The 2025 County Championship is underway and under blue skies at Chelmsford, I had a chat with WG Rumblepants and Don Topley about the joys of the domestic red ball game.

Rod Lyall joins me from Sydney to talk about his new book "The Club". It's a fascinating account of the history of the governance of international cricket, rooted in the days of the British Empire and the evolution over the years and a power shift from St. Jonn's Wood to Dubai, Mumbai and beyond. We discuss the episodes of mismanagement, missed opportunities and poor decision-making down the years and what all this could mean for the future. It's an excellent read.

Get your copy here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Club-Empire-Power-Governance-Cricket/dp/1801509506/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KCSGG6UXF67C&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fSREhCdjavAUII_jFvIBUw.DXS0uIEFOFeZG0S8USpujwoTiNOwxQIh_MBnyuGTi-M&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+club+rod+lyall&qid=1743578140&sprefix=the+club+rod+lyall%2Caps%2C68&sr=8-1

Matt Kabir Floyd from Sky Sports talks about the IPL, which has just got underway in India. Already it is looking like a run fest, with sixes being smashed everywhere and last year's record-setting tournament looks to be in jeopardy! We take a look at the involvement of English players and well as which teams to watch out for and who might be grabbing the headlines. Now in its eighteenth edition, will the lessons learned in growing the success of the IPL be transferred to The Hundred, given the new involvement of Indian franchises?

Briadcaster and commentator Charles Dagnall is just back from India where he was covering the Women' s Premier League, which came hot on the heels of the Women's u19 World Cup. "Daggers" gives his thoughts on the continuing success of women's cricket and looks forward to the English season which is not far away now!

To very little surprise, India has won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Undoubtedly a good side, their continued dominance over the game is rising questions about spreading the wider appeal of cricket and their insistence that their fixtures in the tournament be rearranged due to their refusal to play cricket in the host nation Pakistan ash caused upset. After they rearranged timings of fixtures at last year's T20 World Cup, to suit Indian tv audiences, surely it's time to question their dominance of the world game? Sports Freak's Rahul Patil joins me to discuss all this and also highlight New Zealand's regular outperforming at all the big tournaments.

Follow Rahul on X: @rahulpatilnz

After stints with England and Sri Lanka, as well as coaching in various franchise competitions around the world, Chris Silverwood has returned to Essex, where he began his coaching journey all the way back in 2010. As well as being back among one or two familiar faces, Chris talks about what has changed at the club and welcomes the arrival of new, young talent and is excited by the arrival of professional women's cricket in the for of Essex Women.

Essex old boy Tymal Mills has been at Sussex since 2014 and has been awarded a testimonial year for 2025. Here, he talks about a meteoric career, having only started playing cricket at the age of 14, being picked up by Essex, selected for England Lions at 19, then going on to be (at the time) the second most expensive Englishman to play in the IPL. Only Ben Stokes fetched higher money back then!

Tymal talks about his plans for a busy testimonial year and reveals some fantastic events he has lined up, all while raising money for three great charities. Make sure you keep up with events at:

www.tymal25.co.uk

As huge amounts on money are set to flood into the English game, David Griffin - "Griff" - joins me to look at how the new money can be best used to give the domestic game a much-needed shot in the arm and benefit everyone from the top, down through the counties and to grassroot level cricket.

The money needs to be used wisely, because when it's gone, it's gone. Will the new investors take the game in a new direction and leave tradition behind?

Despite all the uproar, has the ECB pulled off a masterstroke in getting such huge sums of money from the sale of stakes in the franchises for The Hundred. Valued at a whopping £967mln, this provides a big windfall for all the counties, but they need to invest the money wisely if there are to survive long into the future. Is this the lifeline they needed?

Ricky Ellcock has led an amazing life. Born and raised in Barbados, at the age of 15 he was offered a scholarship by Malvern College and he made the journey to start a new life in England. Progressing through schools, then county cricket, Ricky was selected to play Test cricket for England in the West Indies. His debut was curtailed by a back injury, the first of many and when he had to retire from cricket, Ricky retrained as an airline pilot, eventually being picked up by Virgin Atlantic to become their first black captain. Unfortunately, bad luck struck again when he sustained a brain injury after falling down some stairs and Ricky was within a whisker of death, suffering seizures and being put into an induced coma. Thankfully the "Miracle Boy" has survived and he is here to tell us about his life and the autobiography he was written called "Balls to Fly".

It is an inspiring read and to get your copy, please click the link below:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=balls+to+fly+ricky+ellcock+-+an+autobiography&crid=3Q1JGXPXXGYFV&sprefix=balls+to+fly%2Caps%2C72&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_12