Broken Trophy podcast

The mens county cricket season starts on Thursday 8th April, so we decided to speak to some of those featuring about how excited they are about it all! 

In the first of two preview episodes we speak to Somerset spinner Jack Leach and new Warwickshire head coach Mark Robinson. Some absolutely brilliant chat and fascinating insights ahead of the new season. 

The boys are joined by England GOAT Rocky Clark to chat through the first week of the Women's Six Nations, where England beat Scotland 52-10, and France beat Wales 53-0. Up for honourable mentions: 

Poppy Cleall, and how she's one of the best players in the world. 

Bryony Cleall, and how hard she's worked to get back to full fitness

Emma Wassell's dancing feet, and how Scotland were 'much improved' on last year 

Donna Rose on an impressive debut for Wales

And how two of our 6N preview show guests, Gabrielle Vernier and Poppy, both won POTMs this week! Proud moment!! 

Today we're previewing Pool B of the Women's 6 Nations, ahead of the start on Saturday 3 April. We're joined by:  

As well as the excitement around the rugby starting on Saturday we chat Irish greetings, haunted houses on the M4 and Stef shows off by speaking to Gabrielle in French. A lot... #BT6Nations

We look forward to the start of the Women's 6 Nations competition with two preview pods this week, this first one previewing Pool A, with England's Poppy Cleall, Scotland's Emma Wassell, and Italy's Valeria Fedrighi joining Tom and Stef. 

We discuss rugby, training camps and hopes for the tournament, as well as work-play-life balance, auditing, buying a present for Valeria's Mother, and was there a twin sister hiding behind Poppy's curtain? Brilliant insight from our three guests, and really good sports too. 

#BT6Nations

This week we're delighted to welcome Zee Alema to the pod. Zee is a Mum of three, a neonatal nurse, and an amateur rugby player with Barnes RFC - but she dreams of becoming England's first ever Black Muslim player. 

Zee tells us about her career in rugby, beginning at Ealing Trailfinders where her teammates were unsure how to react when her hijab came off as she ran through for a try. We discuss the cultural differences and difficulties she's had to overcome on her journey, and how she now has her eyes on playing in the Premier 15s - the pinnacle of women's domestic rugby in England. 

She explains how she draws confidence from her role-models, Serena Williams and Maggie Alphonsi, and how her friend Celia Quansah, designed a picture of Zee in an England kit - an image she now hopes to bring to reality in the future. Zee also tells us about Studs in the Mud, her charity which supports women's rugby at grassroots. 

Zee is an inspiring woman, we're so pleased she gave us the chance to share her story, and wish her well on her journey. We feel like we'll be hearing from Zee again in the future...! 

After a short rain break, the boys are back with an episode looking forward to the nation's favourite summer sport, cricket, with former Hampshire bowler, James Tomlinson. 

James is now Player Development Officer at Hampshire, responsible for working with the talented young cricketers through the age group pathway, the academy and the under 18s. 

He tells us how he's been keeping the youngsters occupied through lockdown, the plans for the new season including a pre-season tournament they've been playing with the Hampshire first team. We discuss how hard it is to break through the academy programme these days, and the importance of cultural architects like James Vince to look up to.

We also recall James' playing career including how he used to bowl to Robin Smith in the nets at Northlands Road, how he played for South Wilts because of the Sails-vegas nightlife, and how he was once bundled over by Shane Warne after completing a match-winning caught and bowled. 

It's a fascinating chat, one to really get the juices flowing ahead of the cricket season! 

This week we embark on an ambitious assignment, to discuss cricket on the global stage with guests joining us from opposite sides of the world: Brazil Women’s captain Roberta Moretti-Avery, and Emerging Cricket founder Tim Cutler, in Brisbane. 

Across timezones, continents and calendar days, we chat cricket in Brazil and how Roberta came to the game late, scoring a hundred for her country without even realising it. Tim tells us about his time as CEO of Hong Kong cricket, a job that whet his appetite to associate cricket and led to the formation of emergingcricket.com.

We also discuss how Brazil cricket - and associate cricket more generally - has been impacted by COVID, what the immediate future holds, both for Tim, Roberta and their respective teams.

If you have a thirst for knowing how the world of cricket works below the Test Playing nations, or you’re just a cricket tragic like Tim, Roberta and Tom (and Stef a bit but we’re working on him) this is the episode for you. Great fun, real insight into the game of cricket, and important work being done by Roberta and Tim on both women's and emerging cricket. 

The boys are delighted to welcome England Rugby World Cup Winner, Kat Merchant. We spoke to Kat on Monday, the day she was announced as the joint head-coach of Ealing Trailfinders women’s academies at Brunel University and Henley College. So we asked her all about the new role, in which she will work alongside friend of the show Kim Oliver, and delved into her coaching ethos. 

We also talk equality in sport, referencing the Sophie Devine story from New Zealand cricket, talk about her stint coaching Sri Lanka Women's rugby team, that World Cup win in 2014, and meet Honey Bear, the cockapoo. If that's not enough we discuss Kat's propensity for handstands, and how she inspired Ben Stokes to take up the art form, and discuss what is sure to be a massive year for women's rugby.  

There's so much more besides, but somethings have got to be left to the imagination, haven't they? Now, get listening - it's a cracker, we promise! 

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