The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast

With the World Test Champions New Zealand back in action against England, we reconvene to discuss one of the year's biggest series in the longest format. This episode of The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast covers England's victory in the first Test, running down the performances of Jack Leach, Ben Foakes, Ollie Pope, and the openers as the hosts begin a new era under coach Brendon McCullum.As we ponder England's alternatives, we also debate the lacklustre performance of the visitors. Since becoming World Test Champions, New Zealand have lacked a cutting edge - they have failed to win a single series since beginning the defence of their title. We discuss what has gone wrong strategically and in terms of selection - the repeated omission of Neil Wagner being especially baffling - and the coagulation of the Kiwis' bowling attack into something altogether one-dimensional.---------------------------Podcast: The Adelaide reunion special - with Ali Martin | The Final Word - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qYUdFrQAIuaeSg4Pj82f3 Podcast: England Daily - Lord's Day 4 | The Final Word - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vtedN24aDzGyel3LjMlBb

As IPL 2022 is in its final stages, we return to discuss which of the tournament's leading performers will ride their momentum to a place in the Indian T20 squad for the upcoming series against South Africa and the West Indies. We debate the existing flaws of the India in the shortest format and which players could provide solutions, squad depth, and even a new identity as the team gears up for two important series in a world cup year. With the conditions in Australia in mind, we ask - which of Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed is the better left-arm seam option? Is a Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal reunion on the cards? Can Dinesh Karthik make a return to the side? Is Abhishek Sharma the top-six all-rounder India are looking for? Is the time right for Umran Malik or should Avesh Khan be preferred? Ahead of the squad announcement, we deliberate all these questions and more.------------------------------Snehal Pradhan's tweet - https://twitter.com/SnehalPradhan/status/1523254883713187841

On the return of Shorts, we discuss the recent struggles of Virat Kohli and the reactions prompted by his poor form in the 2022 IPL. With rest prescribed by seemingly all voices as a cure, we debate what it means for Kohli to take some time off from the game, the implications it might have for his career, and the future of the Indian Test and white-ball squads. With a T20 World Cup on the horizon and much international cricket to be played before that event, India now have a choice on their hands with respect to the former captain as they gear up to bring home the trophy.In the same vein, we also attempt to explain how the absence of captaincy has put Kohli's career on a clock - vulnerable to the axe without the protective shield of captaincy. The other theme that has dominated the discussion around Kohli recently has been workload management, and we discuss how it might affect his short-term and long-term future in the Indian side.----------------------------------Time to pull the plug on Kohli's T20I career by Sriram Veera - https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/ipl/time-to-pull-the-plug-on-kohlis-t20i-career-7888875/Take a break, Virat Kohli by R Kaushik - https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/take-a-break-virat-kohli-1102328.html

At the (just past) half-way stage of IPL 2022, we return for our mid-season review of the tournament. This time, we pick the player from each side who has most impressed us for a total of ten outstanding performers (plus numerous honourable mentions) in the season so far. With Gujarat and Lucknow enjoying impressive debut campaigns, and Mumbai and Chennai struggling at the bottom of the table, the standings have been turned on their head - and we discuss the performances of Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav, Krunal Pandya and Arshdeep Singh in the context of a new world order in the IPL. Furthermore, as the unavoidable backdrop to this tournament, we discuss the possibility of India selection for the T20 World Cup for the IPL's most distinguished domestic performers and debate the possible changes to the Indian T20 side over the next eighteen months.Also in the course of this freewheeling discussion, we talk about the limits of the current player retention system as the IPL expands, the ultimate legacy of Josh Hazlewood, the rising stock of Abhishek Sharma, and T Natarajan's finest first-class bowling performance.---------------------------------Joy Bhattacharjya's tweet - https://twitter.com/joybhattacharj/status/1518459973029662722

Ishan's podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3a1mCsQShLvyKH2qRFHGvq---------------------------For the first time on The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast, we welcome a guest on the show to catch up with the latest happenings in Indian cricket. This time, it's the auction for the 2022 IPL season and we are joined by Ishan Kacker of The Anxious Millennial Cowboy Show to discuss the purchases by the various franchises for the upcoming season. With the addition of two new teams to the party, it promises to be a bumper season and accordingly our post-auction review is split into two parts.In Part 2, we discuss the performances of last season's winners Chennai, a Bangalore side after the reign of Virat Kohli, the most successful franchise Mumbai, 2021's sixth-placed team Punjab, and last season's second-bottom finishers Rajasthan. Debating bench strength, team combinations, and possible strategies for these five teams, we attempt to fashion likely playing XIs and tactics from the squads of these franchises. Can Punjab's strong showing in the auction translate into a playoff place? Are Mumbai the team to watch this season, given their box-office purchases at the auction? Have Rajasthan failed to build a balanced squad? And how can Chennai improve on a title-winning campaign?N.B. Deliberating the latter question transformed The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast, briefly, into the Mitchell Santner fan club.

Welcome to the first ever episode of Shorts, a new format by us at The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast. Shorts is our attempt to try something different - bite-sized (well, certainly compared to our usual marathon shows) commentary about specific topics in cricket that catch our eye. For the debut episode, we discuss India's experimental team selections at the Women's World Cup, analysing their changes to personnel and the batting order as they attempt to qualify for the knockout stages. The results have been mixed so far and we debate whether it would have been worth it to stick with Shafali Verma instead of opening with Yastika Bhatia.We also discuss the merits of India tearing up their existing plans just before the World Cup, the structural importance of the engine room of Pooja Vastrakar, Richa Ghosh, and Sneh Rana, the value of Harmanpreet Kaur's runs in this tournament, India's continued dependence on Smriti Mandhana, and a possibly exciting finish to the group stage with India's games against Bangladesh and South Africa.