Jonty Rhodes’ FIRST interview after signing with Sweden and Performance Director Benn Harradine (Part 1)

This. Is. HUGE. South African great Jonty Rhodes is moving to Sweden and bringing all his experience with him! We sit down with the man himself, as well as Swedish Cricket Federation Performance Director and Australian Discus champion, Benn Harradine, to discuss the decision in Part 1 of our exclusive.

Bes starts the show with a news wrap-up (1:00), before jumping into our chat (1:50). Jonty starts by explaining the motivations and logistics behind his relocation (4:20), then we hear from Benn as he talks about his own journey to Sweden (4:20), as well as some of his personal story as an athlete and an indigenous Australian (9:20). Benn also explains his role with the SCF and the exciting growth of club cricket in Sweden (17:46). Jonty then discusses his philosophy as a coach, and what he hopes to do on the ground in Sweden (21:29), as well as some of his background in cricket and how it shaped his interest in development work (24:40). We also look back on some of the more obscure moments in Jonty's career with South Africa (27:44), and of course the fielding brilliance which made his name (29:53). Benn then rounds out the show with a chat about SCF's task of communicating the game to Swedes (37:47), the school and club pathway (41:48), and the impact of ECL participation on the game in Sweden (46:13)

Sandeep stars, Bryces and Belgium brilliant, Nepal, Maldives, PNG, Netherlands & More!

Action all over the world this week, starting with Belgium overcoming the Czechs and Luxembourg (4:30) as well as the ever-important chat around stats and status nonsense (7:45) with rants inbound! We chat PNG domestic action (13:10), Sandeep, the Bryce sisters and other emerging stars in T20 Franchise action (17:40), and a new stadium initiative in the Maldives with the assistance of the Indian Government (30:45). News wrap at 41:17 including new job postings in Nepal and Rod Lyall's Dutch wrap!

Sensational Sandeep and Ali Khan at CPL, Emerging T20 Blast Pickups, Minor League Cricket and a Sneak Peek!

Action aplenty this week in the emerging game with Guernsey hosting Isle of Man (2:05), George Munsey and Irish talent picked up in the T20 Blast (8:10), Colin Graves' ICC funding comments (15:15) and a Kenya T20 League re-structure (21:45).

From there the boys discuss Sandeep Lamichhane and Ali Khan flourishing in the CPL (24:15), news from Nepal and player insurance (30:20), a news wrap including Nate Hays discussing Minor League Cricket (34:32) and in a SNEAK PEEK (37:08), we play a snippet of Nick's upcoming series on the Namibian 2003 World Cup team.

Minor League Cricket, Women’s Action + ICC ACU’s Steve Richardson Part 2!

Women's cricket returns! The team review "Beyond the Boundary" (2:45), the ICC's retrospective on the women's T20WC earlier in the year (available on Netflix), then look at the T20I series hosted by Austria against Germany (6:50). The visitors dominated the series 5-0 with a series of records tumbling. This week also saw the unveiling of team names and owners in the USA's Minor League Cricket (12:27). Then it's a news roundup and the second half of our interview with ICC anti-corruption coordinator Steve Richardson (17:10). We dig into some big topics including their investigations process (17:30), the organisation of fixing networks (20:10), the ACU's approach to Associate cricket and the proliferation of tournaments in Associate nations (26:00), the ethics of gambling sponsorships (32:30), corruption in non-ICC members (38:05), and of course Steve's views on which law in cricket he'd like to change (43:45).

World Cup shuffles and ICC Anti-Corruption Unit’s Steve Richardson Part 1

Some more movement at the ICC this week, as the team discuss the decision to switch the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup to India, push the Australian edition back to 2022, as well as shifting the 2021 Women's World Cup to 2022. Then it's news updates, and another Dutch Topklasse report from Rod Lyall. This week's interview is the first half of an informative conversation with Steve Richardson of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit. He answers a range of question on the ACU's work, from his personal background in joining the team, the ACU's day-to-day workings, its structures and accountability within the ICC, procedures in how they investigate unethical behaviour, as well as measures to protect players from corrupt operators. Steve also gives his thoughts on the efficacy of amnesties, and the effects of gambling's legality on ACU work

Ireland’s Super League Success, Damning FICA Findings, Rwanda & Matt Featherstone Pt 2!

As a quarantined Ireland side celebrate another famous win over England, the boys review the ODI series (01:50), then discuss the recently-released FICA report surveying professional cricketers (06:50). We hear from Mary Maina, the programmes manager at Rwandan cricket charity Cricket Builds Hope (12:35). Finally, we hear the second half of our interview with Matt Featherstone, president at Cricket Brasil. He talks about the ICC's Criiio project and Brazil's cricket-related street sport, taco (19:05), playing numbers and structures in Brazilian cricket (23:16), facilities and pitches (29:50), as well as his role at the ICC as global representative for non-voting members (32:45). And of course we learn which laws of the game he'd like to see changed (43:47).

ICC development Awards, News + Cricket in Brazil with Matt Featherstone Part 1!

This week's pod celebrates 6 stories from around the cricketing world, as the ICC announced its annual development awards (3:00). The boys discuss gongs awarded to Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Japan, Namibia, Finland, and Thailand, as well as taking a quick look at the rain-affected Japan Premier League (15:05). Then it's a news roundup (16:22), and Cricket Brazil's Matt Featherstone (17:36) joins the show. The interview covers a range of topics, including the origins of cricket development (19:50), their famous black t-shirts programme (24:40), the women's team (28:25), the potential benefits of Olympic participation (33:00), the challenges of growing into a mainstream sport (43:00), and cricket's unique language and culture translates to the Brazilian context.

T20WC Postponement, news + Kimber Pt 2!

Tim, Nick and Bes return to react to the news of the T20 World Cup (02:10), among other ramifications in the global game as we still battle a pandemic. The boys take a look at two more South Africans signed to deals in the USA (09:15), before Bes wraps news (17:25) with updates from Rod Lyall and Craig White. Following that Tim and Nick talk to Jarrod Kimber (21:50) in part two of their chat!

Our picks of Jarrod's best articles:

Tim's picks:

The Shahid Afridi of Kansas: Mohebullah Archiwal's story of how cricket took him from war-torn Afghanistan to middle America (2017):

http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1118422/the-shahid-afridi-of-kansas

Emma Lai Walks on the grass: The story of the cricket-club waitress who was playing for her national team within a year of picking up a bat for the first time (2017):

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/18731161/jarrod-kimber-emma-lai-waitress-turned-cricketer

Nick's favourites:

Borren's Boys: A profile on the Dutch captain completed after his team's fighting win over Hong Kong (2017):

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/18710103/jarrod-kimber-peter-borren-netherlands

Wild Thing: Shaun Tait bowled to the left, he bowled to the right, and nearly a decade ago, he bowled a frightening spell with all his might (2015):

https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/920605/wild-thing

Point fielders with gloves: Wicketkeepers are batting better than ever before, but it's time for them to go back to what they were best at (2015):

https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1083622/point-fielders-with-gloves

Jarrod's selections:

The master of Mombasa: From a small city in a cricketing backwater emerged Aasif Karim, a taker of big wickets (2015):

https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/900135/the-master-of-mombasa

Sreesanth: the story of a fall: How the clown prince of Indian cricket is fighting his way back after a jail sentence and a ban for spot-fixing (2019):

https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1204180/sreesanth--the-story-of-a-fall

Jarrod Kimber Part 1 + News from around the world

This week's episode starts with a news round-up from Bes, and we hear from Isaac Lockett (02:40), who wraps the recently concluded Zambia T10 league. Jarrod Kimber joins us for the first half of our two-part interview (05:30), with a freewheeling chat covering the CPL draft (06:20), the difficulties for emerging cricketers in trying to get the attention of T20 leagues (9:00), his time with Scotland as an analyst (28:50), and a discussion on the technical approach to wicketkeeping and left-arm spin (34:15).

Special thanks to Jarrod for joining us on the pod, you can support him via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32090121

Sandeep’s CPL Windfall and ICC Americas struggles, News + Freddie Klokker Part 2!

The boys discuss Sandeep Lamichhane's CPL pay-day and ICC Americas struggles (3:30), before looking at other events around the world. Bes wraps news (23:00), before Freddie Klokker joins the team again in part two of his chat (25:00).