In short
Tailenders episode featuring cricket banter plus a “Matchin’s Moments” segment teaching a reactive rule change: underarm bowling became illegal in modern cricket after the 1981 Australia vs New Zealand one-day match at the MCG, when Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl underarm to stop New Zealand needing a six to tie. The show also discusses Vitality Blast vs The Hundred, and includes “Correspondence of Uncertainty” about recreating an Edgbaston Ashes 2005 day-one scorecard.
Guests/backgrounds
Greg James (BBC Radio 5 Live/Tailenders host), Felix White (co-host), Matchin Tendulkar (cricket-obsessed co-host; “King of the Norwegian Sea” bit), plus Jimmy Anderson (appears via audio “from the past” and later in-studio). Cricket references include Lancashire County Cricket Club and finals day.
Key claims
Underarm bowling was previously allowed; Australia hadn’t banned it in limited-overs while England had. The 1981 incident “changed the game forever.” The Hundred’s “100 balls” concept is criticized; Blast feels closer and more engaging.
Notable examples
Glenn McGrath ankle injury witnessed at Edgbaston; Liam Livingston’s controversial dismissal on finals day; Mr Beast “Good Bad Billionaire” teaser; Greg Chappell/Trevor Chappell underarm delivery; Richie Beno and Bill Lawry quotes about the incident.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOWelcome to Tailenders
0:39 to 1:54
Hosts Greg James and Felix White introduce Matchin and discuss cricket.
“Hello and thank you for having us on Tailenders, your loosely based podcast.”
Matchin's Norwegian Adventures
1:54 to 2:46
Matchin shares his experiences in Norway and his new format idea.
“Through the magic of podcasting and stitching together of audio, he will appear.”
The Corridor of Uncertainty
2:46 to 4:04
Discussion on the cricket phrase 'corridor of uncertainty' and its implications.
“I hear, I heard a rumour, a vicious rumour coming out of Norway that you've got, you've been working on a new format.”
Emails from Tailenders
4:04 to 4:59
Reading and discussing listener emails about cricket experiences.
“It's that ball that you're not quite sure what's going to happen to it.”
Memorable Edgbaston Test
4:59 to 7:54
Colm recounts his experience at the Ashes Test and seeks advice on recreating a scorecard.
“So it's inappropriate to start with an email from Colm, who is Irish.”
Cricket Nostalgia and Ideas
7:54 to 11:14
Discussion on scorecard ideas and nostalgic cricket moments shared by the hosts.
“and to do that with our first ever game as well.”
The Search for Cricket Stories
11:14 to 13:44
Hosts encourage listeners to share their cricket moments and stories.
“Reading Colm's email, actually, I've got a slightly less mercenary idea, which is the idea that he was one of the first people to see that image.”
Matchin's Historical Feature
13:44 to 14:03
Matchin introduces a new feature focusing on cricket history.
Introduction to Matching Moments
14:03 to 19:08
Learn about the new segment focusing on cricket's historical moments.
“So I'm going to be teaching you, we'll see if it works.”
The Incident of Underarm Bowling
19:09 to 21:36
Discover the infamous underarm bowling incident and its impact on cricket rules.
“Australia versus New Zealand at the MCC.”
Show all 19 chapters
Changing Bowling Practices in Cricket
21:37 to 23:16
Explore the evolution of bowling techniques in cricket from underarm to overarm.
“I've got a follow-up question quickly matching because I thought you were going to talk about way back in the day when cricket begun and people bowled underarm.”
Discussing the Vitality Blast vs. The Hundred
23:17 to 27:48
Debate the merits of the Vitality Blast compared to The Hundred in cricket.
“Do you know something that I can't believe hasn't been invented yet.”
The T20 vs The Hundred Debate
28:00 to 32:40
A discussion on the merits and shortcomings of the T20 format versus The Hundred.
“or engaging shape to them for whatever reason.”
Jimmy Anderson's Cricket Journey
32:40 to 34:08
Jimmy shares insights about his cricket career, injuries, and preferences in formats.
“Not unenjoyable bits of cricket, though, in isolation.”
Rapid Fire with Jimmy Anderson
34:08 to 42:05
A fun segment where Jimmy answers quirky personal questions.
“I don't think anyone thinks that both those things are exactly right, which is sort of sad.”
Memorable Holidays and Fun Questions
42:05 to 42:55
The hosts discuss childhood holidays and playful hypotheticals about communication.
Little Yearns in Cricket
42:55 to 46:37
Exploring whimsical cricket scenarios and personal desires related to the sport.
“Little Yearns, by the way, are things that you would love to do if you became a professional cricketer.”
Listener Contributions and Go Wells
46:37 to 50:23
Highlights of listener interactions and well-wishes for various occasions.
“Will and Charlie, Angus and Emily and James and Annie.”
Final Thoughts and Season Wrap-Up
50:23 to 52:25
Reflections on the cricket season and a call for correspondence from listeners.
“And mainly for the benefit of matching, I forgot to mention that on Sunday, the last game of the cricket season, I hit a five.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. How did a boycott Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On Good Bad Billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days. Counted to 100 ,000 on camera. And even recreated Squid Games, all in an attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man$10 ,000. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:39Hello and welcome to Tailenders. Hello and thank you for having us on Tailenders, your loosely based podcast.
0:45James Anderson:I'm Greg James. That's Felix White. And we're also joined by Matchin, King of the Sea, King of the Norway, Norwegian. Hang on, sea? Yeah. Is that where you were? on the norwegian sea i was i did swim in the norwegian sea yes where where was the floating sauna norwegian sea oslo okay so king of the norwegian sea and all the other sea king of the seven seas and a few more match in tendulka welcome to tailenders hello you look more nordic matching actually for your trip well the good thing about being in norway is there's a lot of tall people there so you don't really it's kind of my the kind of my my people yeah there's a lot There's a lot of shops selling big clothes that Nadine dragged me to.
1:34Take the hint.
1:35James Anderson:Yeah. That's great. I thought you were about to say it's the nice thing about being Norwegian. Like you'd really sort of drunk the Kool-Aid. Right. And you are right now. Well, you look rested and Nordic. You do. And great. And it's nice to be back together. No Jimmy. He's playing for a little known team called Lancashire County Cricket Club. I don't know if you've heard of them. He's captaining them, I think. Isn't he this week? He's a captain this week? Well, a double go well to him. But he will appear on this podcast. Through the magic of podcasting and stitching together of audio, he will appear.
2:12James Anderson:Beautiful. He'll have a little look back at the finals day. Sadly, Lancashire didn't have the ultimate blast in the blast. But he did all right. He did all right in that semi. Well, I was just getting on the flight when you informed me, Greg, that he just got Tom Abel out. Yeah, it was a little, a little, a nip backer, a little chop on to the stumps and it was, yeah, the place, the place erupted. It was, it was, he looked like he was having a nice time. It looked like a great day. So we'll chat about that a bit later on. We'll, of course, do some go wells. We'll do some little yearns. Machen, have you got a new, I hear, I heard a rumour, a vicious rumour coming out of Norway that you've got, you've been working on a new format.
2:52I'm testing something. I'm going to test it. It's going to pilot it today. I like to do quizzes when everyone's here. Sharky said, Jimmy's not here. I didn't want to waste a quiz with Jimmy not here. So I'm working on the new feature where... Okay. It's not a waste, is it?
3:05James Anderson:It's not a waste. I mean, the listeners are still... Because that's going to make people switch off. This is still going to be... This is vital listening. This is like those stand-up shows when they just go to a tiny little town with a little venue and just try out some material. Is that what you're saying? I'm going to be trying out some new stuff. If it works... Work in progress. If it works, then we can do lots more of them. but so should people keep listening to this definitely keep listening you're gonna learn you're gonna learn that sounds like a fret yeah go on learn yeah also got some great emails from our wonderful tail enders as always we welcome your correspondence of certainty and uncertainty that is a reference to the well-known cricket phrase corridor of uncertainty which is to do with the bit outside the off stump where you're tempted into maybe playing at the ball or maybe driving or going hard at the ball.
4:04James Anderson:It's that ball that you're not quite sure what's going to happen to it. Could it nip away? Could it nip back? Could it do nothing? It's what the Clash actually wrote. That's what they were talking about when they wrote, should I play or should I leave?
4:19Should I play? should i play or should i leave
4:27James Anderson:that's actually what it was originally that's so lovely that you can just god i'm jealous of that skill that you can just pick up and just do that little but also well it's not easy it's easy if you're a professional guitarist but what i was going to say is that that will now be in batter's heads during winter nets and it should be taught at every level that what the sorry the playing or leaving or that should be that that should be drilled into people's heads yes should i should i play or should i leave yeah that's actually was ben duckett was talking about um how bored he was with people leaving the ball when i've been about hanging in long form domestic cricket and international cricket so he's like he's like it's always leave leave leave i just i feel like we're missing a good rhyme with play and go okay yeah yeah should i stay or should i go should i play or should i go on sharky i faded up yeah yes you're faded should i stay or let it go oh come on yeah i think that's it i think that might be it sharky do it fee yes should i play or let it go It's much more satisfying now that you've got go Should I play or let it go Yes!
5:48James Anderson:Alright! Alright! I love that song So anyway, back to the Correspondence of Uncertainty Thank you for having us on the Correspondence of Uncertainty This person is not sure whether they should play or let it go Okay, great At the time of recording, Ireland and England have just finished playing a T20 in Malahide, England won by four wickets. So it's inappropriate to start with an email from Colm, who is Irish. Hi, G-Force, Fee, Sir Jimmy, Sir Matchin, and Sir Sharknado, the movie. Yes, he is a movie. I'm hoping the Trail Finders community can help me with a niche cricket request in relation to a memento I'm trying to make.
6:31James Anderson:Firstly, some background. Our friendship group are all in Galway in the west of Ireland. So we don't get much of a chance to see top level cricket or indeed any cricket. In 2004, we decided to try and get to an Ashes game. So started planning it a year in advance. None of us had ever been to a test match before. So six of us ended up getting tickets to days one and two of the Edgebaston Ashes Test. Quite possibly the greatest test match ever played. We get to the ground very early to soak up the atmosphere. It was like Christmas morning for us. We could not have been more excited. As we amble aimlessly around the ground, a door opens.
7:13James Anderson:Two medics are propping up Glenn McGrath, who has just done his ankle ligaments after treading on the ball, famously. We haven't even seen the grass yet, and we're witnessing monumental incidents already. While 400 runs on day one seems like the norm these days, in 2005, it was an unreal level of scoring. It was. We went out for dinner in Birmingham on a Thursday night and Jason Gillespie is at the table beside us in the Indian. I can confirm, it was a bit spicy that. The epic finish to the game where we, Irish cricket fans say we when referring to England, won by two runs and Freddie was commiserating with Brett Lee.
7:49James Anderson:What a couple of days, sporting spectacle at its finest. We know how jammy we are for getting all that and to do that with our first ever game as well. As an aside, my wife and I were trying to buy a house at the time. I got a call from the solicitor on day one to tell me that all documents were signed, sealed and delivered. Oh my God. I turned to my crew and shout, We've got the key! We've got the keys! Thank you for... Now I can imagine it, how it really would have sounded. I couldn't resist. The Barmy army was sitting behind us and about 40 of them stood up and started clapping. He's got the keys!
8:24James Anderson:In booming voices. So good it could only happen at the cricket. He's got the keys, yeah. The help I'm looking for is from the trail finders out there. I'd like to recreate a scorecard from that Edgbaston first day, where I can put it all in one page and frame it for posterity. Is there a cricket scoring website or some statistician's treasure trove where I could find the sequence of scoring for that day so I could make my own scorecard retrospectively? Or a cricket business who is selling scorecards from specific tests and I could buy it. Any guidance is greatly appreciated. Thanks a million. Classic Irish.
8:55James Anderson:Go well, Colm. oh well colt you know it's very interesting you say that because we've often talked about that about doing scorecards with famous tests on it that jimmy would sign or ones from jimmy's career haven't we yeah i do think it's i mean look how much everyone loved the scorebook that we did during the india series this summer just gone it's a really it is a lovely memento and also because there are so many like colman was just saying so many stories that are interweaved into a day at the cricket not only the stuff on the field the glen mcgras stuff but like they got their keys to their house so it's some it's you know cricket soundtracks and lives alongside our actual boring mundane lives i don't know if it does exist but it is something to sort of half answer the question it is something that we've often talked about wouldn't that be cool if someone did do classic days from test matches and i could see matching's entrepreneurial brain ticking yeah well i'm worried sharky that we're telling people that this is a good idea i would giving it away man we're gonna give away yeah that's what i'm that's what i'm just thinking that also do you remember last week we were talking about cfax yeah too i remember that there's an app you can download now yeah called telescore let me show this and it comes up with cfax oh so it's the news it's got all the that's very clever just yeah it's live so it's got like so just recreate cfax but for the benefit of the match is holding up all the football scores from tonight.
10:24They're done in the aesthetic of CFAX or Teletext. I've had a series of conversations about CFAX and Teletext this week from people who have either heard the episode or it's just been floating around in my head and it is amazing the amount of nostalgia connected to CFAX and Teletext. A lot of people have mentioned to me separately of Jimmy's comment about trying to win holidays on Teletext.
10:52Yeah, very nice.
10:54James Anderson:Well, Colm, we'll put it out there into the world and see what comes back. Basically, we need to team up with a really lovely scorer and we can propel those scorecards maybe around the world. Tailenders are happy to make that happen. We've been talking about it for a long time and I think it would be a very lovely thing and it would make good artwork, wouldn't it? Reading Colm's email, actually, I've got a slightly less mercenary idea, which is the idea that he was one of the first people to see that image. Or maybe one of the only people to see the actual image of that door opening, Glenn McGrath being tended to by two medics.
11:31James Anderson:And he's like, hang on a second, that looks like Glenn McGrath. And then he reads it, you know, he sees it on the big screen or whatever, or hears it in the crowd like, oh, Glenn McGrath's done his ankle. But he was, he actually saw that. I wonder if there's a bit in people witnessing it, seeing it happen for the first time, like being on the scene before the rest of the world found out about it. That's the allure of lots of like sort of rock films, aren't there? Which I generally don't like. But that idea that you watch something that's become a mythical moment happen as it, you know, as it did between real human beings, whatever that is.
12:07Johnny Cash meeting Bob Dylan or...
12:09James Anderson:But you were there. Were you taking the photo? Were you in the room? were you that's that kind of thing yeah exactly someone witnessing it did you like that were you watching i like a moment that became ridiculously iconic like were you there when really really you know like a very specific one a jimmy specific one might be uh the famous story when he always talks about how mike watkinson taught him to bowl swing was there someone who witnessed that conversation but for the first time in the ranks nets yeah but they'll be they'll be very big sort of cinematic versions of that you're right was there was there someone below the pavilion when the window smashed because nice who threw there who was it was it prior matt prior i think i think it was sharky prior wasn't it so he's nodding yeah yeah are we still faded up yes yes you're still faded up i'm pretty sure it's matt prior yes i don't think i think i think he said he didn't throw it I think officially but he clearly did that sort of thing because there's that that footage of Andrew Strauss is great and he's he's on the balcony and he does the oh for f*** type thing and he hears the glass smash behind him like he's a teacher of school kids well anyway let us know you sort of know what we're searching for there might be a little a little something could be a county ground that you saw you know someone being signed for the first time or you you saw someone in the net and you thought hang on why are they doing yeah so that tailenders at bbc.co.uk you must have one of those greg you must have seen i'm i'm trying to think anyway yeah yeah our background process this yeah but we'll let's sit with it for a week and we'll come back and we'll all gather around next time and share our stories and now matching i'd like i'd like you to share your feature which is i i hear is slightly historic as well a little something i thought can i ask matching quickly do you want listeners to turn off now or would you like people to if anything turn up if anything yeah double speed and double volume yeah so basically i was thinking what are you know what are the great podcasts made up of nowadays sport got that covered history you know yeah well we talk about the 90s that's that's history yeah i guess back to mercenary again so i was thinking have you signed us up to the rest of the so much i've already signed have you signed with linica and so we're going to be doing the rest is history the rest is tail enders history the rest is cricket history i don't know what to call it me and shark were chatting about it we thought matches moments oh well you can do the burt Catchings, moments, things from cricket history.
15:08So I'm going to be teaching you, we'll see if it works. We'll see what the feedback is on this section. Well, I teach you about small pockets of cricket history. Thank you. I haven't asked you small pockets of cricket history.
15:19James Anderson:I teach you about small pockets. Yeah. So today's lesson. They did in history. They did used to have very small pockets, didn't they? They did, yeah. Because they were just smaller. also let's see a smaller bit and they just just carry like blitz and lose change you know somewhere to put your teeth when they fall out your air pods
15:40so today yeah today's lesson is on cricket's reactive rule changes when something so massive has happened in a game it's changed the rules of cricket forever it has yeah great no great no i'm up for it it has yeah i like that i love this this one is underarm bowling thank you for having us on underarm bowling this is when they ruled they ruled out underarm bowling because it used to be when cricket first started used to be all about underarm bowling yep they just rolled it to the batter right and then people worked out how to do overarm bowling they figured that'd be quicker sorry is this quiz that you just tell us stuff that you've read when do we buzz in I was so used to doing quizzes it's not a quiz this is just a section where you tell us stuff not telling you stuff teach you stuff you teach us stuff that you've just googled about the history about what this section of the show is great I'm here for it
16:44James Anderson:were you watching QI when you were on the plane yes well do you know I don't know. Is this common? Do you know how under-run bowling was ruled out? I actually don't. No, go on. No, but should I Google it? No. No. No. Can I get a point if I get it right? Can I Google it and read out word for word what you're about to say?
17:14Should I guess this won't work? No, it's not working.
17:18James Anderson:No. Okay. Well, look, here's a guess, here's a guess, here's a guess, here's a guess. No, no, no, no, no. No, I'm just guessing, I'm guessing, but I think there was maybe an incident in 1981. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I think it was maybe... No, no, no, no, no. Hang on, top of my head, top of my head, I think it might have been Australia playing New Zealand in a one-day game. You're not going to give it the grand test. No, but is it this bit? Is it that with one ball with a final over remaining, New Zealand required a six to tie the match to ensure that New Zealand were able to achieve this.
17:51James Anderson:Greg Chappell, I think, instructed his younger brother, the bowler Trevor Chappell, I think it was Trevor, always get those two mixed up, to deliver the last ball to the batter, which was, I think, Brian McKinney, I think. Trevor did do that, which forced McKinney to play the ball defensively, meaning Australia won. Am I in the right ballpark? Right. How about this, right? When you put on a history podcast, you don't just turn it on and go well there's no point listening to this i could just google it but i've let's not let's listen to the rest of history successful podcast of all time yeah there's no point doing that i'll google it yeah but they haven't googled it yeah but i don't think they've googled it i think they've like used sort of um resources storytelling like yeah storytelling so yeah that's what i was gonna do okay actually actually do you know what felix what i will say this is better than the game we've come up with so let's go with it and you know what and i also do this all the time so with being mean please what game what game did you come up with well we haven't got one yeah come on em so let me take you there let me paint you a picture i'd be amazed to see if i've got this right though underarm bowling was was forgotten about it was obsolete okay Fast forward, 1981.
19:12Australia versus New Zealand at the MCC. Yeah. Crowd. MCG, yeah. MCG, sorry. MCG, a packed crowd. It's come down to the wire. Trevor Chaffield, he's bowled his last over. He's already got dismissed Richard Hadley. He's then dismissed Ian Barrist of Margin Smith. He's on a hat trick.
19:31James Anderson:Trevor Chappell, the younger brother of Greg Chappell. Trevor Chappell. The very same. Right. Greg, right? The crowd hold their breath. Greg then says to his brother, how's your underarm bowling, mate? And then Trev says, oh, I've not done it before. And then Greg says, well, you're about to find out. Because he's going to bowl an underarm, right? Yeah. So then... What was he doing? He wasn't doing this in the air shot of the batter, though. Well, no, then he has to tell... You don't want to be too loud, do you? He has to tell the umpire, I'm going to do an underarm. All right? because it had been ruled out in England, but not in Australia.
20:11Guess who's in the commentary box? Ian Chappell, the third Chappell brother. Ian Chappell says, mate, don't do it. You can hear that in the commentary box, right? Does he open the window to shout it down to them or is it just? Yeah. No, because they're brothers. They're telepathic in Game Strange. Yeah. And even the wicketkeeper who was that? I could not Google that bit. I think it might have been Rod Marsh, I think.
20:39James Anderson:Rod Marsh. Yeah. Rod Marsh even said, don't do it, mate. Don't do it. Anyway, he does do it. He rolls the ball down the pitch and the stadium erupts into a chorus of boos. Richie Beno said it was the most disgusting thing you'd ever seen on a cricket pitch. Bill Laurie says, this is a little bit disappointing. that's a great that's a great Bill Lorry that's a great impression of him that is actually a really good Bill Lorry yeah have you watched videos of Bill Lorry yeah I've watched the video today yeah brilliant that's great do it again that's a little bit disappointing yeah really good and then it became a diplomatic incident incident Prime Minister of New Zealand said it was the most horrendous incident ever on the history of cricket yeah and because of that moment of that ball it changed the game forever and now under our bowling is illegal in modern cricket.
21:34Wow. That is a match in moment. Thank you so much for having us on your match in moment. Match in moment.
21:44James Anderson:Something he just Googled and told us. Something he just Googled. Okay. And again, one, two, three, four. matching moments something he just googled and told us something he just googled okay you don't think it's you don't think it's going to work is that i think it's great i love it come on you got another one it's great i mean we can't we can't sit here and just accept that as like a straight format we have to we have to interrogate it and you know test it and we we did test it and i think it held up let's see what the listeners say matching i've got a phone i I think they'll love it. I've got a follow-up question quickly matching because I thought you were going to talk about way back in the day when cricket begun and people bowled underarm.
22:34Do you know how that changed and evolved and how people started bowling overarm, say, 100 years previous to the incident of 1981? Well, it did start, but bowling underarm used to be in the 18th century and it was called underarm lobs. Right. And you could even spin them as well. there was a guy called George Simpson Hayward and he used to underarm spin and he even played a few tests for England.
23:01James Anderson:That's nice. That is nice. I didn't know that is nice. No, Google it. Would you bring... Because you invented the 100. Would you bring back underarm bowling? Would you bring back the lob now? That'd be good. Yeah, you still could, couldn't you? Because it's not about speed. It's about trickery. About lobbing. Do you know something that I can't believe hasn't been invented yet. Sharky, I know you've got your hand up in the corner, but we'll get to you in a second. But when we spoke to Liam Livingston a couple of weeks ago, the idea that we haven't yet had a simple game in England where it's just batters range hitting and seeing how far people can hit it.
23:40I can't believe someone, because that's home run derby X you do in baseball, but you can imagine all the best batters in the world just turning up and getting the ball fed to them, i.e. underarm lobs, and just trying to hit it almost like a sort of javelin field as far as they could. I can imagine people watching that. I mean, I probably wouldn't, but I think people probably would.
23:58James Anderson:Well, I feel like I would. I would watch that because sometimes if I flick onto the golf, the only thing I really care about is the tee shot. How far they're hitting it. Yeah. And then the same with watching the England T20 series. I just, I sort of, I'll watch it if Phil Salt and Joss Butler are teeing off. Right. And then I'll forget about it. And then the next day just search for who won. And I'm not. Do you get that? I could watch Joss Butler hitting sixes. I think all day. I think I could watch that for an entire day. Just a compilation of all his sixes. However long that lasts, I would sit there and watch every single one of them and love it.
Read the full transcript
24:44But I would choose if I had the option. Don't get me wrong. Joss Butler is the most beautiful batter to watch ever. One of them. but if I had the choice of watching someone just nick off to keep her first slip all day or someone hitting sixes, I would choose watching someone nick off.
24:58James Anderson:Well, you didn't. That wasn't an option. No, but what would you choose out of interest? I mean, I think I'd be watching The Bowler. So I think I'd watch a compilation of Jimmy nicking people off all day. Yes. So if Jimmy was nicking people off all day. Well, I'm watching that over Joss. Yeah. Well, you should come to my show with Jimmy Anderson on tour now because that's pretty much what the show is. Jockey. I have a sharky put your hand up sharky are I faded up? yes you're faded up just a little postscript to Machen's moment the footage is on YouTube it's amazing especially what the teams are wearing because it's sort of World Series era they're dressed like the Bee Gees are you talking about 1981 again?
25:43yeah and secondly there's a little interesting point that Richie Benno makes when he's talking about it and basically underarm bowling had been banned in limited overs cricket in England and he shows the rule book from the Benson and Hedges Cup but it hadn't been banned in Australia because I think they basically thought nobody would ever even think about doing it. So I don't even bother deleting it. Loophole. Yeah, that doesn't make you a very good lawyer.
26:12James Anderson:No. Australia, interesting. Yeah, good. I do feel like Machen did say that but did you imagine not the specifics not the specifics Chuck is very keen that I got the the narrative right in the right order of course yeah well that's good he said he said you can't use your normal scattergun approach on this it has to be
26:35you have to get the narrative right yeah okay no that's I'm going to space them out over the next 20 years one week
26:47James Anderson:so it's matching moments a scattergun approach to history he's just googled once every week for 20 more years okay all right jimmy's gonna be on in a second before we get that let's front load this section with blast chat did you watch the vitality blast i had i actually did watch the finals day and i i thoroughly enjoyed it did you have a blast did you have a vitality blast i had a vitality blast Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily want to be locked in in the ground all day because it feels like quite a lot to get through. But as a thing to dip in and out of in the house, just doing stuff and just coming back and watching, I thought the commentators were great.
27:31James Anderson:It was nice to have Bumble back on the telly. It looked amazing. The atmosphere was great. Some good cricket. Big question. Blast of the 100. What do you prefer? Match in. Go. Oh, great question. oh i'm gonna say oh blah a blast oh felix i i didn't actually watch the i was on a flight after said wicket that you sent me on whatsapp so i didn't see it all but i would yeah i prefer t20 cricket as a thing i i think for some reason the game seems to be closer and there's sort of a or engaging shape to them for whatever reason. Yeah. I mean, part of that also is the weight of history. So it's nice that you've got a long arc of history to look back on.
28:18James Anderson:Nice little things like Chris Lynn scored the first ever 100 on finals day this year and it's been going forever for a long, long time. Oh, wow. So you've just got those nice little bits and obviously you've got teams that just really want to win it and you've got Somerset who went on to win the title and beat Hampshire and Hampshire in the final is history with that isn't there over the years. So I like that bit of it, but I was sitting there and I don't want this necessarily to be a horrible hot take, but I did think that the lame bits of the blast and the lame bits of the hundred would be eliminated if you combined the two ideas and marketing budgets.
28:59James Anderson:Go on. Well, the history and the format of the T20. Yeah. Plus the fact that loads of people love it and want to see it happen. Yeah. So that's good. With the stars that the 100 attracts, add them into it. So you've got a smattering of real box office international megastars, plus all the marketing they spend on it. But get rid of the 100 balls thing, because that's, let's be honest, it's bollocks. And the teams, what would you do with the teams? Would you have new teams or old teams? And the teams thing, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, the 100 doesn't seem to even care about their own team names.
29:40James Anderson:So just sort of, I don't know. We all know about the, I don't know. I don't know what you do with that. I'm not in charge. I hear what you're saying. But there's something not quite right about either competition, if that makes sense. Well, I think there's way too much cricket, isn't there? you can't care about that much cricket so i think it makes sense yeah i hear what you're saying i think they shouldn't have they shouldn't have called it the hundred because then they now they have to have a hundred balls if they called it something else like it's like five they called five the band five i don't know because you can i think you could fudge that and but the what's it what's i guess what's in the name you'd be like the hundred is now a 20 over thing people aren't going to be like but it's called the hundred i don't even stand i would be exactly i actually heard someone talking on news about this the other day and i share their opinion i don't really care fantastic so that's that's that's all i'd add because that's the voice i'm getting from the top on newsbeat yeah yeah yeah yeah maybe that is the attitude we should all be adopting it's hard not to care though isn't it when it's your favorite sport and you love it to death you die for it actually i wouldn't die for it but no i think you're making i think you're making really good point i think but i i think that would that sounds like what you did you did you could have done is just put the money that they put into the 100 into the t20 tournament Yeah, you want it because the blast is definitely, and no disrespect to some of the brilliant cricketers on show.
31:03James Anderson:I really don't have, it was a great finals day, some great matches. but you you just want a couple of big really well-known stars like obviously the international ones aren't available because they were doing international duty but you just feel like you just need a little something else just to elevate it because there's something there is something parochial about county stuff which i love i love it so much that is county cricket is our thing that we grew up on and we love it and we have counties that we're obsessed with that's fine but there is something sort of parochial about that but there's also something kind of embarrassing about the hundred so the ideas can kind of meet in the middle because i wonder if like they're not i don't think either's quite right it's like the choice is i don't know i think i'm quite i'm quite tired but i came up with a thought earlier today which was it's a bit like you've been offered dessert but your first option is a twister and your other option is a fab you're like in either of those things.
32:07James Anderson:Okay. Well, I like, you know, both have got, I'd have one if I was hot and I was made on holiday. Maybe. But I don't really want either of them. So what I want is I want one lovely dessert. Please, ECB. Thank you. And you would get, what would you do? You'd get rid of a T20 and a hundred and invent a new one that's sort of both. A new ice cream. I'm putting the Twister and the Fab in the bin. No, I sort of want to, I don't know. Do you want another one? I think just put, basically just put all the hundred money into the blast. and just like supersize it a little bit yeah that's what I mean is like if if the 100 hadn't started they just put all that funding into T20 Blast then they could have got players into that couldn't they but they wanted to start franchises so that other investment came and that has come yeah and that's what's happened we'll see how that see how that pans out shall we but anyway didn't want to didn't want to rant don't want to put send people to sleep or I don't know what I'm talking about I'm just talking about f***ing twisters now We only do it because we love the game.
33:09James Anderson:Isn't that right, Matchin? Exactly. Exactly. That's what we're here for. Not unenjoyable bits of cricket, though, in isolation. That's the thing, isn't it? They're some great bits. There's some great cricketers. Just want to make sure that the platform is absolutely right and... Sustainable. Yeah. And also, obviously, throwing the... The Flames. The Flames is, as you said on Newsbeat, it's been amazing for women's cricket. but how do we how do we incorporate that into a blast type thing I don't know I'm not Mr I'm not Mr ECB moneybags yet you flirted with it yeah didn't we well yeah I mean it was a free a free gig but you mean you flirted with getting involved in that you know yeah well that's quite enough from me I don't know what I'm talking about but I hear what you're saying I think that's yeah I agree I think most people would share the opinion that you've just given, actually.
34:04About the Twisters? Maybe not the Twisters. Also the cricket. I don't think anyone thinks that both those things are exactly right, which is sort of sad. No one's like, this is perfect.
34:14James Anderson:Yeah. Do you know what I mean? That's right. That's what I'm getting at. When we watch a test match, we go, they've f***ing nailed this. They've nailed this. We all agree this is the thing. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Enough about that. Well, actually, not enough about that. Enough from me. But here's Jimmy Anderson.
34:32How did a boy called Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On Good, Bad, Billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days. Counted to 100 ,000 on camera. And even recreated Squid Games, all in an attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man$10 ,000. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good, Bad, Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
35:06Yes, thank you, Gregory James. I am here with Jimmy Anderson and that's Greg with me from the past. I'm here with Jimmy in the here and now. How are you? How are you and yourself? I'm good, mate. I'm a bit tired. I didn't have a great week in cricket in terms. I have injured myself I've pulled the cartilage off one of my ribs so Was that through bowling? Yeah Not ideal Are you in pain? Yes mate I am So I didn't bowl much this week and I'm not going to play next week against Camorgan last game of the season so a bit frustrating but Yeah These things happen don't they? Yeah You have had a ridiculously busy summer you've played a lot of cricket and I don't know do you feel good that it's kind of coming to the end of the end of this period now and you can relax a little bit yeah I mean it has been busy but I've really enjoyed it I've sort of I missed the first few weeks of the season with injury and then it's gone pretty well throughout made finals day obviously experiencing the 100 and then championship's not gone great but felt like we're making strides in that looking towards next year.
36:25So to be honest, I'm keen to keep going. I just... What's the recovery like on a torn cartilage like that? How long will you be out for? I think it's about, well, it's probably four to eight weeks, I'd imagine. But I'm not a physio, so yeah. We have been discussing the Vitality Blast and the 100. Guns your head, which one do you prefer? That's a difficult one. They're very different. But I think I prefer the blast format and the crowds in the 100. There you go, sit on the fence. Nice. I've been testing a new feature where basically I try and teach the public about cricketing moments in history.
37:03I think it went well. Greg just said I was regurgitating facts from the internet, but I did try and teach the public about the history of underarm bowling. Have you ever underarm bowled or been on a field where someone's bowled underarm? No, I haven't. No, I didn't think you would. Well, do listen back and you can learn a little bit about the history of underrun bowling. There was a very significant moment in 1981 between New Zealand and Australia. Yeah, I'm aware of the history, Matthew. Thanks. You can listen back. And I'm sure that the first episode of Tell Enders I listened to will be that one.
37:34Can't wait. Yeah. Good. Going back to the blast, what was it like on finals day? Looks like a mad day to be out. It was good. Atmosphere was great. You know, we were all looking forward to it. and then yeah we just didn't didn't quite play our best we'd probably let them get 20 30 too many when they batted and then we were on course to I felt like we're in with a chance when Liam Livingston was batting but unfortunately he got given out and then we didn't quite have the fire power to to get to the total in the end. That was quite a controversial one wasn't it with Liam that out people saying you were robbed.
38:09Yeah well I mean you can't say for sure that we we would have won the game if he had stayed in but we were in a good position when he was at the crease yeah and you don't want this especially on finals day you don't want games to be decided by poor decisions and yeah it does happen unfortunately but yeah as i said you just don't want it to happen in a game of such magnitude okay last time we did one of these dropping things because you're playing we played a game the anderson versus tendolka interview we got a lot of great feedback from that people like it let's make more of them okay okay you're jimmy you're a man that's been interviewed thousands of times over the years but can i conduct an interview that consists entirely of questions that you've never been asked before so the listeners get to learn a bit about you but even more importantly than that maybe you get to learn a little bit something about yourself yeah that's the real quiz so if at any point any of these questions have been asked you before you can just get up and leave.
39:06Okay. Okay? Yeah. Here we go. I've been working on these all night. In the morning, what do you put on first? Socks or trousers? I have no strict routine. Oh, interesting. For some time... Sorry, I was going to go into more detail for you, Matt, but... Yeah. Go on. Please do. I prefer to put socks on first, but quite often it's trousers and then end up tucking my trousers into my socks. Oh, right. Accident. Interesting. You've never done that? No, I know I've never tucked my socks into my trousers, no. When you're pulling your socks on quickly, your trousers have never gone into your socks. Yeah, maybe by accident, but I wouldn't do it deliberately.
39:43That's what I mean. Yeah, I'm not saying I do it deliberately. F***ing hell. Next question. When, if ever, was the last time you did some DIY around the house? I do DIY fairly regularly. The last thing I did was, yeah, the last thing I did was, so our house is like rendered at the bottom is like bricks are showing. so I painted the bricks at the bottom all the way around the house what was your most expensive mistake? I think I have an idea what it might be, didn't you invest in a horse once? yeah it wasn't expensive it wasn't a mistake you think that was a mistake do you Matt? it's on me today it didn't go to plan did it?
40:26it didn't win but not every horse you invest in is going to win is it? I have had horses that have won races okay anything else that jumps to mind um yeah i i think it's going to be a car i bought an audi r8 about 10 years ago and had it for about three weeks before i got rid of it that was a mistake nice other than yourself who was the most famous person that went to your school i don't think anyone there's i don't think there's anyone when was the last time you listened to an album from start to finish without skipping what was it it would have been i i've bought so when um the maccabees announced they were going on tour i bought given to the wild on vinyl and listen to that so that's the last one you're gonna get him to sign it could do can i yeah bit of a random one have you ever been in the bath and put a wet flannel over your face and sucked it in through your mouth i love how you started that with bit of a random one whereas the others have not been random at all have they have i ever put a towel on soaked it put it a flannel flannel it with the face in the bath i go and sack it in it's quite common i don't think i've done that since i turned 10 but i do think i've done that in my life yeah if you went on who wants to be a millionaire who would you choose as your phone a friend it's a tough one i think i'd go for graham swan because he knows stuff about he knows everything about everything even when he's bull you believe it so i think he'd have an idea on most things do you remember where you were at 9-11 yeah i think everyone would wouldn't they i was in a gym in somewhere near bolton or something doing rehab when it came on the tv what was the best holiday you can remember having as a kid i went to somewhere south france we drove from burney to south of france and stayed in this like chateau place with a tennis court and stuff like that loads of outdoor spaces and i just wanted to run around as a kid so it's perfect for me lovely and final question would you rather be able to communicate with dogs or speak every language on the planet communicate with dogs thank you have you ever been asked any of those questions before don't think I have and that's a win don't think I have that's a win thank you for playing we're going to now hand you back to Greg James Felix White and Match and Tendulkar from the past go well
42:54James Anderson:cheers nice to hear from Jim and he'll be back on the next pod hopefully hopefully we can get him little yearns some lovely little yearns coming in we'd love to do another episode of these that was so, so fun to be locked in a very hot room, just laughing at stuff. I love this episode. Little Yearns, by the way, are things that you would love to do if you became a professional cricketer. And it's not the big stuff. It's not the winning of tournaments or trophies or getting hundreds or scoring 50s or getting five photos. It's not that. It's the little stuff. Little Yearns. George, the greenkeeper, legendary tailenders listener.
43:30James Anderson:What I want to do is send out an absolute zinger of a sledge that has the whole side creasing up and leads to a wicket the very next ball. I'm thinking Freddie Flintoff doing Manowinders Tino. Right, he just wants to come up with a phrase that gets repeated again and again and again. But also works because Tino Best did get out. That's it, it has to work. So the unfolding event immediately after it will have to validate exactly what you've just said. And I totally agree. Does he have any examples? Well, only the Tino bit. Oh, sorry, but he hasn't got any specific, He hasn't got a thing in his head that he would say.
44:06Please correspond with the show again, please. And let us know what exactly the sentences you would like to say. Yes. And what happens after said incident.
44:15James Anderson:Brilliant. And at what juncture would you insert it? Yes. Great, George. Thank you. Will has another one. I'd like to be fielding at second slip when an edge just fails to carry to first slip, bouncing up and hitting the other player in the unmentionables. As my teammate winces in pain and the crowd groans, I'd noticed that a TV camera was directed at my face and tried but ultimately failed to hide my laughter. Yes, classic. Yeah, beautiful. We love that one. Love that one. It seemed to always happen to... There was a period of time where it just kept happening to Alistair Cook. Yes. Which was particularly funny.
44:52It did, didn't it? Really.
44:53James Anderson:And I remember Joe Root just laughing a lot. Yeah. Which is nice. George, another George, says, winning a ridiculous play of the match award eg a few years ago in india when they used to give out a motorbike and people would ride it around the outfield lovely just wants to win something yeah it's anything whenever cricket falls into the trap of turning itself into a 90s or 80s game show you know like a like a generation game or a family fortunes where they would just give away mad prizes that's that's what you want william says the dream test cricket scenario is coming into bat facing a hat trick ball the field's up and the chat is loud everything in you is wiggling ball comes down and you play the safest most defensive smothering shot to completely kill the field's hat trick hype avoid the bowler's eyes wink at your partner what were you worried about oh great yeah really good yeah just that sense of like i'm in control of this totally in control of it and one more for now toby says i want to hand the bails back to the keeper after being clean bowled off a no ball oh really nice really really nice i think putting bails back generally is a good one like i like the thing of like no i'm doing this and the umpires walked over from square leg and you're like no i've got this and you get the bottom side of your bat handle and you sort of knock it in the way they do sort of another one that another one which is quite nice is um being called back after walking to the boundary but they've checked the no ball yeah really good like being called back just as you're about to step off the field into certain death they're like no no no you're saved come back yep total alleviation little yearns please to tailenders at bbc.co.uk and we'll set up another episode with some callers very soon because we loved that sharkie loved that one yeah let's do some go wells and then leave you all to it get the hell out of here weddings Esther and Joe go well cheers engagements Human being engagements, human being ones.
46:58James Anderson:Will and Charlie, Angus and Emily and James and Annie. Go well. Cheers. Sorry, the other way round. Yeah, you did go well, so cheers. Fawkes scored his maiden ton and Greavesy has hit three tons this season. At one point, he was averaging 250. Wow. Nice work, Greavesy. Greavesy has gone very well. Go well. Cheers. Birthdays. Human being birthdays, human being ones. Boz, James, Jenny, Sam, Steve. Also, Isabella has been given the role of cricket sports ambassador for her school and has been given the task of setting up the school's first ever girls team. Go well to all of you. Love you, Isabella.
47:37Go well. Cheers. I would like to quickly say go well to Barney Douglas, director of the Edge and who I've worked with many times and continue to do so. He has become the top run scorer in what I think is South County's League Eight this year.
47:53James Anderson:What a fantastic man he is. Yeah. So well played, Barn. Huge go well. A shout out now to a fellow BBC radio presenter, a colleague, if you will. Lovely man called OJ Borge, who presents Overnights on Radio 2. He does Midnight Till 3, I believe. He's got a feature called Midnight Caller, where he sends out a cheap burner phone out into the wild. and then a listener answers it on every show while OJ's on air. And he's currently on the 10th phone and this one is currently in New Zealand. Now this week they called it and it was answered by former New Zealand international Chris Harris. No way! Yeah, so they had a nice little chat.
48:38James Anderson:Love Chris Harris. Really nice little chat. And then this happened. Greg James, it's Chris Harris here from New Zealand. I've heard you're an absolute legend and that you should have probably played for England, but just the selectors, I don't know what it was, but I think you're a star. But now you're doing your second love and you're involved in radio. I think you're a legend. So that's nice, isn't it? It's really nice. And do you know what? For people that don't remember, he's always got a fond place in my heart, Chris Harris, because he got picked for a New Zealand team bowling seam up, but bowling literally about 50 or 60 miles an hour in the mid to late 90s.
49:10And he took two very important wickets in a test series of who I can't remember, but they broke the game open. And I always remember thinking that is such a victory for the total underdog who is clearly not physically capable of playing at the highest level, but has somehow made it work for him. Adam Perore standing up to the wickets. He's the bowl, just proper what you would call dibbly-dobblers, the absolute definition of them.
49:35James Anderson:Thank you to OJ and thank you to Chris Harris and beautifully explained Felix. next up Dave is doing 21 part runs in 21 hours for charity for a laugh go well Dave cheers Maya is walking the entire coastal path of the UK which is 2 ,200 miles for charity she also came to the live show in Oxford in 2023 was given a cowbell by me but got told off in the pub afterwards for continually playing it oh well there is a time and a place Maya but we right now go well to you Maya for the amazing walk that you're doing cricket clubs did people keep those cowbells we didn't take them yeah they shouldn't have done that's a lot of cowbells we were giving out on that tour lots of cowbells yeah that's why the tour ran at a loss
50:23James Anderson:anyway go well despite that cricket clubs Stansford Park Stansford Park Cricket Club have got a new mower they call it Mowing Alley which is brilliant yeah really good Shelton Women's Cricket Club did a charity walk and raised£9 ,000 which is a huge amount of money and also Big go well to Breadbury St Mark's Cricket Club Go well Cheers Baby Human being babies Human being ones This is Iona Who is new to the world Dad Angus is placing a bet That she will be playing For Scotland At some point Love it And Another Baby Felix Go well So many baby Felixes It's going to be the most Common name In the cricket world For years yeah What you think That's me All the crickets Have been called Felix yeah in 18 years my favourite one yeah favourite one is Felix Organ wow oh yeah yeah from Hammers Hampshire sorry Hammersmith Hammersmith he plays for Hammersmith yeah he bats for Hammersmith Apollo yeah my brain is so scrambled yeah he opens the batting for Hampshire Felix Organ Felix Organ that is a good one alright thanks for listening we'll be back next week hopefully Sharky's waving what's now what Am I still faded up?
51:41James Anderson:Yes, you're still faded up. Just a quick one. And mainly for the benefit of matching, I forgot to mention that on Sunday, the last game of the cricket season, I hit a five. Yeah. Very, very most. Well, did you run? What happened, Shalke? Was it buzzers? Or did you run them all? It was buzzers, a single, four overthrows, but I didn't care. I was made up. It's like Alistair Cook's 100. Go well to anyone who's got a cricket match remaining this year. It's quite wild to go this far into September, but we love you for it. Tell Enders at bbc.co.uk for any correspondence according to the county teams because of the 100 and the blast, which is not enough room for both of them.
52:23James Anderson:Tell Enders at bbc.co.uk and we'll be back next week. Go well! Cheers! Should I play or let it go? The Women's Football Weekly has found a new home in its very own feed. We've called it, unsurprisingly, BBC Women's Football Weekly. We'll continue to bring you the latest news, insights and analysis from across the women's game. They're throwing some big money around. I want to see how they line up, how everyone fits in. Episodes will be available every Tuesday as ever alongside special, unfiltered player interviews from the biggest names in WSL and beyond. To make sure you never miss an episode, just search for BBC Women's Football Weekly and hit subscribe once you get there.
53:07How did a boycott Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On Good Bad Billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days. Counted to 100 ,000 on camera. And even recreated Squid Games, all in an attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man$10 ,000. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
From the publisher
Mattchin has a new history-based feature that is most definitely not ‘something he just Googled and told us’.
Plus another innings of ’The Anderson/Tendulkar Interview’, what’s better ’The Blast’ or ’The Hundred’ and did you witness a unique piece of cricketing history?