.

Sep 20, 2025 • 39min
What is it like to enter the Australian Ashes cauldron?
Alison Mitchell is alongside former England Ashes batter Dawid Malan and England World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent to discuss the pressure England players are put under when playing in the Ashes down under.What do Australia do on the pitch to press England, how can England’s less-experienced players cope, and what did Dawid find intimidating during his time batting for England in Australia? Dawid tells all about the media waiting for players as they come off the plane and being grilled by his batting heroes who would interview him after a game.

Sep 16, 2025 • 34min
No Balls: Crossy’s back to County Cricket after The Hundred
Kate Cross & Alex Hartley discuss the trials and tribulations of playing cricket towards the end of the season. They have their say on the awful abuse umpire Sue Redfern received after the T20 Blast Finals Day. Plus, Alex tells Crossy what a ‘productive day’ looks like in the Hartley household.

Sep 14, 2025 • 27min
Baztalks
England coach Brendon McCullum joins Daniel Norcross, Chief cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt and former England bowler Steven Finn to review the international summer and look ahead to the winter – including the much anticipated Ashes.

Sep 2, 2025 • 32min
No Balls: EMERGENCY - Crossy’s won The Hundred!
Alex Hartley & Kate Cross record an emergency pod as Crossy wins The Hundred with the Northern Superchargers!

Sep 1, 2025 • 39min
The 2025 TMS Hundred Awards
Henry Moeran is alongside Ashes winning bowler Steven Finn, World Cup winner Alex Hartley, and TMS commentator Alison Mitchell to award the unofficial 2025 TMS Hundred Awards.Which batter hit the best innings of the tournament? Who had the best bowling spell? What is the shot of the competition? And who took the best catch?

Aug 27, 2025 • 50min
No Balls: Alana King & I
One of Australia’s finest ever leg-spinners, Alana King, joins Kate Cross & Alex Hartley following her lengthy stint in the UK with Lancashire Thunder and Trent Rockets in The Hundred.They discuss Alana’s heroes growing up, including Shane Warne & Kristen Beams, as well as choosing between tennis and cricket at a younger age and why she ended up in the back of a police car on the M6 on the way to a match for Lancashire.

Aug 22, 2025 • 28min
No Balls: Crossy's World Cup squad reaction
Alex Hartley and Kate Cross dive into the emotional fallout of Crossy's exclusion from the World Cup squad, sharing how she’s coping with the tough decision. They explore the pressures of team selection and its psychological toll on players. The conversation lightens up with fun stories of celebrity encounters and hilarious dance aspirations. Listeners are treated to amusing anecdotes about on-field celebration mishaps and the unpredictable nature of cricket, blending sports with relatable humor.

Aug 20, 2025 • 35min
Introducing... Sonny Baker
Manchester Originals and Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker is set for an England debut after being called up for the squads to face South Africa and Ireland in September by head coach Brendon McCullum. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Baker discusses learning from Sir Jimmy Anderson at the Originals, his notebook full of analysis of batters he has bowled at, being a “fast-bowling nerd”, and why he’s such a big fan of bone broth.


