The Analyst Inside Cricket

On the day Sonny Baker is selected for the England Test squad, Simon Hughes interviews the new fast bowling hope at his home ground. He talks about the people who’ve influenced him including Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie and overcoming the disappointment of his two one day international appearances last year. Also how Bone Broth and a meat-based diet has got him faster and fitter and which star player he would love to be for a day.

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After the latest round of County Championship matches we are sure of one England opener after Ben Duckett's excellent undefeated double hundred for Notts today. But after a shocking dismissal for 17 continuing a poor run of scores, Zak Crawley's fate is sealed. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann lament the fading of his star, and consider the likely replacements. They also discuss the astonishing hattrick on debut by Glamorgan's Tom Norton, Josh Tongue's continued hostility with the ball which caused England teammate Gus Atkinson to summon a concussion substitute, and which spinner, if any, will get the England call-up. This podcast is in association with SumUp and Making Tax Digital. Visit https://www.sumup.com/en-gb/business-account/making-tax-digital/ for more details

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The latest round of Rothesay County Championship matches reviewed with Simon Hughes and Simon Mann. The dominance of the batters (with 78 centuries so far made in the two divisions) is reflected, notably Dom Sibley and Emilio Gay who each have two, the plight of bowlers sympathised with and Kent's decision to block comments on their social media accounts assessed. This podcast is also viewable on YouTube.

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Some classic duels took place in the IPL this week. Virat Kohli v KG Rabada, Shubman Gill v Josh Hazlewood, Jos Buttler v Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi against everyone. Simon Hughes and Deep Dasgupta convey the exhilaration of watching such talent on show, and marvel at the conflicting emotions and unbridled passion of Kohli himself. For more on Sooryavanshi's unique gifts visit The Cricverse on Substack . This podcast will also be available on The Analyst YouTube channel

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Zak Crawley suffered another disappointing return in the latest round of Rothesay county championship matches. Three top order challengers - Dom Sibley, Emilio Gay and Haseeb Hameed - stepped up with centuries in the last couple of days. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann run the rule over the contenders and assess their pros and cons as they try to assemble England's likely batting order for the first Test in just over a month's time. Plus - do we need DRS in county cricket? After last weekend's experiences several batsmen - including Crawley - would say definitely yes.

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The Indian Premier League is almost halfway through as Simon Hughes and Deep Dasgupta assess the successes and failures of the tournament so far. With 24 totals over 200, batsmen capable of hitting the ball more than 100 metres, and Jofra Archer whizzing them down at 93mph it is certainly no place for the faint-hearted. But the 15 year old sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanchi is still strutting his stuff even as the 44 year old MS Dhoni is about to make his belated re-entry. This podcast is also viewable on The Analyst YouTube channel.

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Thanks to Tom Abell's nerveless 100, Somerset get home against Hampshire to extend their lead at the top of the County Championship. The match featured impressive performances by England hopefuls James Rew and Sonny Baker. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann review the weekend;'s action and answer listeners questions including could Rew open for England, will England consider Sam Cook again and can you pick England players from division 2? This podcast is available to view (with match action) on YouTube. Click the link here -

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Hampshire’s Nick Gubbins, 70 not out overnight, joins the podcast to explain how Hampshire took control of the championship match against leaders Somerset. It was a day when Hampshire's impressive seam attack pressurized Somerset into mistakes. Also in this episode, Sonny Baker's promise assessed, James Rew’s prodigious talent admired, the lunacy of the new substitute rule and the most eccentric quick bowler in county cricket.

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Middlesex, one of England's strongest and oldest counties, has been brought virtually to its knees financially and performance-wise over the last five years. It is the only county that doesn't own its ground. Simon Hughes listens at the club AGM to rescue plans and the proposal to develop a new venue that it can call 'home.' Also in the episode Ben Stokes recent comments on the Ashes reactions back home, and we discuss the fiasco of the new substitutes rule in county cricket. #cricket #middlesex #england #lords

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Simon Hughes spends the day at Hove watching Sussex overcome Warwickshire in a battle of Little and Large to become the only club in the country to have won both their opening championship games. A 140 run partnership between Sussex new boys Jack Leaning and Tom Price see them home. Head coach and former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace explains how passion and focus allied to smart acquisition enable Sussex to perform beyond their financial means. Also discussed: who should open the batting for England, how captaincy has helped Ollie Robinson, and are coaches too soft? A video version of this interview is on The Analyst YouTube channel

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