Stay ConnectedThe Test Match Special team bring you the very best cricket reaction, insight & analysis.
Plus the No Balls podcast with Kate Cross and Alex Hartley brings a fine balance of nonsense and cricket as they welcome some of the biggest names in the sport.
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The Men's Ashes are nearly upon us and the TMS preview features interviews with both Ben Stokes and Steve Smith, plus an exclusive chat with England Head Coach Brendon McCullum.
Ashton Agar talks through his remarkable innings at Trent Bridge in 2013, where aged 19 he scored a brilliant 98. Agar tells Stephan Shemilt all the details of a special day.
Steve Crossman is joined by Mark Ramprakash, Jack Leach and Durham's Australian coach Ryan Campbell to look ahead to the opening Test of the Ashes series that begins on Friday in Perth. They will also be joined by Australian journalist Geoff Lemon.
They discuss the challenges of touring in Australia, the importance of the opening ball of the series, as well as the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two sides including; the leadership, spinners, pace attacks, and the Aussie top order.
Timecodes: 00:03:43 - expectations of the series 00:12:30 - The importance of the first ball of the Ashes 00:18:12 - Touring Australia and the phoney war 00:23:17 - What should England expect in Perth? 00:33:53 - Ben Stokes 00:45:40 - Australia without Cummins and Hazlewood 00:58:38 - Spinners 01:15:51 - England's pace attack 01:25:20 - Australia's top order 01:30:45 - Joe Root
Eleanor Oldroyd chats to Phil Tufnell and Alex Hartley, plus we have a look around the Perth Stadium as the countdown to the first Test continues.
Chief Cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt reports from Lilac Hill on a mixed opening day of England’s Ashes tour. Ben Stokes picked up four wickets in his first competitive bowl since July, but there was an injury concern over Mark Wood. Stephan is joined by George Dobell from the Cricketer and we hear from England vice captain Harry Brook.
Former England fast bowler David Larter was part of the England squad to head to the 1962/63 Ashes, the last time the team travelled down to Australia by boat. He speaks to the BBC’s Chief Cricket Reporter Stephan Shemilt about his memories of the journey, as well as being made to run round the boat to keep fit, stopping off in Colombo to play a warm-up match, and how he went from being talked about by the Australian press to featuring in a single Ashes Test.
Kate Cross & Alex Hartley look back at the 2025 Women's World Cup which saw India win their first ever title. They discuss India’s incredible victories over Australia and South Africa, the unlikely hero in Shafali Verma, and why it feels like the beginning of the end of an era in women’s cricket.
The BBC’s Chief Cricket Reporter Stephan Shemilt speaks to Ryan Harris about his explosive Ashes career.
From his own 'ball of the century' dismissing Sir Alastair Cook, being the perfect sidekick to Mitchell Johnson, his injury woes which limited the amount of Tests he played, and whether he'd ever have played for England with his dad being from Leicester.
Henry Moeran is alongside 2017 World Cup winner Alex Hartley, TMS regular Prakash Wakankar, commentator Daniel Norcross, and TMS statistician Phil Long in Navi Mumbai for reaction to India winning the 2025 Women’s World Cup.
Hear the thoughts of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Amanjot Kaur, and losing captain Laura Wolvaardt.
Plus, journalists Firdose Moonda and Zenia D’cunha discuss the wider impact of just how big the World Cup has been in India.
Alison Mitchell looks back at how England won the first ever Women’s World Cup, with the tournament hosted in England. She speaks to cricket journalist and historian Raf Nicholson, plus we hear some archive interviews from England legend Rachael Heyhoe-Flint.
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