The Cricket Sickos Podcast

Russ Degnan rejoins the podcast to get in the weeds of the ICC rankings. We get into the specifics of how it works, the consequences of implementing it, and features of some possible alternatives.

Follow Russ on Bluesky @idlesummers.bsky.social

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

00:44 The topics Russ writes about

07:28 The current ICC rankings system and how well they work

32:42 The merits of the ICC using rankings to determine qualification and funding

39:57 Ranking Associates in different regions who don't play each other

45:10 What is the point of rankings?

Music from Sicko Mode by Travis Scott

Original Sickos cartoon by Stan Kelly

Graphics by my incredibly excellent, cool and wildly handsome friend Harry Player

Friends of the show Erin and Raghu re-join Adit to examine the parts of cricket that encourage sicko behaviour that are present in baseball, North America's premier sicko sport. They also talk about being in Oakland for the MLC's opening week and discuss what worked, what didn't, and what more needs to be done.

Comparing descriptions of line drives to descriptions of colour:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/where-do-we-draw-the-line-drive/

Baseball's special mud: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/why-baseball-mud-rubbed-on-balls-works-study-rcna178321

https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/08/07/baseball-mud-rawlings

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters

01:06 Sicko behaviour in baseball fans

03:33 Ability to draw the game

09:31 Obsession with values of the sport

11:10 Belief in pseudoscience and woo

14:18 Obsession with stats, history, and which games count

19:31 Radio commentary

22:03 Series in baseball vs cricket

26:32 Impossible to watch every baseball match

33:08 MLC in Oakland

42:16 Who is most responsible for developing cricket in the US?

47:34 What Erin and Raghu would do if they were in charge

Music from Sicko Mode by Travis Scott

Original Sickos cartoon by Stan Kelly

Graphics by my incredibly excellent, cool and wildly handsome friend Harry Player

As the Gabba is saying its farewells before being demolished in 2032, we pay tribute to the iconic venue by talking to someone who the Gabba means very much to, a Final Word friend who goes by Matt near the Gabba. We talk about his history and relationship with cricket at the Gabba including being there at some historic moments, and discuss what it would mean for Brisbane to no longer have the Gabba.

There is also an important announcement at the top of the episode.

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

00:39 Podcast announcement

01:53 Introduction to cricket

03:43 Behind the moniker "near the Gabba" and early relationship with the Gabba

09:05 First time at the Gabba

15:04 1994/95 Sheffield Shield final

22:32 Test cricket at the Gabba

26:09 First Test of the summer

27:42 Rory Burns bowled off the first ball in 2021/22

33:10 Peter Siddle hattrick

38:50 Mitchell Johnson in 2013/14

44:47 What makes the Gabba special

47:25 What it means to no longer have the Gabba

50:38 The importance of the Gabba's stories in building cricket connections

Gary AKA Carnival Sorts joins the podcast to talk about the progression of Irish cricket before and during his lifetime, including his journey that started as a kid in rural Ireland teaching the game to confused neighbouring kids.

Follow Gary's Substack at https://carnivalcricket.substack.com/

Gary's piece on Ireland reinforcing the Associate glass ceiling: https://carnivalcricket.substack.com/p/ireland-smashed-crickets-glass-ceiling

Follow Gary on Bluesky @carnivalsorts.bsky.social

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters

00:58 Cricket origin story

07:45 Teaching cricket to confused neighbouring kids

11:01 Starting cricket writing

12:55 Going to Ireland games

18:20 The progression of cricket in Ireland

32:29 Ireland's transition to Full Membership

44:01 Ireland reinforcing the Associate glass ceiling

47:52 Cricket Ireland's refusal to take risks to grow the game

52:17 Gary's outlook on Ireland's medium-term future

58:02 Final questions

Abbas from the Final Word community joins the podcast to talk about cricket in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, fills Adit in on what he's missing when he's not watching franchise matches, and might have solved the issue of how to give franchise opportunities to women's players outside the Big 3.

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

01:10 Cricket origin story, especially the 2011 World Cup

05:05 Staying up late to watch the IPL

09:34 Franchise cricket as experiments

16:16 Schools cricket in Sri Lanka

20:44 Issues surrounding Pakistani cricket

34:45 Thoughts on Sri Lankan cricket

45:12 How a combined Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi women's franchise league would help player development

48:03 How cricket helps Abbas to connect

Machel St. Patrick Hewitt, one half of the Caribbean Cricket Podcast, joins the show to talk in more detail about how he and his co-host Santokie Nagulendran started making their podcast, the role the podcast plays in covering West Indies cricket, and the reasons why they dedicate so much of their time and effort to the cause.

The Caribbean Cricket Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaribbeanCricketPodcast

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vseYQXRRe614G84eNydM7

Follow the Caribbean Cricket Podcast on Bluesky @caribcricket.bsky.social‬

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

01:05 Cricket origin story

04:02 Meeting Santokie

06:56 Reasons why support for the West Indies among the diaspora has declined

11:04 How conversations with Santokie turned into the podcast

13:20 Influencing how West Indies fans talk about cricket

18:33 What success looks like for West Indies cricket

26:10 How Machel finds the drive to keep the podcast going

32:35 Why the podcast is important

Fellow White Line Wireless commentator Krishna joins the podcast to talk about how cricket helped his family adjust to life in country Australia in the 70s, why he loves commentary, and goes off the long run on a few cricket issues.

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters

00:50 Introduction to cricket

03:57 Cricket's role in Krishna's family's move to Australia

09:50 Changing relationship to cricket

14:02 Commentating for White Line Wireless

21:04 How a commentary shift with Krishna inspired this podcast

23:54 ABC cricket magazines

31:35 Final questions

Josh from Global Cricket joins the podcast to talk about the ways he's trying to advance the statistical analysis of women's cricket, his love for Glamorgan, and the top reasons why he loves the game.

Josh's blog: https://somuchsportoutthere.wordpress.com

Josh's rankings tables: https://somuchsportoutthere.wordpress.com/t20-ratings/

Follow Josh on Bluesky @somuchcricket.bsky.social

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

00:56 Introduction to cricket

02:17 Discovering women's and Associate cricket

04:05 The methodology, merits, and limitations, of Josh's rankings tables

21:51 Increasing representation of non-big 3 players in women's franchise competitions

32:37 Improvements to ICC team rankings

36:49 Relationship with Glamorgan

42:06 Ranking the top 3 things Josh loves about cricket

Meels from the Final Word community joins the podcast to talk about her experiences discovering the game growing up in North Wales, whether Welsh cricket being included in the English system is beneficial for the game there, and how conversations around Wales' cricketing contributions can be discussed better.

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

00:55 Introduction to cricket

15:15 Meels only being able to share cricket with her brother

20:48 The integration of Wales in the English system

27:30 How media and fans can improve conversations about Welsh cricket

41:52 How going to the cricket with others fuelled Meels' enjoyment of the game

Ildikó from the Daisy Cutter cricket zine joins the show to talk about how cricket has helped her connect with loved ones, Daisy Cutter's commitment to covering the fun and serious sides of the game, and the challenges of making cricket a more inclusive sport.

Follow Daisy Cutter on Bluesky @daisycutterzine.bsky.social

Read the Daisy Cutter blog: https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/

Ildiko writing about cricket and her dad: https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/2024/05/16/runs-in-the-family/

Ashes Bi Vibes: https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/2023/07/06/the-ashes-bi-vibes-handbook/

The inclusive pub team Hand in Hand Corinthians: https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/2024/08/13/the-most-anarchist-thing-in-brighton-meet-the-hand-in-hand-corinthians/

Interview with Danielle McGahey: https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/2024/02/15/daisy-x-danielle-mcgahey-pt-1-advocacy-and-the-defence-of-grassroots-sports/ (Part 1); https://daisycutterzine.wordpress.com/2024/02/21/daisy-x-danielle-mcgahey-pt-2-transitioning-and-finding-love-through-cricket/ (Part 2)

The Cricket Sickos Podcast on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2kkhzf25

On Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aditrs7870?feature=shared

RSS link: https://anchor.fm/s/fa16cb28/podcast/rss

Follow Adit on Bluesky @aditrs.bsky.social

Chapters:

01:40 Introduction to cricket

12:10 How Daisy Cutter came about

24:20 Catering to an underserved segment of cricket fans

27:12 The challenges of advancing LGBT+ inclusion in cricket on a systemic level

35:30 How banning trans women from women's competitions damages cricket's claim to be an inclusive sport

46:05 How cricket helps Ildiko understand herself and others

49:50 What it means to be a Daisy girl

56:55 Previewing Issue 4 of Daisy Cutter