A crazy weekend with one player playing two top class cricket matches on two different continents in the space of 24 hours, while one English club side win a match by 424 runs in half an afternoon. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann report on the madness of cricket and look at a slightly more sane weekend of county cricket action. Our live podcast in aid of Syd Lawrence is in Bristol on June 18. Please join us - tickets here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259 victor now on the post!

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England polish off brave and plucky Zimbabwe by an innings. Shoaib Bashir took six wickets and benefitted from a good workout but the real stars of the show were Ben Stokes potent bowling after a long lay off and Harry Brook's incredible slip catch. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann report and assess the strength of the just-announced India squad for the main fare in a month's time. For the last few tickets for our live podcast show on June 18 visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259

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Simon Mann and Simon Hughes report on the first day mismatch between England's eager batters and Zimbabwe's hapless bowlers as England's feast on a liberal diet of 'help-yourself' deliveries. For a match report read Derek Pringle at the Cricverse at https://open.substack.com/pub/cricverse/p/england-batters-fill-their-boots?r=lo2wd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true For tickets for our live podcast in Bristol on June 18 visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259

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Following Ben Stokes declaration of an alcohol-free year so far, we discuss what is, and what is not, the best diet for a professional cricketer. Also why do Durham produce so many pace bowlers and other counties do not, which famous commentator prompted the old bouncer war between Middlesex and Leicester and who is the best overall cricketing package - Joe Root or Virat Kohli? To join our live podcast evening in Bristol on June 18 with Vic Marks in aid of the Syd Lawrence MND cause, click on this link - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

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Simon Hughes and Simon Mann consider England's newly announced odi and T20 squads, the first under new captain Harry Brook, and assess their chances of rejuvenating an ailing brand. In the second half of the show we hear from Roland Butcher - the first black cricketer to play for England - about his life , richly detailed in his newly published autobiography Breaking Barriers. For tickets for our live podcast show on June 18 in aid of Syd Lawrence, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259

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Virat Kohli today announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket. Simon Hughes and Indian commentator Deep Dasgupta discuss the significance of this decision - this is the man who is a global brand with over 300m social media followers - the amazing legacy Kohli has left behind and who will be the next Indian Test captain now that Rohit Sharma has also retired. Be part of our special live podcast show on June 18th in Bristol - details here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259

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Part 2 of our conversation with Jarrod Kimber, author of a new book The Art of Batting, counting down the fifty greatest Test batsmen of all time. Using scrupulous statistical analysis and exhaustive research, Kimber has identified some unexpected high rankers, and while Number 1 is no surprise, he has also eliminated some surprising stars for well explained reasons. Never before has such a meticulous evaluation of the greatest players been conducted and it makes for lots of excellent talking points. For instance, is it fair to rank modern batters higher than those brave souls who played in the pre-helmet era? The Art of Batting is available here - https://amzn.eu/d/7md9ktV

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to the Greatest Batters

01:02 Criteria for Ranking Batters

03:01 The Case of Graham Gooch

05:53 Comparative Metrics in Batting

09:01 The Unlucky Barry Richards

11:58 The Mental Approach to Batting

18:02 Exploring the Top 50 Batters

22:18 Controversies in Rankings

28:28 The Top 10 Batters Discussion

31:42 The Impact of Helmets on Batting Greats

34:30 Courage and Technique in Fast Bowling

37:36 Top 10 Batters: A Deep Dive

43:41 The Top Five Batters of All Time

52:00 Analyzing Bradman, Tendulkar, and Hobbs

59:46 The Legacy of Don Bradman

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Simon Hughes and Simon Mann review the latest round of county championship matches which resulted in some nerve-tingling run chases. They also discuss England's squad for the Zimbabwe Test and hear from Australia's Jason Gillespie how Australia consistently win more cricket matches than any other country and why the idea of Sheffield Shield final would work for the County Championship.

Details of our live podcast in Bristol on June 18th and tickets are here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259

For more cricket features and revelations subscribe to The Cricverse at https://cricverse.substack.com/p/so-who-is-the-greatest?r=lo2wd

Visit www.betterhelp.com/INSIDECRICKET  to get 10% off your first month – as heard on the podcast.

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Broadcaster, author and stats guru Jarrod Kimber joins the podcast to talk about his new book The Art Of Batting - a deep dive into what makes a great Test match run-maker and using sophisticated metrics to identify the best batters of all time. In this first part, we examine the difference between 'batting' and runmaking, the five phases of batsmanship through the ages, how players - eg Lara, Richards, Bradman - were often shaped by their environment and which outstanding players didn't make the top fifty. Final week of being able to enter the draw for Lord Test match tickets - subscribe to The Cricverse - https://cricverse.substack.com/p/what-the-actual-fk?r=lo2wd #CRICKET #BATTING #GREATEST

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to the Art of Batting

01:09 Understanding Batting vs. Runmaking

04:48 The Science and Art of Batting

10:15 The Subconscious Nature of Batting

15:32 The Influence of Environment on Batting

19:14 Characteristics of a Successful Batter

21:40 The Evolution of Batting and Bowling Dynamics

25:05 Phases of Batting Through History

30:54 Shot Innovation and the Impact of Equipment

37:23 The Role of Protective Gear in Modern Cricket

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The 14 year old wunderkid Vaibhav Suryavanshi has just assaulted four international bowlers for a 35 ball hundred in the IPL: Its the second fastest IPL hundred of all time after Chris Gayle's 30 ball effort in 2013, and earned him the nickname Boss Baby. After trying to digest this astonishing performance, Simon Hughes and Simon Mann talk to Leicestershire's Ian Holland, the leading wicket-taker in Division 2, about being top of the table, who are the best all-rounders in the county game and who has the silliest nicknames. Final week of entering the free Test match tickets competition by subscribing to The Cricverse at https://cricverse.substack.com/p/test-cricket-the-next-phase?r=lo2wd

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