Cricket with an Accent Podcast

Himanish Ganjoo on the historic Indian win at the Gabba and the narrative vs stats version of cricket fandom

On the latest episode of the podcast Himanish Ganjoo makes his debut as the guest analyst. Ganjoo has written for Espn cricinfo and some of his recent written pieces are listed below in the show notes. Like many writers of this generation Ganjoo relies on the stats to tell the actual story of the cricket rather than holding on to the cliched usage of adjectives that have been used to describe the game. 

Through the prism of stats he talks about the readiness of Indian bench which displayed its depth on a weekly basis on this Australian tour. We also take a deeper dive into the batting methods of Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara. Last but not the least we compare this Indian batting lineup to its predecessors from the previous generation. 

Some of Himanish's published work is listed here -

https://deeppoint.substack.com/p/pujara-the-occupier

https://imgur.com/a/ES3jpyA

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/how-good-are-kohli-smith-williamson-and-root-at-occupying-the-crease-1201134

 

Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at the drawn test for the ages in Sydney

In this episode we look back at the recently concluded Sydney test match. Cricket writer, historian and author Abhishek Mukherjee is the guest analyst, who helps break down the contest. Mukherjee addresses the many facets of the drawn test match from Rishabh Pant's batting to the defensive masterclass of Ravi Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, and why this will go down as one of the match for the ages. The conversation tries to address the unprecedented injury list of this Indian squad. Has it ever happened before to any travelling test team? What playing eleven options India have left to tinker with for the last test.

Second half of the show shifts focus on the Gabba venue - as how it has been one of Australia's winningest venues. Mukherjee like a true historian recalls some of the interesting contests between the two team on this venue. Steven Smith, Cheteshwar Pujara and the Indian top order get a deserved mention in this episode as well.

Boxing Day Test Review with Sanket Singbal and Abhu Tyagi

In this episode we review the Boxing day test between Australia and India. Sanket Singbal and Abhu Tyagi join host Saqib Ali to breakdown the happenings from MCG. The conversation focuses on Ajinkya Rahane's batting and captaincy. Was it his best knock as a test batsman? Md Siraj and Shubman Gill's remarkable readiness for international test cricket also gets discussed in the pod. Other topics covered include the possible return of Rohit Sharma for the SCG test, Pat Cummins vs Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravi Ashwin vs Steve Smith.

We wrap the show by comparing the current Aussie bowling unit to one of the all time best bowling unit of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee. The episode is full of nuanced observations and detailed analysis on the MCG test.

Kamran Abbasi on the turbulent fortunes of Pakistan cricket and his new book Englistan

Growing up in an adopted land is always a new experience for anyone and it has an additional layer if there is a sport that is common in one's country of birth and their new homeland. Kamran Abbasi one of the most prolific and poignant writers of all things Pakistan cricket is the guest on the podcast this week. Abbasi was born in Pakistan but was raised in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. His new book called Englistan takes a deeper dive into a lifetime journal of a fan and how he viewed the cricket and societal climate of Britain in the 1980's. The book has a comprehensive analysis of all things Pakistan cricket during Abbasi's watch as a fan and writer. 

In this episode he talks about the book and some of the relevant topics that have surrounded Pakistan cricket since his days as teenaged Yorkshire cricket hopeful. 

Kartik Jayaraman reviews 36/9 and looks ahead to Boxing Day test

Kartik Jayaraman is a cricket enthusiast and a true student of the game who also loves connecting statistical dots on cricket trivia. In this episode he makes his podcast debut for our series. Kartik is @elitecynic on twitter. The conversation revolves heavily around the Adelaide debacle from two days ago. Kartik looks back at what will possibly go down as an all time great Aussie pace attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc and how they dismantled a decent Indian batting line up. Was it the Pink ball, or was there extra bounce on day three, or was there lack of technical application by Indian batters? Listen to Kartik on what transpired as we combine facts and some narratives on this topic.

We also look forward to Ajinkya Rahane the batsman and captain. How different will he be than the leadership of Virat Kohli in terms of team selection and on field decisions. Why has Ravi Ashwin's batting numbers taken a nosedive and the importance of Pujara;s role in the remainder of this series also get worthy mentions.

A lot of nuance and opinion packed in this episode.

 

Malcolm Knox on the upcoming Adelaide Test

Malcolm Knox is a senior cricket writer for the Sydney Morning Herald. In this episode Knox joins the show to talk about the upcoming Adelaide test match between India and Australia. He also talks about the sudden decline of cricket in the Australian ecosystem of sports.

Given that the Australian opening pair for the first test match is now an uncertainty with the concussion suffered by young hopeful Will Pucovski. Knox wrote an article in the SMH where he wants the game to move away from the bouncer - https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/cricket/cricket-has-endorsed-head-hunting-for-too-long-it-s-time-for-the-bouncer-to-go-20201211-p56mo3.html?ref=rss

He admits the captaincy talk surrounding Steve Smith is a distraction before the series and  ponders at the idea whether Australia will see a fast bowler captaining their team one day with a certain Pat Cummins waiting in the wings as a vice captain.

Last but not the least he weighs in on the love hate relationship of the Aussie fans with Virat Kohli.

 

Sidharth Monga on the India Australia series storylines

Sidharth Monga is the assistant editor of Espn Cricinfo. For cricket readers he is one of the most prolific writers in this modern age of cricket. He does it all - be it a match report, short article or the carefully crafted detailed piece on the Cricket monthly. An all format writer!

He joins the podcast as a guest to discuss the burning storylines of the India Australia series from the communication breakdown on Rohit Sharma's injury and why India will dearly miss the other Sharma on this tour. We make Sidharth address some narrative questions as well - why we cannot have split captaincy in India? Is it cultural? 

Last but not the least we talk about his detailed masterpieces on Saha and Pujara and the process behind these write ups.

Winston Davis on fast bowling and his time as a West Indian cricketer

This episode of Cricket with an Accent we welcome former fast bowler Winston Davis of the West Indies. Winston Davis owned the best bowling figures in ODI cricket for more than eight years. He was the answer to the 7/51 trivia question. More than that he broke into the packed West Indies fast bowling unit, which was no easy feat considering the line up.

In this episode Davis elaborates on the art of fast bowling and more importantly the mindset needed to operate as a genuine quick! In a nostalgia driven conversation Davis also talks about the WC 1983 final loss to India and the tour of India that followed the WC.