Stumped

On this week’s Stumped, Alison Mitchell speaks to England cricketer Jonny Bairstow about the highs and lows of 2022. The batter has been ruled out of this month’s T20 World Cup after breaking his leg in a golfing accident, but has just been awarded the Bob Willis Trophy, which is given to England’s best cricketer each year.

Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta discuss another star who won't be at the World Cup, India’s Jasprit Bumrah. The fast bowler will miss the tournament with a back injury, but is Ravindra Jadeja an even bigger loss to Rahul Dravid’s side?

Plus, we speak to Ireland captain Laura Delany after her team qualified for next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Image: Jonathan Bairstow of England celebrates reaching his century with Joe Root during day five of Fifth LV= Insurance Test Match between England and India at Edgbaston on July 05, 2022 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Which side are you on? In the eyes of many, it is seen as unsporting manner despite being perfectly within the laws of cricket, is a run out at the non striker end deemed acceptable? Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma all discuss the controversy surrounding England's third One Day International against India.

After leading Australia to gold at this year's Commonwealth Games, Shelley Nitschke has been appointed Head Coach on a permanent basis. Shelley joins us on the programme to discuss a new era for the women's national team.

We also pay tribute to arguably the best fast bowler women's cricket has seen, India’s Jhulan Goswami who was playing in her 204th and final one-day international.

Picture Credit:- Charlie Dean of England shakes hands with Deepti Sharma of India and the India team after she was Run Out, Mankad, by Deepti Sharma of India during the 3rd Royal London ODI match between England and India at Lord's Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

On this week’s Stumped with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma, we speak to a journalist staying in England’s team hotel during their first tour of Pakistan for 17 years. Nick Hoult, the chief cricket correspondent for the Telegraph, shares his experience of watching England’s win in Karachi with security armed with sniper rifles surrounding the press box.

We also discuss the inaugural auction for Cricket South Africa's SA20 league and ask whether the inexperienced Tristan Stubbs is worthy of being the most expensive player in the competition.

Plus, we hear about what cricket's like in the small European country of Montenegro. The national side even boast a former English Premier League footballer amongst its ranks!

Photo: Moeen Ali of England and Babar Azam of Pakistan are seen at the toss ahead of the 1st IT20 match between Pakistan and England at Karachi National Stadium on September 20, 2022 in Karachi, Pakistan. (Credit: Getty Images)

On this week’s episode of Stumped with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma, we remember Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, who died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

We hear from the former England captain Charlotte Edwards, who shares her memories of meeting Her Majesty the Queen and how she taught the Queen all about the decision review system.

Former Indian wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer also tells us his unique experience of when the Queen revealed his wife had given birth to a baby daughter.

We also discuss Sri Lanka's surprise Asia Cup win following their victory over Pakistan in the final.

Photo: South Africa huddle during Day Four of the Third LV= Insurance Test Match between England and South Africa at The Kia Oval on September 11, 2022 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images for Surrey CCC)

On this week’s episode of Stumped with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma, we react to Zimbabwe’s shock win over Australia. It’s the first time that they have beaten Australia on their own soil. We speak to Zimbabwe’s man of the match Ryan Burl, who took five wickets for just ten runs.

We’re also joined by England bowler Mark Wood ahead of the release of his self-help book, The Wood Life! The team get a few life lessons from the man who England’s Test captain Ben Stokes describes as a “32-year-old going on 16”.

Plus, after the second season of The Hundred came to an end, we assess the success of the competition.

Zimbabwe's Ryan Burl acknowledges the crowd after taking five wickets during the third one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Australia and Zimbabwe at the Riverway Stadium in Townsville on September 3, 2022. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) /

On this week's Stumped with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta, we speak to the former South Africa captain and commissioner of the new SA20 league, Graeme Smith.

Smith says he hopes that the league will become the second best league in the world behind the Indian Premier League, and says that despite all six of the teams being owned by IPL franchise owners, the league is open for Pakistani cricketers to participate in.

Plus, our very own Charu Sharma sends us a message from his trip to cover cricket in Kenya.

Image: LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 30: Television presenter and ICC commentator Graeme Smith before the Group Stage match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between England and South Africa at The Oval on May 30, 2019 in London, England. (Photo Visionhaus/Getty Images)

On this week’s Stumped with Eleanor Oldroyd, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta, we speak to Pakistan’s white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan ahead of the Asia Cup. The 23-year-old says the tournament is ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup in October and claims that his team-mate and captain Babar Azam has now overtaken India legend Virat Kohli as the world’s best batsman across all formats of the game.

Plus the chief executive of Cricket Namibia, Johan Muller tells us about cricket’s development and popularity in Namibia during what has been described as a “golden era” for the country.

On this week's Stumped with Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta, we speak to the self-proclaimed Universe Boss…Chris Gayle! The West Indies legend is the ambassador for a quirky new tournament called The 6ixty, which takes place in the Caribbean next week.

We find out why we should be excited about a competition with some very peculiar new rules, including a mid-game fan vote on a free hit.

We also get the 42-year-old's views on the future of cricket, plus we'll find out how long he wants to continue playing for.

IMAGE: Chris Gayle of West Indies looks on ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between West Indies and Sri Lanka at Sheikh Zayed stadium on November 04, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Gareth Copley-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Australia’s domination of the women’s game continues! Aside from winning both the T20 and ODI formats of the World Cup, as well as being the holders of the Ashes, they are now Commonwealth Games gold medallists! We find out what makes them so successful from bowler Megan Schutt.

We discuss Trent Boult's decision to opt out of his international contract with New Zealand in order to spend more time with his family and play in domestic leagues around the world.

Plus, we reflect on the life and legacy of legendary South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, following his death at the age of 73.

IMAGE: Megan Schutt and Meg Lanning of Team Australia celebrate after winning the gold medal following the Cricket T20 - Gold Medal match between Team Australia and Team India on day ten of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Edgbaston on August 07, 2022 on the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

On this week’s Stumped with Isabelle Westbury, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma, how did Pakistan's women go from having never played an international match to the Commonwealth Games in the space of 25 years? We’ll find out the answer from journalist and author, Aayush Puthran, who has written a book on the subject.

We'll also discuss whether the world's best cricketers could soon be contracted all year round by Indian Premier League franchises and what the impact of that would be on the international game.

Plus we reflect on the career of West Indies star Deandra Dottin after she announced her international retirement.

Image: Pakistan pose for a team photo during the 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval on March 26, 2022 in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)