It’s Not Just Cricket

Matt and Azeem look ahead to the T20 World Cup Semi Finals and reflect on Afghanistan's arrival at the big time. What was Gulbadin Naib doing though?! Also, is Rohit the Brian Lara to Virat's Sachin Tendulkar?

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Matt & Azeem debate who will go through to the Semi Finals of the T20 World Cup and whether the pitches almost ruined the whole spectacle or actually made the games more exciting. And stand by for Azeem's thoughts on Cricket Scotland's shambolic way of dealing with racism allegations and the reasons why he hasn't released some of his own evidence to the public.

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Sanjay Bhandari is Chair of Kick It Out, UK sport's most recognised and respected anti discrimination charity. He tells Matt and Azeem why Kick It Out's work is so necessary in football and the reasons why they won't be working in cricket at the same level for the time being. With England having just left for the Euros he insists that teams should walk off the pitch when black players are racially abused, but it's up to those in charge to empower the players to do it. He also has some very interesting thoughts on online abuse and how social media platforms can do a lot more to prevent it.

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Aatif Nawaz is a rare breed - a comedian who can commentate on cricket. He, Matt and Azeem get into why having more teams makes the T20 World Cup better, which of the underdogs could upset one of the big boys and what might happen when India meet Pakistan in New York. With Essex just having been charged with failing to deal with systemic racist abuse they look at what the punishment could be - Azeem reveals he has spoken to those who were abused and totally understands why they don't want to go public about it, after the toll it took on him.

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When Michael Holding speaks, people listen. Briefly interrupting his quiet life in Grand Cayman, Mikey takes us back to his famous speech in the wake of the George Floyd murder and once again puts forward his incedibly powerful and coherent views on racism. He, Azeem and Matt also discuss whether cancel culture actually hinders the fight against racism. And don't worry, Mikey doesn't hold back on his opinions on the future of cricket too!

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With England about to take on Pakistan in a vital series before the T20 World Cup Mickey Arthur and Urooj Mumtaz join Matt and Azeem to preview the series and debate Pakistan's curious squad selection for the World Cup. Mickey gives us the inside track on the chaos behind the surface of Pakistan cricket and Urooj pleads for more support for women playing the sport in the country. A fascinating insight into a place with a fascinating and complex relationship with the great game.

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Legendary (and utterly bonkers) IPL Commentator Danny Morrison tells Matt why he'd love to chat to MS Dhoni one more time to convince him to keep playing and how Bollywood stars are in awe of the ex Indian captain. He also lifts the lid on his eccentric commentary style, reveals which young players he thinks will be future stars and why bowlers need more help in the IPL. If you like the Indian Premier League, you'll like this!

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Matt tries to convince Azeem (with tongue slightly in cheek!) that Jimmy Anderson is the greatest Test bowler of all time and they discuss what England's bowling attack will look like without him. Plus, has the way T20 cricket is played been changed forever by this year's IPL? Azeem also reveals he fell asleep while driving more than once during his playing days!

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In this episode Monty Panesar tells us how he became a candidate to become a Member of Parliament and that he probably should've done a bit more research before his first political interviews with the media. He also fancies making a comeback into professional cricket at 42 years old and still harbours ambitions of being the next Piers Morgan! Cricket writer George Dobell gives us his thoughts on Monty, private investment into the Hundred and exclusively reveals that England are about to refuse to play one particular country.

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Azeem tells Matt how threats to his family and constant abuse has forced him to leave the UK for Dubai. Even though he is a former England Under 19 Captain, the experience has led to him finding it hard to connect with the country he was born in and loved. Despite this, he still loves cricket and the two of them chew the fat on a few issues in the game such as the incredible run scoring in the IPL, how England solve their team balance issue at the T20 World Cup and whether the Kookaburra ball experiment in County cricket actually worked!

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