“Pressure”, Keith Miller once told the veteran broadcaster Michael Parkinson, “is a Messerschmitt up your arse. Playing cricket is not”. Miller had seen combat as a fighter pilot in World War II. His observation should have been the last word on the subject. But the idea of pressure remains an enduring favorite of the cricket commentariat. It is used, for the most part, as a prelude to the other favorite subject of the cricket commentariat - manliness. Manliness, toughness - just how much of a man a player is, is determined by the result a player produces under pressure. 

This often leads to some palpable contradictions. For example, at 286/9 in the fourth innings at Headingley in the 2019 Ashes, England’s situation in the Test was hopeless.
2

Mohandas Menon poses this interesting example.

The umpire gave this not out according to the commentator. Under the Laws the umpire appears to be wrong, and at first I was convinced that it had to be wrong. But there might be a wrinkle.

The bowled dismissal is defined in Law 32

32.1.1 The striker is out Bowled if his/her wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler, not being a No ball, even if it first touches the striker’s bat or person.

In this episode, I speak to Snehal Pradhan. Snehal is a former India fast bowler. In addition to running her youtube channel Cricket with Snehal, she writes and reports on cricket for First Post, News 18, ESPNCricinfo, Economic Times and several other publications. She also commentates on cricket matches for broadcasters like the BBC. We spoke about the landscape of women's cricket in India in the 21st century.

This is part two of my conservation with Daniel Norcross. Daniel is a commentator for BBC Test Match Special. He also writes for various publications like ESPNCricinfo. Daniel is also the first guest on this show who commands his own Wikipedia entry. I invited Daniel over to reflect on the 2019 English summer season with the benefit of some distance.

This episode begins where Part I finished.

This is part one of my conservation with Daniel Norcross. Daniel is a commentator for BBC Test Match Special. He also writes for various publications like ESPNCricinfo. Daniel is also the first guest on this show who commands his own Wikipedia entry. I invited Daniel over to reflect on the 2019 English summer season with the benefit of some distance. This episode includes the first part of our conversation which ended up being a reflection on the two outstanding figures of the summer.

In this episode, Gary Naylor discusses the art of reviewing and criticism. Gary has reviewed plays, opera, films, cricket and football at various venues.

Gary Naylor is chief reviewer for Broadway World in London, writes about cricket for the Guardian on the blog 99.94, and commentates on cricket for Guerilla Cricket. He also maintains a separate weblog called The Sound of the Tooting Trumpet . He tweets @garynaylor999.

I tweet at @cricketingview.

In this episode, Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde discuss their new book Cricket 2.0 and reflect on past, present and possible futures of T20.

Listen to the episode here. Please subscribe to the podcast at the service of your choice. The podcast is available on:

Spotify, Apple, Google, Breaker, CastBox, Overcast, Radio Public

You can also listen to episodes on YouTube on this channel.

Gaurav Sabnis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Stevens School of Business in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is also a cricket fan. I spoke to him about the question of the viability of Test cricket. Is Test Cricket viable as a professional sport? What does it mean for a sport to be viable? This remains a question of interest among people who are interested in cricket. This is the first of hopefully many conversations on this subject with people from different fields.

In this episode, Subash Jayaraman reflects on the nature of cricket coverage and his experiences as a freelance member of cricket press.

Subash Jayaraman has covered cricket as a hobby for over a decade. During this time, he has traveled all over the world and attended matches at every major international venue. He maintains The Cricket Couch, hosts Couch Talk and has contributed reports, interviews, and essays to ESPNCricinfo, Scroll, Livemint, First Post, Sportstar and Cricbuzz.

Steve Smith was hit twice in the same afternoon by the phenomenal Jofra Archer on the 4th day at Lord's today. The pictures below are extracted from the highlights published by the England & Wales Cricket Board. It was the headline contest on a memorable, rain-free 4th day of a Lord's Test which has otherwise been mauled by bad weather. The wicket has played slower than usual.

All Test cricket is made up of a contest between one batsman and one bowler.
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