Rain Stopped Play

It's a jam packed episode this week with a preview of the England vs New Zealand Test series, a review of the IPL Final and Pitch Inspection to squeeze into 80 minutes of podcast air time.

Part 1 sees us discuss whether Ollie Pope will work at number three, whether it should be Overton or Broad for that final spot and if Brook deserves a go over Bairstow. For part 2 (29:09) we react to the result of the IPL Final and ask how the tournament got on with two new franchises on board. Finally, for part three (55:34), we have our weekly Pitch Inspection discussing the over priced Vitality Blast tickets and why the media's coverage of this is such a problem. Enjoy the episode and we'll be back same time next week!

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This week, Zac and Glenn are joined by John Welch, co-founder of fantasy cricket game The Cricket Draft, for a special T20 Blast tournament preview!

In Part One, John gives us a fascinating insight into how The Cricket Draft functions as we discuss the points system, awkward match schedules, and how to keep fans engaged with the game over a long season.

In Part Two, Zac and Glenn reveal their own provisional fantasy teams for the upcoming T20 Blast, with Zac utilizing cutting-edge statistics and Glenn instead relying on vibes for success. We conclude, as always, by getting everyone’s predictions for the teams who will make it to finals day!

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With the news that Brendon McCullum is now the new Test coach for the England men's team, Dan and Zac sat down for a quick chat about their initial reactions. Exciting? Surprising? An inspired choice? Find out what the chaps think in this short reaction episode.

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This week, Dan and Glenn react to the not such breaking news that Ben Stokes is now the captain of the men's Test team. We discuss whether Rob Key has made the right decision or whether he's played it safe with the only realistic option currently in the side.

What will a Ben Stokes Test side look like? Will the role overload him? Who will be his vice? All this and much more discussed on this week's pod, enjoy!

Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

Barney Ronay in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/apr/29/ben-stokes-has-the-drive-and-celebrity-wattage-to-revive-the-pulse-of-test-cricket

Join Dan, Zac, and Glenn as we discuss all the key developments in cricket this week.

We start with George Dobell’s puzzling support of Joe Clarke in The Cricketer. After receiving a backlash for his article, which suggested Clarke may become a future “role model” despite his past participation in a misogynistic group chat, Dobell doubled down on Twitter. Why is he dying on this hill?

We then turn to the Wisden Cricketers of the Year and learn that Dan doesn’t know what an almanack is.

In Part Two we round up all the action in the IPL and Country Championship. Jos Buttler is flying, and Somerset are struggling, so nothing new there.

More importantly, why isn’t the ECB bothering to advertise the Country Championship’s outstanding selection of international players? Yet another excuse for us all to complain. Enjoy!

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Only one place to start this week - we get Dan, Zac, Glenn and Will's thoughts on the latest in England's rearranging deck chairs. Is Rob Key's appointment a classic case of Jobs For the Boys, or a surprisingly shrewd move away from the cushy ECB status quo? And we ask what happens now - who should be captain, is Langer going to coach and what is Joe Root's legacy?

Plus - join us in Part Two for Around the Grounds on the latest in County Championship and IPL news.

Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

We're joined once again by our women's cricket expert Ellie to delve into the World Cup final between England and Australia - a game that was dominated by Alyssa Healy's match winning knock. Did England get the decision at the toss wrong? Or were Australia always destined to win?

In part two, we're joined by a very happy Will as he revels in the fact his Rajasthan Royals are being semi-decent at cricket. He brings us his yearly 'outside shout' for IPL winners and some trademark football analogies too. We round off with a chat about South Africa vs Bangladesh and chat about Ross Taylor's last game for New Zealand.

Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

There's only one topic of conversation on the lips of England cricket fans right now, and that is the position of Joe Root as men's Test captain. After the 1-0 series loss to the West Indies - and two embarrassing batting collapses - is Root's position as captain tenable? Are there any replacements? Is the whole system rotten to the core? We have our say on who should be in charge for the upcoming summer.

Elsewhere, the England Women's team are once again doing the nation proud with a hard-fought run to the semi finals of the World Cup, can they continue their run and make it back to back titles? The IPL has started off in typically exciting fashion and Zac has a Quick Question that isn't answered on air. Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

Join Glenn and Zac as they reflect on another packed week of international cricket!

Over in blissful Barbados, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite broke records with his magnificent effort with the bat in the second Test against England. Despite a lifeless pitch, the tourists did their best to force a result on the final day—but the West Indies earned a deserved draw with a watchful defensive display. We discuss the game’s standout performers, and look forward to the decisive third Test.

The Women’s World Cup continues to entertain with a string of thrilling games in New Zealand. England are fighting back… But will they make it through the group stage? We round up all the action from what is turning out to be a tournament for the ages.

Finally, there’s an exciting start to the third Test between Pakistan and Australia, and Glenn manages to ruin the quiz for everyone. Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

We welcome cricket analyst, author and all round top bloke Ben Jones from CricViz onto the podcast for this very special episode previewing the 2022 IPL. Ben joins Dan and Zac to talk through what we should expect from the 2022 IPL, the new format and the potential Covid pitfalls while looking at all the main talking points coming into this year's tournament.

We also delve into the two new franchises, which England or overseas players to watch and which young Indian players to keep an eye out for. We wrap it all up with our predictions and some fantastic kit chat - we very much hope to dedicate a full hour of kit chat at some point in the future...

Thanks again to Ben (@benjonescricket) for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the episode! Be sure to follow us on Twitter @RainStoppedPod where you can also find our Discord channel.