Judging by how far off the pace England have been in India, Brendon McCullum may have an even harder job on his hands to turn the white ball teams around! Some big questions need to be asked though, like who thought trying to blast India out with four right arm fast bowlers was a good idea in India?! The Hundred sale is nearing it's completion and the amount spent has been eye watering. Have the Ambani family and RPSG Group (owner of Lucknow Super Giants) got much better deals by buying Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals repectively? Is London Spirit really worth more than those two combined?!

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In the modern era of cricket, agents are right at the forefront of a sport that has changed beyond recognition in the last 20 years. Simon Auteri - who's company TGI Sport represents some of the most well known cricketers in the world like Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan and Harry Brook - lifts the lid on the inner workings of franchise cricket and contract negotiations. He tells Matt how some leagues fail to pay players, why a world dominanted by freelance cricketers is still far away and why Brendon McCullum decided to become England's white ball Head Coach.

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The final bids are about to go in for the eight teams in The Hundred and Azeem reveals the IPL franchises that he believes will be buying into certain teams. He and Matt discuss what this could mean for the competition going forward - will we see Indian players in The Hundred as a result? Also on the agenda - why England have to find a second spinner ASAP and why Pakistan can't just forget about pace bowling.

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Nigeria beat New Zealand in the Women's Under 19s World Cup - is that the biggest shock ever in the history of cricket?! England's white ball Bazball era starts with a hammering by India, the boys reflect on that and defend Alex Hartley, who apparently has been ostracised by some members of the England Women's set up after her criticism of the team.

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Jimmy Anderson has decided to play on this summer for Lancashire - what happens if he takes loads of wickets though? Might England be tempted to bring him back?! England's women have fallen behind early in the Ashes, if the series is lost again does there need to be a serious inquest into why there is a such a big gap between the 2 sides? And the PSL draft has taken place - a few England players have been included but how many of them will actually be allowed to play?

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Award winning broadcaster Nikesh Rughani joins Azeem and Matt to talk about his journey from the BBC Asian Network to Test Match Special. Despite being a very recognisable voice of cricket radio coverage Nikesh speaks candidly about how some people will never accept that there are more diverse voices in sports broadcasting these days. He also opens up about being stuck between two very different cultures as a British Asian and as usual the boys delve into the big cricket stories of the week - why a two-tier Test system could be disastrous and whether politicians should be telling England to boycott playing Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy.

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It's the final episode of 2024 and loads to get our teeth into this week! Australia dominate India on the final day at the MCG but Azeem (aka The Grinch) has a word of warning for rising star Sam Konstas. Rohit Sharma has had a terrible 2024 in Test cricket so will he be tempted to retire at the end of the series?! The MCG breaks the Australian record for attendance at a Test match so the boys take the opportunity to discuss the best places on earth to watch cricket and there's plenty of praise for South Africa - is it now time to call it the Big 4 rather than the Big 3?

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Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! Cricket addicts have plenty of ways to get their fix over the festive period and the boys start by previewing the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India. Brendon McCullum has picked his first England white ball squads but how will he bring BazBall to the shorter formats? Meanwhile England's women have just demolished South Africa for a very impressive Test win but Heather Knight was very critical of the fact that there was no DRS in use - is she right that it 'shows the status of the women's game'?

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After Isa Guha apologised for comments she made on air on Jasprit Bumrah, Matt and Azeem discuss her heartfelt apology and whether she even had to make it. Also on the agenda - England's topsy turvy Test year and how Prithvi Shaw needs support not constant criticism.

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Azeem is now an F1 convert after his trip to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but cricket remains in pole position for this episode. England's brilliance in New Zealand has led to a selection headache for the next series and the boys debate who should be dropped out of Crawley, Pope, Bethell and Smith. Darren Lehmann's comments on Joe Root split opinion and there is a long discussion on the supposed threat of around 50 players to boycott The Hundred unless the ECB allows them to play in more franchise tournaments.

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