The Last Wicket

Why has batting averages in test cricket plummeted in recent times? Is it due to the flattening of conditions brought about by Limited Overs cricket? Has deeper bowling attacks tightened the pressure on batsmen? Or is all of this due to worsening defensive techniques among modern batsmen?

Aftab Khanna joins The Cricket Guys to dissect this phenomena and bust some myths. Tune in for some surprising stats.

Links:

Check all graphs and tables referenced in this episode over here.

Follow Aftab Khanna on Twitter

Cover art by @RanjithaS

In this episode, we break down India's dominant home series win against England with a returning James Marsh (@pavilionopinion). We recap the four tests, dissect the talking points from each game, and talk about where the two teams go from here. Tune in for James' rousing optimism about the English test side.

Links:

Follow James Marsh on Twitter

You can find his writing on Substack

Bonus: Kartikeya Date's breakdown of the difference between the 2012-13 series and the recent series between the two sides

Cover art by @RanjithaS

We speak with Karunya Keshav (journalist and co-author of "The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women's Cricket in India") and Ananya Upendran (former cricketer and managing editor of Women's CricZone) about the evolution of women's cricket in India over the last few decades. We talk the beginnings of women's cricket in India, growth of the game at a grassroots level, rising stars to watch out for, the Equal Hue Project, Women's CricZone, and so much more. 

Links:

Buy the book: "The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women's Cricket in India" | India | United States |

The Equal Hue Project

Women's CricZone

Follow them on Twitter: Karunya Keshav and Ananya Upendran

Cover art by @RanjithaS

In a special mid-week episode, we speak with writer Rohit Sankar about South African cricketer Faf du Plessis who recently retired from test cricket. We talk Faf's standout moments in tests, his captaincy tenure, and the larger legacy he leaves behind. Towel-clad Faf defusing a volatile situation will be missed for sure.

Bonus: we also talk Ravichandran Ashwin's momentous achievement of 400 test wickets.

Links:

Follow Rohit on Twitter: @imRohit_SN

Check out his Wisden article on Faf: Six times Faf du Plessis was too cool for Test cricket

Also, check out CricXtasy (co-founded by Rohit) 

Cover art by @RanjithaS

The Cricket Guys speak with Clive Azavedo about the Pakistan Super League (PSL). We talk Clive's experience of working for the Islamabad United franchise, the uniqueness of PSL that sets it apart from other leagues, the player drafts, and much more. We also get some exclusive behind-the-scenes tidbits: Always play nice with Saeed Ajmal.

Links:

Follow Clive on Twitter: @_vanillawallah 

You can subscribe to his writings at: When You Win The Toss

Cover art by @RanjithaS

This week, the Cricket Guys speak with Karthikeya Manchala about the recent IPL mini-auction. We talk mini auction dynamics, evolution of team strategies, seam-bowling allrounders, the Pujara buy, and much more. We also discuss Himanish's recent article on Cricinfo, talk about unconventional ways to assess batsmen's consistency across their careers, and see if we can come up with an answer to the question: Who is currently the most consistent batsmen in Test cricket? The answer might surprise you.

IPL auction conversation with Karthikeya: (06:53 - 43:29)

"Stat Attack" - Who is the most consistent batsman in test cricket? (43:34 - 1:02:52)

Links:

You can find more of Karthikeya's thoughts on Twitter.

Himanish's article: Virat Kohli, Steven Smith or Joe Root - who's the most consistent of them all? (espncricinfo.com)

Cluster Profiles — ImgBB (ibb.co)

HaloData-Feb.xlsx (dropbox.com)

Cover art by @RanjithaS

This week, the Cricket Guys speak with journalist Raghu Kesavan about his recent article on The Wire: "Siraj, Sundar and Natarajan Are the Real Representatives of New India". We talk to him about the Indian identity shift over the last two decades, the desire to claim collective success as our own, and even talk some football (?!). We also have an IPL Trivia contest, and let's just say the results went in favor of a certain Chennai Super Kings fan.

Links:

You can find Raghu Kesavan on Twitter and read his article below:

Siraj, Sundar and Natarajan Are the Real Representatives of New India (thewire.in)

Cover art by @RanjithaS

This week, the Cricket Guys take aim at the umpire's call within the ubiquitous Decision Review System (DRS) and try to understand it's role in the modern game. We explore it's background, the science beyond it's technology, potential improvements, and the ways the system has changed the game, as told through numbers - all while taking potshots at certain sections of broadcast teams. We also take a glance at news that 'almost' passed us by in our brand new 'Meanwhile' segment. As always, brace yourselves for plenty of links and data.

Links:

Two papers on HawkEye and its interface with the public:

Welcome to the Hawk-Eye Page – Harry Collins

Are Umpires giving more LBWs now? - Karthik Krishnaswamy

http://es.pn/3aMlomT

The Numbers of the DRS by Tony Corke (@MatterOfStats)

http://bit.ly/2N2Iygv

Goeff Allardice on the HawkEye testing in 2016:

http://es.pn/3oZpVHI

Virtual Eye MD on Umpire’s Call:

http://bit.ly/2LzObCE

On Umpire's Call - A Cricketing View (substack.com)

Cover art by @RanjithaS

For our series premiere, we take a look at England's track record against playing spin in India and the approach that could bring about improved results for them in the upcoming test series against India. We also hear from English cricket blogger James Marsh about his thoughts on the England squad for the first two tests against India, and we take a look back at some of the more memorable moments in past India vs England encounters.

Links:

1. Dravid's letter to Kevin Pietersen

2. James Marsh: Twitter Substack

3. Article on Justin Langer

4. Shubman Gill's father reacts to his son's valiant 91 at the Gabba

5. YouTube links for incidents referred to in Blast from the Past

6. Statistics discussed in the episode

Cover art by @RanjithaS