

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

Jun 17, 2019 • 46min
Tuffers and Vaughan: Robin Smith opens up
Tuffers, Michael and Chappers are joined by former England batsman Robin Smith, who speaks very frankly an openly about his mental struggles when playing and after retiring, including depression, alcoholism and contemplating suicide.If you are feeling emotionally distressed and would like details of organisations which offer advice and support, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Jun 17, 2019 • 45min
CWC Day 19: Sensational Shakib, wilting Windies and Curran for Love Island?
We're in the England camp ahead of the match with Afghanistan; Eoin Morgan refuses to rule out a return for the axed Alex Hales, whilst Mark Wood gives us the lowdown on his TV schedule. Curtly Ambrose is withering in his assessment of the West Indies' bowling as Bangladesh knock off the second highest run chase in World Cup history, and on its twentieth anniversary we replay the unbelievable finish to the 1999 semi-final at Edgbaston between Australia and South Africa.

Jun 16, 2019 • 34min
CWC Day 18: India show their class to leave Pakistan on the brink
A Pakistani supporter may have arrived at the ground on an beautiful horse but there was nothing elegant about the performance of the men in green at Old Trafford. Former star all-rounder turned Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted before the match that Sarfaraz must be bold and bat first....he put India in and Rohit, Rahul and Kohli all made him pay. Graeme Swann and Prakash Wakankar give their assessment of the match whilst Aatif Nawaz has another chastening loss to his big rivals to stew on. You'll also hear from the two captains and KL Rahul.

Jun 15, 2019 • 45min
CWC Day 17: Australia go top, Amla ambles, and the big India Pakistan preview
All eyes on Old Trafford for the most eagerly awaited match of the tournament as India and Pakistan face off. In this pod you’ll hear from Waqar Younis on what it’s like to play and coach in these games, plus a brilliant account of what this fixture means to fans with Doosra podcast host Aatif Nawaz. Meanwhile, Australia have gone to the top of table with victory over Sri Lanka. We speak to Jason Gillespie about Mitchell Starc’s brilliance, David Warner’s confusing scoring rates and why he thinks individual milestones in one-day cricket are overrated.

Jun 14, 2019 • 42min
CWC Day 16: Root’s heroics, Woakes at 3, and England’s ‘perfect performance’
Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook and Jonathan Agnew reflect on England’s ‘perfect performance’ to beat West Indies by 8 wickets, but there are concerns about injuries to Eoin Morgan and Jason Roy. We hear from Joe Root, who scored a century and took two wickets, as well as Morgan and an angry Fazeer Mohammed tells us why he’s had enough of West Indies’ ‘showboating’. Glenn Hoddle joins the podcast to talk about his love of cricket, and what it was like to face Joel Garner. And Andy Zaltzman gets very excited as history is made as England win back-to-back victories at a World Cup against Test level opposition, and then even more excited as someone e-mails him about ‘Eddie Hemmings World’.

Jun 13, 2019 • 39min
CWC Day 15: England await explosive West Indies
Alastair Cook chats England's task against the West Indies, whether or not Jason Roy could feature in the Ashes, the sleepless nights he had when leading England, and is joined by old friend Graeme Swann to reminisce about their days in the slip cordon.Plus, we check in with Eoin Morgan to ask if there's been a whip round for Moeen and his wife after the birth of their child.And as the quest for a listener in every country in the world hots up, we do our best to pronounce some of the lesser-known towns and cities from where you've been emailing in.

Jun 12, 2019 • 42min
CWC Day 14: Warrior Warner, outstanding Amir and UN full member states
Finally a day with no rain! David Warner’s brilliant century helped Australia squeeze past Pakistan in a thrilling match in Taunton, despite a superb bowling display from Mohammad Amir – Waqar Younis tells us just what he thinks it will do for Amir, plus Michael Vaughan, Geoff Lemon and Aatif Nawaz give their thoughts on a brilliant match. Trevor Bayliss explains to us why he hasn’t been watching any non-England games at the World Cup, and we continue our quest to find a listener to the podcast in every country in the world. We’re nearly half way there.

Jun 11, 2019 • 41min
CWC Day 13: Swanny's guide to rain delays and cricket-loving corgis
Yet more rain means Sri Lanka and Bangladesh never even take the field but fortunately Graeme Swann and Paul Farbrace are in superb form as they guide us through what happens in the dressing room during rain delays, how not to coach a player and the mentality of a successful spin bowler. Plus, Dan Norcross and Andy Zaltzman debate the pros and cons of moving the tournament to Mauritania.

Jun 10, 2019 • 42min
CWC Day 12: Rain, retirements and the evolution of pace bowling
Pacemen Curtly Ambrose and Tymal Mills talk about their careers and how fast bowling has evolved and former Protea captain Graeme Smith discusses the mess South Africa find themselves in following AB de Villiers' attempted retirement U-turn.

Jun 9, 2019 • 39min
CWC Day 11: Impeccable India, sticky bails, and David 'dot ball' Warner
Michael Vaughan says India are the best team in the tournament so far after a 36-run win over Australia. We try to make sense of the conservative Aussie chase, particularly from David Warner, and ask if it's only a matter of time until a sticky bail incident proves pivotal in the outcome of a match.Plus, we speak to Jimmy Anderson about his first World Cup experience with England back in 2003 when a decision to boycott their match in Zimbabwe ultimately cost them a place in the Super Sixes.


