Australia Retain The Ashes, The End of BazBall? Glenn McGrath Joins | Stick to Cricket EP 27

0:00Before we get started, I'd like to thank our partners Betfair. Hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Enjoy the show. Welcome. Plonk yourself there, Dan. Thank you. Down there, big lad. Heaven knows I'm miserable now. Well, a little bit. The Smiths. That's right. Four cups too many? Ho, ho, ho. No, we're all right. I don't know who's that is, that's mine. No, that's mine, but my beer. That's when, it's funny you say that song, Bumble. Yeah. Zimbabwe. Yes. me and Creepy Crawley sat in those tiny little rooms, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Creepy singing, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Christmas Day.

0:41Sir Ian McLaurin opens the door and said, that's enough, didn't he? He said, we've got to have single rooms now. That's it. I remember it. That was where it started, wasn't it? I do. And talking of Christmas, shall we pull our crackers and see if we can find a nice joke? I've got a few up this sleeve. Have you? And they might be about well, I've got this I've got one regret England a 3-0 down in it You've got one regret and I'm I'd so sorry with South Africa when I were in South Africa I had one regret there and it was a left a gate or in a field Well, they want the field really it was the Safari Still running about to them like

1:29There you go. We've got one. Go on. Go on, Bubbles. What we got? Oh, well, this is lighting the mood. This is lighting the mood, eh? Here we go. Little joke. Who's the fastest bowler in the ocean? Come on. The fastest bowler in the ocean? Mitchell Sharp. Yeah, Mitchell Sharp. Right, here's another. What does Alex Gary and a kangaroo have in common? Oh. Kangaroo? Boeing? Boeing? Big tail? Not bad. Not bad. They both come up to the jumps? Stops? No. No. They don't walk. No, they don't walk backwards. Who's going to pull this one with me? Come on, Glenn. Come on. I might try to win this one. Oh, no.

2:24Unbelievable. Go on. There we go. There's something in here. They both don't walk. I love that. Go on. What is the umpire's favourite thing to shout at Christmas? Uh, something snick-o. Something snick-o or Chris-o, Christmas-o. No, it wouldn't happen in Australia. Substitute... No ball. With... Concussion. What happens in England over Christmas that doesn't happen here? Snow. Snow. Snowball. Snowball. Should have done better. Too clever. Should have done better. Too clever by. We've had a long time. We've had another here. Michael Vaughan can't be with us, so we're just the three of us, you see.

3:15Before we get started, I want to say a big thank you to our sponsors, Betfair. Remember to like and subscribe and enjoy the show.

3:49You want to play for England and you want to play against Australia. How did Australia win the series? They did a couple of things better. They batted, bowled and fielded better. Green seamer. I have to stick to cricket. Stick to cricket? See what you've got there. You've got the job. Nothing better than it.

4:15Start us off, Bumble. Right, we'll get the show going here. Yeah. So it's official. Yes. What is? I don't know. Australia's got the ashes. Correct. England have retained the ashes. Who? No, they haven't. Australia have retained the ashes. England, did they make it an easy ride? Was it an easy victory in the end? They had our moments. We had our little moments. I think it kind of was, really. Even though, as you say, in some of those test matches, we were in great positions. But just those crucial moments. we say it every time don't we got in ashes cricket especially down under when those moments come along you got to grab and whether it's a catch whether it's a little passage of play when you've got to get stuck in and absorb a bit of pressure or when it's 45 degree e and you've got to hit the top of off stump those moments yeah we we we didn't grab and they did uh they were more precise than we were well you said grab there they've caught brilliant oh i mean some wonderful catches yeah and and we've dropped a few.

5:17When you talk about having your moments, we drop catches at critical moments. There you go. Is he the best fielder in the world at the moment, do you think? Ask him. I think he'd tell you what. He never shuts up. He's like, he's really never, ever shuts up. He'd be annoying to play against and he's even annoying to have in your own team. But you like the energy and everything else and what he brings. So, yeah, what's it? We should start up a saying. What is it? Catches, maybe win matches. I like that. Yeah, that might be a good one. So, I mean, where did you reckon? Come on, mate. Where did it finally go wrong?

5:49I mean, 3-0. Don't forget, we've come out here quite bullish. Oh, I'm thinking we're in here. Yeah, so my first thought when England were coming out, the two things I was curious, are they going to play the way on Australian bouncy pitches? Just keep picking the line and hitting through. That was one thing. And the other one was, you know, taking bowlers on, you know, trying to score quickly on bigger grounds. It's fine on smaller grounds. I think they got found out just trying to play their game. Instead of adapting to the conditions, it's like they wanted the conditions to adapt to their way of play.

6:23And we saw that after lunch day two in Perth. The way they were hitting through balls that weren't there and getting caught behind. They were in a great position. And from that moment on, they lost all those wickets. Australia's only chasing 200. Khawaja got injured, which I think probably worked out as a bit of a bonus for Australia. and Travis Head opened and his innings was incredible. So that was, I think that was a game they let slip. Brisbane, I think that showed they haven't played a lot of day-night test cricket. Australia knew what was coming, you know, with Mitchell Stark and Scotty Bollins.

6:58The way they just dragged that out as far close as they could to the night session and then those six wickets that fell. So they understand it a lot better. Yeah, that never helps. Never helps at all. So I think those two matches, this one here, first innings, England bowling, just all over the place. But what I like is they bowled better in the second innings. The last two days, I think England really competed with Australia. Jason 435, it's just too far. But they really competed, so it shows going into the next two tests, they could be beauties. But the talk coming out of the England camp from Baz and from Stokes, it's different now.

7:45It's not, yes, this is why we're playing. Yes, we're great. It's got to be fine. Everything's fine. They're now saying, okay, yes, we could have done things better. We're identifying things. We're learning. We hopefully put them in place. So I think that's a massive positive. A quote. Oh, good. A quote. To be or not to be. From one of the leading commentators in the game. Oh, here we go. You. Oh, right. Well, it must be worth listening to. Should Baz stay? Should he stay? I think he should. Should he stay or should he go? Said Mr PCI Toughnull. Yeah. I think Baz should definitely... Stay. Stay.

8:20Absolutely. Yeah, but there will be consequences. Well, there will be. All the suits are here. They're all here from the ECB. And the reason I say that is that... How long has this project been going on for? Three years? two and a half, three years, we have witnessed some fabulous cricket. I've been turning up doing the commentary. It's been wonderful. Run chases, full houses for a start. Remember where we were to start with. 17 Test matches, one victory, getting dragged off Joe Root's lot, bless him, in the Caribbean. We were down there, we really were. And so let's not forget the fun we've had And let's not forget the feeling that when we were...

9:05Actually, when we were on the plane coming over here, we had that feeling that we were going to compete. Absolutely. We thought we were winning this. We did. And so, you know, let's not... Listen, no-one really wins in Australia. We never really win in Australia. So let's not repeat that cycle of everything... Throw the baby out with the... Is it the bathwater? Yes. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater every time we come to Australia. But we've lost 10 out of 13 matches away from home. Does that not matter? Well, it goes to show you need adaptability with it. I like the concept of going out, being positive, backing yourself.

9:42But you've got to adapt to the situation. Know when to get through this tough moment. OK, let's attack now. So if they can do that, I think they'll be great. They'll be up there with the world's best. But a lot depends for Baz on the next two games. If they really compete the next two, fine, great. If they lose convincingly, then I'm not sure. Because you know what's going to happen. They're all going to turn around and say, right, right, we need more discipline. We need to bring in a disciplined area. We need more nets. We need more nets. We need more nets. No one ever did find. It's been a happy place wandering around watching cricket for the last three years.

10:18So I've been around our media centre and talking to ex-players and journalists and so on. They say, don't jettison basball. Don't jettison. Just rein it in. Just twink it. I'm a massive boxing fan. Love boxing. The greatest... Sometimes you're on the ropes and you've got to cover up and you've got to defend. Then you've got to find your moment when you come out. You've got to come out. Right, I'm going to start throwing some now. We've not got there yet. We haven't recognised that this bloke Mitchell star don't allow you, Pat Cummings, don't allow you to play that way. Nathan Lyon, don't allow you.

10:54Nathan Lyon has an action that repeats and repeats and repeats and to put our young chap our young fella who's bowled 250 overs in three years you ain't there some lion and so we we've picked a bits and pieces off spinner it's not his fault and he bats all right but it's nicely but it's nice see one other thing bum can I just say please do please do interject I interject it's the damage that that happens you know like we draw they let's say if they did drop they copped everything bloody hell you know but if if we if they dropped Crawley let's say on one or two or something like that there'll probably be another chance along the way when the oh we're getting again we're getting again because of the bowling and what have you our drops have just been catastrophic you know and we've lost three or four wickets quickly like Brisbane and it's been catastrophic.

11:51That's what we've got to stop. The best thing I like about this is Snickle. Oh, what a twat. I know, he's been brilliant. What a twat, Snickle. I love it. Let's see, well, the DRS, we're going upstairs, we'll go upstairs to some geese over there, and here it comes, here it's coming now, it's Snickle, and there's no, no, no, there's no line, and he's missed it completely, therefore he's out. It's fantastic. I thought it It was so funny. They were completely out of sync. Of course they were. Yeah. It was like Doris Stokes, Snicko. It was. Wasn't it? It snicked it and he hadn't even put his bat up there.

12:29It was like premeditated Snicko. Fantastic. Sorry, guys. It was my first time in the van. I struggled lining up the snicks to the edge there. I wonder where you went. I used to just sneak down into the van. What do they call it? He's on work experience. Should be called Dicko. I'm going to come with another quote. You've got another odd chocolate there, Christmas. Marshmallows? Yeah, lovely. Marshmallows? Yeah, lovely, please, thank you. Who was that? I don't know. He just walked in. So, a quote from Ben Stokes. Yeah. England need to show a bit of dog. Well... How will he be feeling now after that display?

13:09Has he got the dog? I mean, has he got a poodle? What sort of dog? I'm going to say, has he got an Alsatian? So, it's also a chew-out. They're quite aggressive. They're noisy, but do they do anything? You see the dogs around the fields in South Africa, they're ready to go. Big Rottweilers and German Shepherds. So how does he feel about that performance? And he's given it everything. Like Glenn says, they competed better. We've gone into day five. There was a time that you thought we couldn't get there. when if we'd have gone in at the break at four down, needing yesterday, last night, four down, needing 2.30, it'd have been game on.

13:52We were six down. Yeah. And then lose one in that morning session. It's just not quite recognised in those situations, is it? But I think I've been so frustrated, I don't think I could have been more frustrated than today now. I've just gone up a level because you see what they could have done. You know what I mean? Sometimes I just wished it would have gone, oh, well, over by here. I've got that. Your trait has never been as thrust, has it? No, it has. No. It's because you can see what they could have done. Yeah, it could have been over in sort of four balls this morning. Yeah, we could have gone hard, but good.

14:22What positives do you take then? So, go on. How did we improve? Have we improved at all? Crawley. In this game? Crawley. One off of 30 balls. Yeah. Put away that great big drive. Got himself in. Played beautifully. I wonder if he's sitting there scratching his head going, why have I been doing this? or 62 tests. Why haven't I just been a better player than that? So people like that might be sitting there going, well, you can't keep being told what to do. Sometimes as a professional cricketer, you've got to work it out yourself. What's best for you? So I was very impressed with that. I was impressed with Jamie Smith until he tried to hit Mitchell Stark for five consecutive boundaries on the trot, which was a bit dopey, because if he had stayed in, that would be good, But that's gonna be that's gonna help him in it going up, you know He was looking a bit lead and legged when he was having a tough time so that will help him.

15:16Yeah, and they're bowling in You know, yes, you know, what is it day? Day four morning the way they came out and bowled Australia could have set a lead of 550 plus but they took six wickets for was it 38 runs Bob more consistent got more balls in the right area and That's what you do. Do the basics better. Sorry. Is it as simple as a lack of patience? Concentration? Is it like a patience or not the ability to execute as well? Yeah. You're not going to... When Smith got out, he's just got on top and he's just a couple of boundaries. Get a one, get down the other end. Yes! He's trying to whack Mitchell Stark over deep long on.

15:57It was only new ball as well. Yeah, yeah. Dig in, get in. Right, with the power of hindsight. Oh, with the power of hindsight. What should they have done differently? You know, we might have covered that. Squad selection, we didn't have a spare opening batter. We've got one spare batter who might play in the next test, you never know. We did a thing with Justin Langer, I thought it was brilliant. And I'm going to spotlight Olly Pope, who's having a rough time. So, Langer did this thing, and you're a little guy, Langer. and you might have to demonstrate this because we're going on to dancing. He says, you've got to get your feet dancing.

16:41He's our batting guru. Is he? He said, you've got to get your feet moving. And he said that Ollie Pope is bump, bump, bump. Leather-footed. Leather-footed, yeah. He said, you've got to be dancing. And then we showed Travis Head, who's another little geezer, and he's on his feet all the time. Oh, that's lovely. Merry Christmas. Thanks very much. Merry Christmas. What is it? Do you need one of those? What do you reckon it is? Let's get Teddy out. Oh, look, Teddy's come all the way from the UK for me. Jesus, get into it for you. You're like Tommy Cooper. It is, yeah. Just like Christmas morning. Just rip the paper.

17:24No, I saw that as well. I'll stop that. I'll keep that one. Right, so what you're saying, Bob, yeah yeah he's a bit of a a bit of an American smooth yeah yeah that's the one yeah yeah that's it that's what he was saying and then and then perhaps a bit of tango the tango get out there to the pitch of the ball yeah do it a bit of tango to get to a half volley and eat it for six yeah really so Nathan Lyon Yes, come on, don't ball that. Yeah, ready? Yeah.

17:58There, bring that back, Nath. Bring it back. Well, I think that's good. Is that what you lacked in your career? Absolutely. And the other thing, you're right, the other thing as well, is to the seam boulders as well. We've been a little bit shoelace-y time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's sort of like... You got it. Yeah, you got it. Instead of... Yeah. Yeah, get to it. Get it, sniff it out. There you go. Sniff it out. Maybe they need to add toughers to the coaching staff. Well, he's our batting guru. We don't bother much with Michael Vaughan and Alistair Cook. Oh, David Lawyer. Right, lastly, before I hand over to you...

18:35Yes? Oh, this is a bit harsh. Go on. Where does this rank in terms of the worst ever Ashes series from an England perspective? Is it the worst ever? No. It got to be one of mine. It was probably the one that promised the most it promised the most but hasn't delivered What we expected so yeah, I'm not respect. It's disappointing, but yeah, I make that right It's not it's not it's not the worst ever Joe route lovely, you know, we've had glimmers We've had glimmers crikey we came over here. We never really had a glimmer You know we had the odd before you won test matches. Well, we did win Yeah. We did.

19:13We won matches. Yeah. We won matches. We always managed to win Nick the Odd one. Yeah. Anyway, my go. Yeah, your go. I've really enjoyed that. Yeah.

19:24Stick to Cricket is brought to you by Betfair. I want to know from the powers that be how my audition went. Yeah. You want to rate it? Thanks, but not just at the minute. Seven. Seven. Right, OK. Australian wins. Australia wins, sorry. There were doubts about this Australian side before the series. How will they be seen now, Glenn? Oh, I don't know. Where's Brodie? We need Stuart Brodie. It's the worst Australian team since, what was it, 2010-11. But there was. There was doubts. And it was more around the opening batting position. The top probably two or three. And it's funny how that sorted itself out.

20:07Bloody day. The fact that Usman Khwaja got injured in that second innings as well, and Travis Head put his hand up and said, I want to open and I want to take first ball. And it was that confidence. And the way he went out and played, that just had a positive impact on the rest of the team and the rest of the series. I think if Uzi opened with Wetherald out there just trying to score, just trying to survive, we may be in a completely different situation. So, you know, I think head opening has been a revelation for Australia. He wanted to do it back when Smith took over, but they went with Smith.

20:42So that's been, it was, that was the problem was the top order. I think you look at the bowling attack, even though there's no Hazelwood, there was no Cummins, looks like there's no Lyon now. You know, probably the best opportunity that England had coming over here with all the big boys out, but, you know, it's the way it goes. Didn't take it, didn't take it. Now, I know you're going to say 5-0 here, but I'm interested to listen to your take on this. Did the Aussies expect to have won by Christmas? I got the feeling that even the Aussies were a little bit, oh, crikey. They thought you'd be close.

21:17Yeah. And so you'd need your A1 game, which they had. They were well organised. Well organised, they've got good leaders. If Cummings doesn't captain the side, Smith does. Smith gets injured and you've got a ready-made replacement that comes into the team. I'm just going to go to Melbourne no lion do you need a spinner at Melbourne we needed one here yeah yeah yeah that's more like Melbourne toughest I'm a debut member yeah I like Melbourne I'll be down Fitzroy me I like it down Fitzroy yeah the same killed a good answer the bit posh that St Kilda isn't it yeah I like Finch right with your ACDC I like that I'll be down I'm not telling you which I nearly said which pub I'm going in I'm not telling you it would be mad right Australia had the key players out of all this series but I'm sorry Australia didn't have their key players did they or did they not didn't didn't but still dominated what does this tell us about the Aussie side you just answered it well drilled well oiled The guys coming in, they play horses for courses as they say.

22:33With Nisa coming in for the day-night test match, did well, picked up Fyfer, just bowling right areas, doing enough. Scotty Boland just seems to find anything in the pitch he'll find. I was surprised he didn't do well in the UK, I thought he would have been suited over there. But the guys coming in have really lifted and done the job with the big boys out. For some reason, we thought that Scott Boland might be a little bit of a weak link. Well, they clattered him, didn't they? How much is 12 in Australia? He's got a statue. Anyway, there you go. Well, there you go, this is quite straightforward.

23:07How did Australia win the series? They did a couple of things better. Are they battered, bowled and fielded better? Yeah, there you go. No, well, individual brilliance or intelligent cricket? Both. Both. Absolutely both. Who has been the standout performer for Australia this series? Travis Head. Kerry, Kerry. Kerry, Mitchell Stark, Travis Head. It's out of those three, they've been brilliant. Brilliant. He's been a little superstar, hasn't he, Kerry? Excellent. Unbelievable, up to the stumps. As good as I've seen. With the bat as well. Did a keeper stand up to you at all? Oh, good luck. Well, you were here, isn't it?

23:49A couple of times, and it's very disappointing. Standing at the top of my mark, all of a sudden, you're not worried about getting a batsman out. I'm thinking do a bowl of beamer down leg side all bounces down leg side What do I do to get this guy back? But and the worst thing I've got a stumping to my name No, who was it? Leg side offside which one? No, it was a one-day match at the Caketon in Wellington yeah in Wendy Wellington One-day match coming right right down to the wire You know Craig McMillan was batting well coming out of his crease so Gilly came up to the stumps So I ran in, bowled this one and Macca sort of shuffled down, went to hit it, missed it.

24:31A little bit of reverse swing, straight into Gilly's gloves and he's taken the bails off and Macca's well out of his crease. And Gilly's jumping up and I'm running down the pitch going, no, no. Gilly's thinking, no ball, no ball. And saving grace, I looked up, it was about 137 kilometres an hour. Oh, nice. And I bowled it straight into Gilly's gloves. I looked after him and it was a big moment. we won that one-day match by about three or four runs. So it was an important wicket, so I had to take it for the team. But, yeah, worst thing. He's good, look. Yeah, he's good. But Kerry, he's brilliant.

25:05Very good, very good. I'm going to go. Mitch will start for getting them off to such a fantastic start in the series without his mates, his big mates with him. And then Head. Head for a couple of great knocks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Couple of match-winning knocks, Kerry, an equal Kerry. Equal second Kerry. But Mitch Stark, for me, when it was... Leader. He's led the attack. He's led the attack, so I would go him, head and Kerry. They've been outstanding. I'd put Mitchell Stark by a nose, and then Kerry not far behind Travis Head. So, yeah, one, two, three, the same. And, right, here we go. Last one from me.

25:49Where does this series rate in terms of Australia's best ashes displays? It's up there. It's consistent and disciplined and they've executed really well. So it's up there. Yeah. I don't know. What do you guys think? Can I say workmanlike? You can. Australia? Without a war and all this bloody bloke. You know, and you know, that was kind of, you know, pontins and wars and everything. It was just a really good solid. Solid. I like that. Yeah. Rock solid. Yeah, rock solid. Quality. Yeah. There you go. That's me done. Let us know whether I've got the job or not. Yeah.

26:33Stick to Cricket is brought to you by Bat Fat. Here we go. Sort of England-Australia rivalry and Melbourne looking ahead. Is it still the best rivalry in cricket? Australia, England, the Ashes? 100%. Oh, go on. 100%. 100%. I'll tell you why. Yes. Please do. For all these 20 ,000 or whatever, people who've come watching it, they've come watching it. 200 ,000, yeah? Yeah. 223 ,000 have watched this game. Wow. 223 ,000. It is. I mean, there's another rivalry. It's India, of course. Yeah. But this, I think we all, as youngsters, want to play for England, and you want to play against Australia. That's it.

27:19Yeah, and Aussie cricket, Ash is still the ultimate in the cricket, Ash. So, yeah, agree. Okay, would you have liked to have seen a bit more bite between the two sides? Bite? Yeah, I've got it. A bit more sort of emotions, a bit more, a bit of chat, a bit of this, a bit of that. I think it's inevitable that they play a franchise with each other so they actually know each other. I don't mind any of that, but I like that bit of respect for each other. The flashpoint was Geoffroy Archer and Steve Smith. That were good, but the game had gone. It wasn't like Donald and Atherton. So he nips one and Alan Donald goes completely apeshit about it.

28:03He caught it with a second slip. He called it Jet and Slip. Yeah, Snicko showed it. There was no... No, no. No, Snicko, therefore, is it it? So, I mean, I don't like all that nonsense. But I like respect. I don't mind bits that go on on the field. As long as you respect each other. I don't know, do they still go in the rooms after? No, I thought they would after each game at least, but they know. Apparently, at the end of the series, yeah, we might go in. I don't understand that. I liked it. I used to like it. I think that's good. That's where you get to learn. And all of a sudden, you're coming up against guys you've admired your whole career.

28:41And you realise, oh, they're just people like you and I. So it gets rid of that aura. And that's where you learn a lot. So that's a loss. Yeah, I think so. I must say, in respects to both sides, when I see the batsman at the end of the over walking down the pitch with his arm around the bowler and batsman having a laugh, that's where the match referee should step in. Fine them both, and if it ever happens again, they're suspended. I think that's a disgrace. And I don't really like... And another thing I don't particularly like... OK, some fella scores a great 100 or something, and then all the oppo, as he's walking off, running down to shake his hand.

29:18Right, you're like... No, I'm not shaking his hand. He's just walloped me around. He's probably got me dropped. Cost me a few quid. I'm not shaking his hand. I'll shake his hand in the pub afterwards, but not on the bloody field. You wouldn't run over and go... No, absolutely. Have you ever done that? Not on the field. I don't shake their hands on the field, like seriously. No, exactly. Especially a batsman getting 100. Absolutely. No chance. So, yeah. Maybe if I'm batting with you at the other end, saying, geez, that's lucky you've got 100 with me here. Perhaps if I'd have got 100, I'd go round and shake all their hands.

29:49But you'd intentionally do that. What was your highest? 22 not out at Chennai versus India. Tough spinning track. Rajesh Chawan, Chucking Off Spinner. What was his name? Allegedly. Vinkati Patiraju. Yeah. Little left diver. And Cabal Deb was about 65. Might just have got behind the line. OK, let's move on. Will Australia complete a clean sweep? No. No, I don't think so. Which test? I'm seeing now they've had those first sort of two games, or we're going to call them test matches, there's a bit of preparation. I think they're showing a little bit of quality now, the boys. I think perhaps... I felt it a little bit.

30:42I mean, I've been commentating for a while, but, you know, I've really felt... I lived every ball, you know. And I think sometimes now you can just... Listen, you boys might get on the old VBs. I was going to say, I'll sort of slip that question back. Will Australia step off the gas? I can't see them stepping off the gas. Do you think Cummings will play this next game? Oh, there's a bit of talk that he may or may not. It depends on how he recovers, but the fact that Nathan Lyon's not there anymore, I think you can't have, you know, you can't leave everything to Mitchell Stark. At the beginning of the series, you thought there was going to be 1 ,500 test wickets between the big four bowlers.

31:22You can't have three of them out. So you'd think that if you're a captain of Australia, you'd be gunning for five. You don't take the foot off, I don't think. So England have got it to do. They've got to dust themselves down. And if you listen to Ben Stork's interview at the end, he said, look, all these people have turned out, we've got to give them something, we're playing for pride and we've got to lift ourselves. He said, this is gone, we move on to the next one. And places and careers. and you can't just... Jeopardy. There's always jeopardy. Well, two of my favourite grounds in the world.

32:00Go out there and get yourself on an honours ball. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think Australia will want it to be 5-0 as well. I do. They won't be taking their foot off the gas here now. They'll be still going hard, which is... Well, that ticks the next question. Where does the MCG rank in the list of world's best cricket grounds? I love here. I like here. You love Alec? I like here. I like here. Yeah. I like Barbados. What, the old one? No, Barbados. Lovely ground. Why Barbados? I like Barbados. Any reason? There seems to be more to it than the cricket. This ground, Barbados. Love Sydney. Yeah, yeah. Nice pavilion.

32:48I'm thinking in India. Which is the best ground in India? Eden Garden. Eden Gardens with the atmosphere. Wankedy Stadium. Yep. Yeah, yeah. Well, they're all atmospheric. Lords. He's lovely, he's Lords. Yeah. It's all... Yeah, Edgebaston. Yeah, Ollie's Stand. Yeah, for a bit of raw atmosphere. Where else is there? Palakale. Oh. Candy. That's lovely. I like that. That's where I got chased by the monitor lizard. Yeah, they have lizards and... Yeah, the big monster lizard came after me at Fine Lake. You can't run it out. It's scary. That's where Steve Waugh broke Jason's leg with his nose. Jason Gillespie's leg with his face.

33:31Oh, I've got another one for you. Go on. Cape Town. Yeah. It's all right, but for that... There's a mountain in the way. It spoils everything. No, that's even better. The background. Like, my top three, Sydney. Yeah. Lords. Lords is a special place for a touring. And Cape Town. Number three, Cape Town. Yeah. yeah that that mountain gets in the way of the brewery there's a brewery just the waft of the hops just a lot across okay and final one here we go predictions for Melbourne oh oh please submit it green same I might break up a bit, that. Yeah. Mm. Oh, I can feel it. I can feel it, these popcorn.

34:19It's... I can feel it. I can feel it. The spirits are coming and telling me. Yeah. People... What are they saying? 4-0? 4-0. I'm not. There's a word coming. There's a word. It's four. Four is the word. Oh, I'm getting another word. Buggered. No, no, I'm going down there 3-1, you're going 3-1 I've seen a lot now And I think, I'll tell you something I think what we saw today With that little bit of dog And that little bit of fight Was for the captain and the coach Okay Yeah, a little bit of You'll need it Yeah, sorry boy We know we've buggered up a little bit And I think they're going to pick themselves up And they're going to go down and get the win I like that part And if England win the toss, are they going to bat again?

35:11Oh, come on, what should they do? They should have bowled in Perth. OK. But ball in Melbourne if you win the toss? Yeah, I don't know. Depends on what pitch they put out. Could have a little bit of life in it. I think back to when Cookie got 200 there on day five. I reckon toughest than I could have put on a 100-run partnership. Is it another dropping? It is, but I think they've got it better. Back then it just got better and better to bowl on the longer the test went So now a little bit of juice in the pitch But it's not as, yeah, it'll break up So it's still a pitch you'd bat on, get through that first session Then score plenty of runs It's funny you say that, in a funny sort of way Winning those two tosses might have sort of Worked against you In a funny sort of way And then what do you do?

36:00You come to Adelaide when you've got to win the toss Well you've won two, even though I know it's 50-50 you knew they were going to win a toss-in. Yeah, you did. They said they were going to bat first, but I still think England should bowl first because they seem to like chasing. Yeah. All right. Well, there we go. Nearly knocked off the world record here. Well, not nearly. I'm on a positive vibe. What are your class 82 runs? It's Christmas. It's Christmas. I'm trying to be upbeat. Stick to Cricket is brought to you by Betfair. OK, here we go. Community questions. Travis Head has become a cult hero this series.

36:44What is... Who is your cult hero? Who is your cult hero? My cult hero is Angus Young of ACDC. Of Akkadaka. Yeah, Akkadaka. He's my cult hero. You don't play like he did? I can't play guitar, but I love that music. Dun, dun. Yeah. Yeah. Dun, dun. I don't know if he shakes his head like he does. And he's 80. Yeah, and still wearing the schoolboy outfit. That's it. What's wearing the schoolboy outfit? Well, I couldn't answer that. No. Have you met him? No. You haven't? No. He's been dying of media. Yeah. Does he like his cricket? I don't know whether he likes cricket. He's Scottish. Well, no, their family were Scottish.

37:31They come from Glasgow. Yeah, they're a good outfit. I've got to pick one, have I? Come on. Pick a... Do you want us to say who are? Glenn, can't hear it. Well, yeah, I have to stick to cricket. So, Dennis Lilley. Stick to cricket? You see what you've got there? Hey, you've got the job. Dennis Lilley, great man. Yeah, Dennis Lilley, he was the ultimate fastballer. You know, shirt I'd done to here. Yeah, big chains. They're all hanging down. It wouldn't be a moustache. So we do the fast bowling cartel. Our guy that we all look up to is Dennis Lilly. So whenever I see a fast bowling teammate that I've played with, it's like Dennis used to do.

38:15He was the ultimate. So he was the guy we all looked up to. What about you, Tophers? Well, Dennis Lilly was up there. I don't know whether I've said this story before, so you might have to cut it out. Dennis Lilly, well, I've got an admission to me. Well Dennis lady was my first cricketing hero. No. Well, no, I'm not a dad's my dad's words Keith Miller. Yeah, Keith Miller. Yeah, because of the RAF connection. Yes. Yeah, and and the reason for my one was You know, he just looked a little bit more exciting than the boy X, you know Some of our lads who play you know, I mean, yeah, they were very debonair Yeah, he was yeah open up to yeah, yeah Keith Miller open up to Yeah, but DK Lely DK Lely my first cricket in here Lillian Thompson Yeah, and also mainly because my dad my dad had a few friends who used to come around the house And a couple of them look like sort of Dennis, you know, they were usually cut they used to turn up like a triumph stag Yeah, I've had one of them I'm sort of a brown leather jacket, which usually called sort of Ron or Reg oh it's just let's let me let me pick one here here it is come on come on what we got Community question two.

39:46What will the two sides be doing on Christmas Day? They just have a Christmas party, don't they? At lunchtime, they have a lunch. Fancy dress, we used to have. We used to have fancy dress. Yeah? Yeah, which you've got to amuse yourself somehow. Yeah. But I would think that our lot will have their families here, so it'd be more of a family day. Well, we also used to have drinks with the press. Yeah, we did. He used to have a glass of champagne with the press, all in fancy dress, which was quite nice really. Love-hate relationship. Was that an English thing? Yeah, it was. They stopped that. I don't think they do it, no.

40:24No, I think I'll dump the flesh and stop that. I went as the Riddler one year, which was a good outfit. Yeah, so we always had the families down for Christmas, so it was a big family event. You have optional training in the afternoon. So maybe there's a bit of time with the family. Did you go to? No, because then it wouldn't be optional, would it? So I thought, you've got to take the option, otherwise it's no longer optional training. So you could do that in the afternoon. Maybe the English boys, maybe they have a, I don't know, tee-off time around 7 o 'clock. Yeah, they will. Just try and get a bit of golf in.

41:00Yeah, I should think they will. That's a part of the parcel. Their audience might be with them too, though. They're partial to golf. Do you go, I like turkey, beef and gammon. What do you go for? Yeah, I probably wouldn't have gammon at Christmas. I'd have turkey and sprouts. Oh, I love sprouts. I mean, you could fight for the world. A flipping ball full of sprouts. You must be the one person that likes sprouts. I love sprouts. With chestnuts. Must be a British thing. A little bit of bacon, a bit of chilli. Yeah, yeah. Lovely. Yeah, lovely. Ripping them out watching James Bond. Ripping them. Nothing better than a...

41:45That's the sprouts again. Open the window, Irene. I'll be Irene. It's not pulling my finger, is it? No, there's nothing better on Christmas Day. Big bowl of prawns. Cooked prawns. Oh, well, there you go. It's a different atmosphere. That's the Aussie, you see. Glenn? Yep. Last one. I've never had a cold Christmas. It's always been 40 degrees. No. It is a bit weird. No disrespect. No disrespect. But it doesn't quite feel sort of Christmas-y, does it? The great big inflatable Father Christmas only lasted three days, didn't he, on the walk down? He's just sort of... He's a bit flaccid. Yeah, he's a bit flaccid.

42:25Go on, Glenn. Which Asher series was the most entertaining of all time? 2005. Without a shadow of a doubt. No, that was rubbish. Oh, sorry, Glenn. Rubbish. Sorry, mate. I'm trying to think some of the older ones, you know, when you've got, you know, when you had the great Dennis Lillie and Tomo. 81 in England. Yeah, that, you know, Beefy. Beefy. Beefy and Bobby Willis running in. Oh, well, yeah, that's not what a bad one. That was a bad one. But with 223 ,000 here, at that game at Edingly, throughout the five days, 50 ,000 in total. in total that's all they could fit? no the weather wasn't great and you know the ticket sales and there was only 50 ,000 there were like 10 ,000 one day weather wasn't great treated yeah 2005 were unmissable I think for cricket itself and what it did for the game we had people coming up to us in the streets of London saying you know I don't really like cricket I don't watch it but I cannot miss a ball that's it So, yeah, for what it did, I missed two of the tests.

43:36So to me, it was only 1-0 to the Aussies. Yes, yes. That's not so bad. Yeah. I've had to put up with his all day, you know, in the box, the commentary box. It was an incredible series. And it was the only Ashes that I was involved in that we lost. Okay. And that was on the final day of day five in that last session when you knew it was gone. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, so incredible series, but it's not in my top 50. Top 50. Stick to Cricket is brought to you by BatFast. Favourite Christmas? Film. Oh, film? Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Wonderful Life. Yeah, yeah. Wonderful Life. I watched one the other day.

44:25My daughter wanted to watch it. Psycho. Elf. Oh, Elf's nice, Elf's good. No, rubbish. For a proper Christmas movie, Die Hard. It was Christmas time, it was set in Christmas. I looked up online the other day, Christmas movies, Elf, you know, the Grinch, all these Christmas, Die Hard was in there. So I said, yep, that's my favourite Christmas movie. I like the little one where they go, what's it called? with the blonde girl who goes to England in the lovely little village. Oh, what's it called? Yeah, Wizard of Oz. No. No. No, she was a brilliant. Oh, The Holiday. The Holiday. OK. Have you not seen anything?

45:10No, I don't watch films. No, it's not. No, I don't watch films. What's it about? Well, it's just sweet and nice and charming and they all go down the pub and it's cold. I've just watched Mobland. Have you seen Mobland? Yeah, no, good. Oh, good, yeah. I like him. What's his name? Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy. Oh, yeah. Ellen Burren, Tom Hardy. Says a lot without saying anything. It was, it was just the looks like you. Piers Brodner. What is the biggest robbery you experienced in cricket? Oh, 2005, Ashes. There you are, 2005. It was funny, twice, I reckon, we turned up in Sri Lanka and our bags came off the carousel and Mark Waugh gets his off and he unzips it and opens it up and his new cricket shoes are missing.

45:53and these old worn leather sandals have been replaced. So the guy that knocked them off put his leather sandals in and I thought that was really nice. So that was one. Another one was in Pakistan. We went out to train, came back and heels, Ian Healy had lost his wedding ring and his watch had been taken from where he was sitting. So he was really annoyed. No one knew who it was. So what he did was he had another watch and another ring so he set it up to catch the culprit and we went outside and came back and they were missing and he forgot to have a way of catching who took it. He's lost two lives.

46:30He's lost two lives and still doesn't know who it was. So that's my biggest robbery, I guess you say it. Biggest robbery. Were you coaching Sam? No, no. Biggest robbery which spoilt my Christmas. I spoil everyone's Christmas, really. Sorry everyone who was on that tour. um Gary Kirsten 275 at Durban I remember that yeah yeah and I had him plum LBW no about 17 no yeah have you not got over that I've not got over it and it wasn't a no ball because I've looked back no I look back at the footage and it wasn't a no ball there was a little bit like that yeah yeah it wasn't Zimbabwe where you murdered them not for me Oh, that's just...

47:13LAUGHTER That's a good one. That's a good one. That is a good one. Go on. Murdered them. Go on. They were coming up. We were fighting them off with team cops. We were. They were coming after us, weren't they? All them spectators. They were. They weren't happy. They were. They weren't happy. Who actually wrote these? Because, Jesus, I don't think they've written English before. No. It's a long one as well. Design Your Perfect Ashes series. venues order day or night test matches Perth Brisbane Melbourne well we got half an hour to do this one well designer sorry yeah throw that one away design your brought your perfect actually series venues order do you pick a day night test no no yes no right you want a day night test good Okay, then.

48:12The venue, where do you want to... So, right, okay, we'll do this. I want to play at once. Right, right, we're going to hop. I want five matches, so are we going to have three in England or three in Australia? No, no, we're going to play three in each. Two and two and one in a non... It's six. It's six. Six matches. The old days? Three, we're playing. Three in Australia. Have we got a rest day? Yeah, you can have a rest day. It's very important. I wondered where that got. I've forgotten where they are. Three in Australia. Go on. The Gabbertois, because Australia rarely lose head. Right. Perth.

48:50Oh, hey, this is controversial. Gabber, Perth. And then Sydney. Perth, that's all right. All them bloody flies. That's lovely. Yeah. And where's the other one? Sydney. That's nice, Sydney. Yeah, nice Sydney. Down on the rocks, over the Harbour Bridge. Yeah, and I'll go Lord's Trent Bridge. I don't mind and the third one Probably probably Manchester Old traffic Manchester Heading we know Trent bridge. Oh, okay slightly biased Because in 2027 they're all down south. Okay, so I'm playing my three up there. I'm gonna go Lord's Oval A Geos Bowl. Oh, yeah, yeah, a Geos Bowl, because we come and take it from a bedroom.

49:43That's it. Yeah, that's lovely there. Have a little snooze, wouldn't you? Hope you do. Beautiful. A Geos Bowl. So we know where we're playing. We know where we're playing. We just need a sponsor. Yes. We can find plenty of those. Christmas plans, what are you up to, Bumble? Nothing. Nothing? Sulking? Santa's not coming? Grinching. I'll be on my own and that's it. What about you, Tuffers? What am I doing Christmas? I think I'm going round. Agas and I, the Duchess, now Mrs. Zudbury and Emma, we're going round to one of his friends' house. So that would be a nice little bit of family sort of. Now Christmas.

50:18I couldn't think of anything worse. Can you just clarify? So your wife and Agas' wives were chatting and said you and Agas were identical. Really? I don't know if it's to look at, to be around. I don't know what they were saying, so I was just curious. So when I called Ag as tough as the other day, he just took it as if that's what it is. And then we'll be with the team somewhere as well. So I... Well, I've got a drinks party at our apartment Christmas Eve, if you fancy it, that's... I might come up. Yeah, come up. We've got a little playlist, you know. A bit of... A few baubles. A bit of ACD Christmas music.

51:03A bit of ACDC, we get up on that. What you doing, Glenn? Oh, it's getting better and better, is it? Yeah, come on, bud. So I'll be at home in the morning, up on the sunny coast. So my eldest two, my son, who's in Sydney, daughter in Melbourne, they'll come up with us. I've got a little 10-year-old. Well, she's not really 10. She's massive. Well, is she 10 or is she not 10? She's 10. She's 10. She's not really 10. She's not really 10. She's massive. She's not little. She's not little. But she's 10. Yeah, so all the family together, and then I'll get on a plane after lunch and mosey on down to Melbourne.

51:41What, bit of grub? Yeah. Raise a glass and then fly? Well, my wife's Italian, Sicilian. Yeah. But she's also sort of Sicilian. Born in Miami in the US, father's Sicilian, but mother's Sicilian, born in Venezuela, so there's a fair bit of Latino thrown in as well. But they celebrate, never a dull moment, but they celebrate or open presents Christmas Eve. Do they? I'm still trying to work out how Santa gets the presents to you for Christmas Eve. But we open our presents Christmas Eve. And I think it's because they can sleep in Christmas morning. So, yeah, looking forward to Christmas. Yes. Merry Christmas, boys.

52:20Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming. Yeah, thanks, Glenn. Merry Christmas, everyone. Cheers, Vaudi. Hope you're good, mate. And from Glenn, ciao. Ciao. Ciao, Bella. Merry Christmas Mike

52:55Thanks for listening and thanks to our partners Betfair you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and you won't miss an episode and if you want to support the show please leave us a five star review and help others find it too see you next time