81 All Out

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 81ALL

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 ------------------------------

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 (

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 rigo

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 ------

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 (republis

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 ---------------------

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 --------------------------------------------------------------

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-

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 Tresc

We review the two-Test series between South Africa and India - which ended 1-1 after a bowler-dominated shootout in Cape Town.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: India's missed opportunity to finally win a series in SA Why the Cape Town pitch backfired on South Africa India's lack of fast bowling depth - a sign of more struggles in future away series Mohammad Siraj's dream spell on the first morning in Cape Town  Dean Elgar's century: a tale of plays-and-misses and cashing in on poor bowling Aiden Markram's astonishing attack Where Rabada and Bumrah showed their class: figuring out the conditions Rohit Sharma's comments about the pitch - and potential double-standards Are these short Tests harming the format? Or are they ideal for entertainment?  Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page --------------------------------------------------------------

We chat with Karthik Krishnaswamy and Kartikeya Date about the role of luck in cricket and how we can better describe the game by separating actions from outcomes.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking Points: Luck v skill - and why the two are not opposed to each other The traditional method of describing cricket - by ascribing reasons for outcomes Why it is hard for fans to accept 'luck' as a major part of a sporting contest The luck component in different sports - and the 'optimal' luck cricket needs The brief phase in each ball when neither batter or bowler is in total control  India's loss to New Zealand in 2020 against an attack best suited for the conditions  England's strategy v spin in the 2019 World Cup compared to their strategy in the 2023 World Cup The model of the game that views contest without the layer of chauvinism  The post-facto analysis that accompanies most discussions around captaincy Participants: Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk) | ESPNcricinfo page

We are thrilled to have novelist and cricket writer Rahul Bhattacharya to talk about his experiences from the World Cup. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  Cricket writing v cricket analysis - and how each is a specialised job Does the BCCI care for what is written about them in the press? The antipathy towards Indian and foreign fans throughout this World Cup The staggering amount of money people were willing to pay for tickets The experience of covering a match at Ahmedabad India v Pakistan - and how the discourse seems to be war minus the shooting Jasprit Bumrah - what can't he do? The electricity of India's fast bowling trio Maxwell's fantastical night Rohit Sharma - the dada batsman Virat Kohli's fitness - and his Djokovic-level fitness Australia's perfect game in the final Travis Head and his Gilchrist-like audacity The 'anyone but India' sentiment pervading much of the cricket world Participants: Rahul Bhattacharya Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

We review the World Cup final where Travis Head and Pat Cummins inspired a triumph for the ages. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi. Talking points:  Australia's remarkable achievement - and this triumph in comparison to their previous World Cup wins Rohit Sharma's approach at the start of the innings Virat Kohli and the ability to strike at six an over on any pitch The slowdown in the middle overs against fine Australian bowling Cummins, Hazlewood and their brilliant variations Shami opening the bowling instead of Siraj Bumrah's beauty to dismiss Steve Smith Travis Head's unforgettable assault Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Great final caps Australia's greatest year - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Watch out for Shami when he's running in like a horse

We review two weeks of the World Cup - and chat about Maxwell, Shami, Siraj, Omarzai, Williamson, Shreyas, and much more.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  Maxwell's freakish 201* How well did Afghanistan bowl to Maxwell? The curious case of Australia's batting in this World Cup Are Afghanistan in the same phase that India were in the 1990s? India's bowling attack - the finest quintet for these conditions? Rohit and Kohli - taking chances v taking no chances Are India due a bad day? Or will they finish the World Cup unbeaten? New Zealand's NRR and the connection with how efficiently they are built South Africa's conundrum - Rabada or Shamsi?  Angelo Mathews and the moment the Nagin rivalry peaked Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike

We review the India v England match in Lucknow - and chat about the other themes emerging in the World Cup.  Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  The brutal simplicity of Mohammad Shami Jasprit Bumrah: the bowler with the joystick Rohit Sharma: the ultimate problem-solver England's awful batting slump Joe Root lbw Bumrah 0 Ben Stokes - reckless or calculated? Pakistan's problem with no big hitting and no quality spin New Zealand losing with respectability  The furore over umpire's call Bangladesh's forgettable World Cup campaign Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)  Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related: World Cup weekly review - Kartikeya Date - Cricktingview Substack This is Mohammad Shami's World Cup - Andrew Fidel Fernando - ESPNcricinfo Sky Sports Cricket podcast - Nasser H

We review the India v New Zealand match in Dharamshala - and chat about the other themes as the World Cup nears its halfway stage. We also pay our heartfelt tribute to one of India's greatest cricketers: Bishan Bedi.  ⁠Support 81allout on Ko-fi Talking points:  The poetry of Bishan Bedi - and what he meant to a generation of fans New Zealand running India close in Dharamshala  Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra trying to hit Kuleep out of the attack Jadeja's discomforting pace - and his ability to calibrate it so finely Rohit and Gill taking their chances against a quality opening spell Kohli's quest for a century - and the needless uproar around it Afghanistan and Netherlands showing their class Why aren't teams looking to limit the damage with NRR? Will Australia sneak into the semi-finals? Will England's batters finally fire? Who will go after India's bowlers? New Zealand try but fall short?  Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Karti

We review the India v Pakistan match in Ahmedabad - and chat about the other themes developing in this World Cup. Support 81allout on Ko-fi Talking points:  India's enviable bowling attack for the conditions Jasprit Bumrah - the magician Kuldeep and Jadeja keeping Pakistan quiet Siraj and the cross-seam attack Rohit Sharma's evolution as an ODI batter Shreyas Iyer's approach to playing spin The joy of the Australian collapse New Zealand's deceptive dominance in the early stages of the World Cup Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

We review the India v Australia match in Chennai - a tense contest that India won by six wickets. Support 81allout on Ko-Fi Talking points:  India's threat with their seamers as well as spinners How this World Cup is rewarding Test-quality spinners Australia's lack of depth in the spin department Pat Cummins' problem at first-change The Kohli-Rahul partnership Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, and India - the early favorites How is 2 for 3 different from 80 for 3 when chasing 200? Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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) R

We preview the 2023 World Cup - the muted build-up, BCCI apathy, and how the conditions could play such a big role in how some teams progress. Could South Africa or New Zealand finally win the big prize? Can Pakistan overcome their spin-bowling drawbacks. Can Bangladesh make the semi-final? Or will India be too strong when playing at home?   [podcast_subscribe id="1595"] [kofi] Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Previous 81allout episodes on World Cups - 2011, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 War Minus the Shooting - Revisiting the 1996 World Cup through a classic book - 81allout podc