Couch Talk

In this episode, Australian Test opener Ed Cowan talks about his international career so far, the recent Test series vs South Africa and Sri Lanka, the upcoming Test series against India, the Shane Watson situation and the “Warniefesto”.

In this episode, Vivek Narayan, USA U15 cricketer, talks about his cricket beginnings, the bleak future for an American cricketer, meeting VVS Laxman, his goals, role models, and his recent trip to India on a U-15 squad,  amongst other things.

In this episode, former England captain, Mike Brearley talks about captaincy in modern day cricket, role of coaches, captaincy methods, the Kevin Pietersen situation, handling of talented but sometimes disruptive players, and the impact of social media.

In this episode, the General Manager of Gibraltar Cricket, Ross Brooks, talks about the state of the sport in the Associate nation of Gibraltar, how he came to be their GM, the facilities there and the difficulties they face in developing the sport, and the future outlook of Gibraltar Cricket. He also discusses the attitude of the major Test playing nations towards the Associate & Affiliate members of the ICC and how that negatively impacts the growth of cricket as a global sport.

In this episode, former Tamil Nadu and India cricketer Hemang Badani talks about his playing career, his move from Tamil Nadu to Vidarbha and his playing days with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). He explains the reasons behind Tamil Nadu not producing cricketers that represented India for a long time, and not having won the Ranji Trophy more than twice. He talks about his role in the legendary partnership between Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in 2001 vs. Australia, in Kolkata.

In this episode, the very popular Jarrod Kimber of Cricket with Balls, Two Chucks and Cricinfo, talks about the overall performance of the Australian team in 2012, the big retirements and the promising debuts, omission of Mike Hussey from the ODI squad, the enigma that is Shane Watson, Big Bash League, and looks ahead to what seems to be quite a busy year in 2013 for Australia. He also provides an update on his upcoming documentary “Death of a Gentleman“.

In this episode, well known cricket blogger, Samir Chopra talks about his new book “Brave New Pitch” which deals with this crucial juncture we find ourselves in, where there are competing interests, financially and politically, between different formats of cricket and the different national boards. He talks about his background as a cricket blogger and how that aided him in writing this book, the club-vs-country debate in sport, possibility of franchise-based Test cricket and what should and could be in the future for cricket and its fans, amongst other things.

In this episode, former India batsman and captain Rahul Dravid talks about his methods to prepare for a Test series, the adjustments he made to his technique based on the opposition and the conditions he faced, captaincy, his decision to retire from the game, and his new role as a commentator.

In this episode, Umpire Simon Taufel talks about his decision to call time on his international umpiring career, his new role at the ICC as the Umpire Performance & Training Manager, the kind of preparation and homework he did to be one of the best and the most respected umpires in the business. He also discusses the issues of Spirit of Cricket, women in the role of cricket umpires amongst other things.

In this episode, comedian and cricket columnist Andy Zaltzman talks about the intersection of his cricket obsession and comedic profession, in addition to U.S. and U.K Politics, Test Match Special-Sofa kerfuffle, the England team’s prospects in India and of course, the KP situation.