

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

Aug 15, 2025 • 45min
No Balls: Ellyse Perry enters the chat
Ellyse Perry, the legendary Australian all-rounder, joins the hosts to discuss her transition to captain of Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. She reminisces about her journey from football to cricket, highlighting pivotal moments that shaped her career. The conversation takes a humorous turn with tales of a bill received for breaking a car window during a WPL match. They also dive into the evolution of women's cricket, quirky sports anecdotes, and the dynamics of team play, all while keeping the atmosphere light and engaging.

Aug 11, 2025 • 20min
Who makes your Ashes XI?
Jonathan Agnew is alongside former England captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook, and Test Match Special statistician Andy Zaltzman to discuss who plays for England in the first Ashes Test down under in Perth. Does the top seven pick itself, which bowlers are picked, and which players currently not in England squad could make a late charge for selection?

Aug 9, 2025 • 25min
No Balls: Headingley, happiness on-field & a Hartley head injury
Kate Cross & Alex Hartley convene in a hotel room the morning after Kate’s winning start in The Hundred with the Northern Superchargers. Should there be substitutes in cricket, what would Alex call a pub if she opened one, and what loud bang what Crossy up in the middle of the night?How to get in touch:
Email - noballspodcast@bbc.co.uk
Text - 81111
WhatsApp - 0330 123 1826
Start your message with 'NOBALLS'

Aug 5, 2025 • 35min
No Balls: The Hundred, The Oval Test, and Oasis
Alex Hartley and Kate Cross look ahead to The Hundred starting, with Crossy entering her third year at Northern Superchargers. They react to the dramatic finale to England’s Test series against India at The Oval and Chris Woakes putting his body on the line for his side. Plus, Alex & Crossy go to see Oasis!

Jul 30, 2025 • 36min
Making a Masterpiece: Behind Settling the Score
Eleanor Oldroyd takes you behind-the-scenes in the making of the iconic collaboration between Test Match Special and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.This peak behind the curtain sheds light on how The 2005 Ashes: Settling the Score came to be, speaking to the Director of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Adam Szabo, who prefers not to remember the result of the 2005 series as an Australian. As well as Scotland under 16s cricketer and now conductor Mark Herron and cellist Steve Callow. Plus, TMS producer Tim Peach gives insight into which pieces of music made it into the documentary and why.The 2005 Ashes: Settling the Score is available on the Test Match Special feed on BBC Sounds right now.

Jul 28, 2025 • 36min
Catchin' Sachin: the Root to the record
With Joe Root now second on the all time Test run-scorers list, Jonathan Agnew, Sir Alastair Cook and Cheteshwar Pujara ask if he can pass Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs.

Jul 26, 2025 • 37min
View from the Boundary: Dame Sarah Storey
Dame Sarah Storey tells Jonathan Agnew about her love of cricket and how she's continued to dominate Paralympic sport over the last three decades.

Jul 24, 2025 • 51min
No Balls: India legend Smriti Mandhana
Alex Hartley and Kate Cross are joined by India legend Smriti Mandhana to discuss where her love of cricket began, captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL and what Kate Cross is like as a teammate. Plus she answers some listener questions.

Jul 21, 2025 • 32min
Mark Wood: Ask Me Anything
Jonathan Agnew presents your questions to England bowler Mark Wood in the TMS commentary box at Lord’s. Who is his dream bowling partner? How do you mark your run up? And are the England bowlers in competition about who can bowl the fastest?

Jul 20, 2025 • 37min
View from the Boundary: Mishal Husain
Broadcaster and author Mishal Husain joins Jonathan Agnew for a View from the Boundary in the TMS commentary box at Lord’s. They discuss her experience interviewing Elon Musk, the partition of India in 1947, and the humbling nature of cricket.


