World Cup Dreams

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1:11Hello and thank you for having us on Tailenders. We're back. It's Greg James with Felix White and Sir Jimmy Anderson. Before we go any further, I have some housekeeping to do. Oh, yeah. the statisticians the the bbc sounds version of andy zaltzman okay have been telling me in fact they're telling me live now into my earpiece that we have picked up a substantial number of new listeners following the visualized sorry visualized ashes podcasts so you're all very welcome to tail enders and it would be it would be remiss of me not to say that we've been going for ages therefore there are there's like a tail enders language so if you're feeling a little bit out of the loop on certain stuff you can get in the loop so easily the catchphrases the stupid quizzes the in jokes the reference points there are loads of tail enders episodes on bbc sounds there's sort of guides to the podcast including matchings guide to loads of stuff all of that on bbc sounds there's background to all of us there's some extra matching quizzes on there the origins of the catchphrases all episodes of tailenders can be found on the bbc sounds feed some of them are even exclusive to bbc sounds yeah and uh while you're there you can enjoy the other cricket stuff you know your nobles podcasts your test match specials and some documentaries as well, including the one that me and Sharky did many years ago called Sports Strangest Crimes, the story of Alan Stanford, the man who bought cricket.

2:50So if you like cricket... Or, Greg, you could go back to 2019 and relive England winning the World Cup for the first time, if you feel like doing that. All of that. It's a time capsule of stuff. That, once again, is all available from our paymasters bbc sounds contractually so there you go um welcome to this podcast and let's get straight into the men's t20 world cup which starts this weekend my team italy are ready to go i think they've been getting beat actually i'm afraid no let's not worry about that let's not worry about that we're ready to go because let's not ruin the dream of retiring to a country like Italy, which has wine, pizza, and maybe a cricket legacy by the time I'm 80.

3:37Wayne Madassini.

3:42Oh, Wayne Madassini, huh?

3:48So, Jimmy, would you like to welcome our guest today? I wonder how happy he is to be here. He won't tell us that probably. And you have demanded that he appear on this podcast because you are his captain. That is true. Yeah. So I, well, it happened a few days ago, I think. Bangladesh didn't want to go to India. So they are now out of the competition. So Scotland got a last minute call up. And I was at Lanks with one of our very good batters, who is a Scotland player. so I wondered if he'd come on and I think he's just arrived in India and it's Michael Jones hey good evening everyone good evening Michael a very formal start to the podcast what's it like when you get the call from your captain to say you'll call my stupid podcast will you please mate the lads are chewing my ear off about getting a player on mate I replied saying it would be my honour which it is mate that's Matt so wait a sec this time last week Michael you weren't going to the World Cup and now you're in India is that about right?

5:00Yeah that's spot on yeah so a week ago I was just in training with obviously Jimmy and all the other lads at Lanks doing the usual the usual stuff the running around the track and the indoor bits of indoor cricket and then yeah rumours started circulating a little bit I think Crofty was actually the first one who mentioned that Bangladesh were obviously sort of having it out a little bit with the ICC or whatever and saying that there was a chance for the World Cup to which I just naturally just brushed it off and thought that things would resolve themselves and yeah lo and behold a week later here I am in India so yeah hectic week.

5:38Brilliant. Before we get into your preparations and how you're actually feeling personally and what that does to your brain in terms of preparation and whatever, just to get everyone up to speed. So as Jimmy mentioned, the Bangladesh team withdrew from the tournament after the ICC rejected a request to move their games from India to co-host Sri Lanka. Bangladesh had cited safety concerns amid growing tensions between the countries. The ICC refused to do that, saying there was an absence of any credible security threat. So Bangladesh removed themselves from the competition and then were replaced by Scotland.

6:14so that's where we are and how did you find out were you checking the BBC Sport app or was it a text or what happens were you always sort of were you like you know like on the West End there's always an understudy where they're like it's happened we've had a dropout come on lads. Yeah that definitely wasn't an understudy case at all I think there was literally zero chance of us going to the World Cup at all after failing to qualify obviously in the summer and then all of a sudden I felt like you know in the sort of 48 hours before finding out that we were officially going it was probably in in a similar way to sort of the public really just like you know refreshing twitter every five seconds and reading things that are being put out on bbc or whatever and then the sort of background noise started heating up a little bit and then boys were getting more and more excited you know texting each other saying is it happening Yeah.

7:12And like trying not to get too, too ahead of ourselves. I was thinking like, Oh, we'll definitely go. Cause like at the time it was like, we're definitely not going here. And then, yeah, now we are going and we, uh, we found out officially had a message on a group chat just to say we're going. And Joe, what I'm waiting, I'm waiting for your press conferences after a game, Michael, where someone says maybe the coach for if anything, you were overprepared.

7:42because you only had a week to do it yeah I don't think that'll be the case for us are you all there sorry sorry Greg no no no go are you all there is the whole squad there no no I think there was five of us at training today five what this is so village yeah what did it be five of you in the field in the games

8:10for you just to fly out yeah if you've got any scottish blood in you there's you know there's a chance oh that's hilarious yeah so yeah there was a a small a small group of us at training today the rest of the lads are arriving some tonight i think some tomorrow no way and then a few more a couple of little lads in a few days so yeah right so your first game is the it's on the 7th so Saturday against the West Indies right that's right yeah okay Michael unprecedented question I've never asked a professional cricketer will the whole team be in the country by next as long as there's 11 of us we'll be all right I think right this is do you know this is this is very relatable this is very captain ringing round on a Friday because there's been a few dropouts and saying, oh, well, you know, Tom can't make it because he's got a wedding to go to and all the rest of it.

9:10So this is, this is actually very relatable. It's going to be like, why is, why is Hetmeier fielding for Scotland? Or so he's just making numbers. He just said he didn't find leg for turnovers. I mean, to be fair, we've already, we've already sort of joked about the, because, you know, in like a typical county preseason or something, you might do like an inter-squad game, but it could be a bit of an inter-world game, I guess, on, on a Sunday when we play Afghanistan, Stan, if we've only got half a team, we'll have to ask if you were there lads to field for us. We'll just nick Rakit Khan for the day, maybe something like that would be all right.

9:40Do you know what, there's a famous win in this, isn't there? I can just see it in a couple of weeks' time. I can just hear the commentary. They weren't even supposed to be here. And now they're going through the group stages. Well, the group is West Indies, Nepal, England, and my boys, Italy. This is fairytale stuff happening here. Winnable games. before we um before we sort of talk a little bit more about your career and what your winter's been like and what jimmy's like and everything i think it would be nice just to say how we all feel but it's very sad that bangladesh aren't in this tournament right i think that is it's a real shame that that's sort of fallen um apart a little bit i feel i feel quite sad about that for just for world cricket it's always very sad when that sort of thing happens but it does give an opportunity and as you said Felix it's a real opportunity for upsets Michael surely that's how you've got to approach this you've just got to go for it absolutely yeah it feels like a bit of a a win-win almost you know not well not a win-win but you know definitely feels like we can't lose in a way because it's like you know we have almost come here on the drop of a hat and if we go down swinging and it doesn't pay off then I think you know there would be an understanding that a lot of the lads here haven't picked up a cricket bat for three months and now a week later we're playing against West Indies in a World Cup in front of what could be you know 68 ,000 seat stadium so it's like in a way it's like go out there and and there is probably less pressure than what there might be if we'd had you know a proper build-up and had qualified in a you know normal way and everything does this suit you personally oh sorry Greg on oh I was just gonna say that it's at Eden Gardens That's right, yeah.

11:21Michael, have you played there before? No, no. My first time in India was last year, actually just on a Lanks pre-season trip. Right. Okay, so Jimmy, what can Michael and the rest of the Scotland boys expect from sold out Eden Gardens in Kolkata? Well, I think the capacity is like 100 ,000, isn't it? I googled it. I thought it was 68, but I could be wrong. It used to be 100 ,000. So 100 ,000, and there's five of you out there to play cricket.

11:56No, it's a wicked place to play. Like I think India is just so different to anywhere else in the world to play cricket. The stadiums are huge. The fans are so passionate. I just hope that like what can sometimes happen is that if it's two teams in a world tournament, if there's two teams that aren't involved in India, then the crowds might not be as good. But I hope that especially Scotland get to experience, you know, teams like Scotland and Italy getting to experience playing in front of those sorts of crowds. I think it's something that you might not experience in your whole career. So yeah, let's hope for some good crowds.

12:31Michael, does it suit you personally as a cricketer to just be doing something like, do you like to have meticulous preparation for stuff or does this kind of suit the way you go about things in the past? Interesting question. I think probably in an ideal world, you'd have a bit more time to have prepped and have been playing more consistently and outside, everything like that. But I think mentally, you know, like I've touched on it before, but it does feel a bit like a free hit in a way. It's like, you know, you come out here and do your absolute best. And luckily, I've been doing some training at Lanks for the last couple of months.

13:05But like Jimmy said, in what other sort of way would, other than this completely rogue way that it's happened, would I might get the chance to play in India and in front of crowds and in a World Cup? So, yeah, for me, I would have ideally had a bit longer to prep. But that said, like, I'm just approaching it like a lot to gain and not much to lose, really. Just checked Eden Garden. So it was 100 ,000, but they reduced it for safety a few years ago. So it's nearly, it's 68 ,000, 70 ,000, Michael. That's a lot of people. So that's going to be - Well, hopefully there is a decent amount of people in there watching.

13:43Like obviously the Indians absolutely love the cricket, don't they? So we expect to be a few in, but yeah, just excited to get going. Your career then, so you're from Ormskirk in Lancashire, Lancashire, la la la. And is it your mum's Scottish, right? That's right, yeah. Okay, so how is she feeling about this? Well, she's like the ultimate cricket badger anyway, to be honest. so she's absolutely made up she'll be up at half watching the games no doubt she loves it so good and so on Valentine's Day it's England Scotland obviously your allegiance will be despite playing for an English club you'll be playing obviously your allegiance would your allegiance be Scotland if you were watching that game great question it would be yeah it would yeah okay there you go probably somewhat to with like I think everyone loves the underdog story don't they yeah And I am a genuine half English, half Scottish person.

14:36So I think just naturally you want to go for the underdog in most stuff. So I would definitely be supporting Scotland. Greg, you know you've marked Italy last episode. I'm marking Scotland. I'm back in Scotland as well. Well, we'll see you. We'll see you boys come out on top feet when we play you. Joe, it's also reminded me of, not that I'm in any way fixated in an aggressive way on the 90s, but it's just reminded me of 1992, when I think Denmark didn't qualify for the football Euros and then won it. I think a similar thing happened where, did someone pull out last minute? And then they, with Peter Schmeichengardt, they went on to win the Euros.

15:14I thought I'd see your face pop up. I thought I'd see your face pop up. What was the reason they got in? Am I faded up? Yes, you faded up. Yes, that's correct. So Yugoslavia withdrew due to the civil war. Denmark got a very late call up won I think they beat Germany in the final 2-0 they did they did yeah they beat Germany so they went on to win it and a little fact that resulted in the end of the back pass rule that final oh really wow if you watch that final they did it so much and that was like I mean it had been building and building and building but I'm pretty sure that was a tipping point that they passed the ball so they were winning and they passed the ball back so much huge they thought enough was enough okay which leads to my question to Michael which rule have Scotland got together and said that they're going to abuse in order to win this World Cup?

16:07I've got a big one. The being Scottish rule. The free hit rule. Come in, Scotland. I can't see us doing anything out of the ordinary. Leave Watty to bowl his like 25 yarder or whatever. Oh yeah, from miles away. I forgot about those. he bowls from behind the umpire sometimes, doesn't he? That's right, yeah. Yeah, parallel then, brilliant. Is he out there? Doesn't come as much of a shock though anymore. Like, I think when he first started doing it, people were probably like, what on earth is this? But like now people have seen it a little bit, so. Yeah. But yeah, no rule breaking, I don't think.

16:43We'll just try and, we'll just try and do what we can. I'm really excited for this T20 World Cup. Me too. We sometimes get a little bit of, sort of, we get over, I think we're overstimulated with World Cup sometimes, and also sometimes there's not enough teams in them but now there's real interest there's real stories there's real sort of upset that could happen exactly can you tell us about your experience playing alongside jimmy and also what it's like to have him as a captain please michael because obviously as a as a lanks player he's he's in charge well i don't want to blow too much too much smoke really to be fair but it's fine we do that we've been doing that for eight years it's fine yeah no he's been good to be fair he speaks really well in the changing rooms seems to absolutely love his cricket like i didn't know I went before obviously last year and I think with Jimmy like I probably don't know what to expect a little bit because I hadn't come across him ever and obviously he's a big superstar so I was a little bit apprehensive but I found the best way to get on with him was just give him as much shit as I can and that seemed to work so yeah but no he's been class bowled really well last year and yeah hopefully we can keep doing it for a bit longer and Jimmy would you like to say a few kind words in reply?

17:58Rise of the play. Not really. It gives me s*** all the time.

18:04I mean, Jonesy as well, along with everyone else, has sort of welcomed me into the group because I've not been around like permanently for a while. And it's just been nice being around, like a nice group of lads. You know, play a lot of golf together, a lot of paddle together. We train really hard. And last year was obviously a bit disappointing on the field, but had some good moments, some nice moments. So looking forward to another good year. I'm excited for Lancs next year, Jimmy Caps and then I think there's some storylines building there. Michael, actually I've got another question. I read that the kit hadn't been sourced yet for Scotland.

18:40Have we got any news if they're making Scottish kit, what are you going to be wearing? I actually don't know because I haven't got any with me and I haven't heard about anything. Oh, you don't know what the kit's going to be? so someone somewhere might be like designing a kit or what like or trying to find something i don't know um i've brought blue pads with me so i hope the trousers are navy

19:06honestly that cracked me up like two days ago we're in old trafford and he's scrambling around us in the dressing room attendant if he's got some blue pads in the shed somewhere so good it's such a great story you got to win the game yeah it'll be good i think i think you know what like we obviously haven't had any sort of time to prepare and it's so out of the blue that we're that we're here like but scotland's i think record of in these sort of things is it would be decent i think you know we tend to put up a bit of a scrap i think so lads will be like right up for it as you'd expect and we've got a week i know it doesn't sound like a lot but we've got a week now to try and get ourselves as ready as possible for that first game and in in the county season obviously you play for six or seven months and then you have a month off then you train for another however long it will feels like forever but i think a lot of the lads would probably agree that you know you don't necessarily need all that time to get ready you know like jimmy i think has only just started bowling now i think some of the other senior batters like haven't picked up a bat yet so that you know only having a week like it seems like oh my god like there's absolutely no time to get ready, but I think the lads will be okay.

20:16Fingers crossed. Can you give us some names to look out for, please, in the team? Who are you? Who are the other four? It'll have to be the ones. Who are the other four? Who are the other four lads going? At the moment, we've got me, Brando, Rossi, Wattie, Wheelie's here. It's about it, I think. No, I think Brando McMullen Munn is the obvious name to point out. He's a proper player. He's been also, to be fair, probably better prepared than most of us because he's been involved with the ILT20, played the T10, and he's probably a batting all-rounder, batting number three. I think his record is probably very good and he's an extremely good player, so definitely one to watch.

21:04I think the obvious candidate is Munns, George Munns. The way he plays spin is pretty ridiculous, really. Sweeps, reverse sweeps. yeah quality player just lifting off all the batters here as a batter but yeah no there's we have some very very good players so I'll say them see for now Was it the last World Cup the last T20 World Cup where against England it rained but you got off to a great start yeah and it looked like you're on course win so I mean there is you've got to take confidence from that because it'll be a similar squad I imagine no absolutely yeah and the teams the teams that are in our group are actually very similar like the last in Barbados we had England Namibia Nepal and Australia but the World Cup qualifiers we played West Indies in Australia before that and we beat them so you took them in there and then obviously we got off to a really good start against England like you say I think when the game got cut down to a 10 over game which is what it was going to be by the end I think with Lewis they needed about they were going to need about 110 or something like that in their 10 overs so I think they could well have come out and smashed us around but you know I'd like to think we have a decent chance there in that game so it's a real shame that that didn't get to play out but yeah and then nepal and italy are obviously associate teams like ourselves so you know you got you got a thing that there's you know a decent chance there every if we play well so yeah why not like it obviously it's a real sort of underdog story that has come out of absolutely nowhere literally thin air so i hope we put up a really good fight and put on a bit of a show really for for everyone watching like yeah big hammer i'm buzzing for it by my reckoning and by mine i mean espn quick info the last time you were all together for a t20 was last summer and you just and you beat nepal right when was that is that as in this summer that was june yeah just gone yeah because i mean i was playing for langs so i wasn't i wasn't um right playing for scotland so that's interesting because that's the last time all of, well, some of the team would have been together and would you train together since then, I guess?

23:09Have you all been together since then? Yeah, so I think the boys played or stopped playing sort of late September, like in a similar way that the county season finished late September and then wouldn't have done anything at all, basically up until the start of Jan. So if that actually, yeah, like the boys are fresh. You say best when fresh and this will be the true test the best went fresh I think yeah yeah but you beat Nepal so they're beat they're beatable yeah was what we're saying oh yeah yeah yeah the Nepal one will be cool because I was reading something to say that the Nepal fans are like the second highest in on the ticket sales and I know that when you play cricket in Nepal they get like loads of people just up on the banks in the trees on the houses just coming in flooding in to watch the cricket so I'd imagine like wherever Nepal play there'll be heaps of people there.

24:01So that'll be one of the fixtures I would imagine where we get a load in. So that game will actually be really, really cool, I reckon. Michael, thank you so much for being on TailEnders today. And we wish you the biggest go well ever for the T20 World Cup. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be an unforgettable trip for you and hopefully create some brilliant stories for us all to watch back here in this miserable weather. Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, make sure to get up and watch because we're all buzzing for it. Come on. Thanks very much. Can't wait. Go on, Michael. Cheers, mate. Thank you. Yes, Michael, legend.

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25:06He's great, Jim. What a great bloke. Yeah, nice one for that, Jim. He's a serious... Obviously, we talked about players to watch out for, but he'd be one of them as well. Really? He'd say it to his face to blow his trumpet or give him a kiss of death or anything. But he can bat, especially in white ball cricket, he can bat at the top of the order, he can bat in the middle of innings as well. plays like spin he plays this amazing shot over extra cover like in the air just from the crease like got some amazing ability and I think he'll what sort of stand still opens his wrists up type thing hits him yeah just sort of like into out over extra cover yeah but yeah he can I mean he can wax seam as well he's just he's just a really good all-round player did well for us in red ball and white ball last year and just a good lad tries really hard works really hard and now he's got some serious talent he averaged 50 odd a few years ago in the county championship didn't they in the champ yeah for durham crazy yeah all right well that's going to be fun and i'm just looking at these fixtures so i guess what we're looking at here so yeah saturday the 7th of february you get an early the early start is 5 30 so it's basically gonna be 5 30 9 30 a.m and then 1 30 so there's cricket all the time so the early one is pakistan netherlands then you've got at 9 30 west indies scotland as their opener that's this is the opening day and then followed by india usa at lunchtime so that's that's your saturday the seven sorted that's yeah that's a fun day and then the sunday you've got england nepal new zealand afghanistan sri lanka ireland this could be really it could be really good do you know we also need it because i've got that feeling as well from watching in sri lanka it's just a relief to be away from everything that was the ashes like i feel i feel a little bit like when i'm watching that i just it just feels nice to be getting out of that sort of mania even like being separated from my own anger and feelings about everything and being like oh i'm just watching cricket again was so nice i'm completely with your feet on that i even got into the sa20 oh yeah really but mainly just because of johnny bairstow being a champion and just being happy and sort of winning the tournament i really enjoyed it go on johnny just i just want johnny Bairstow to just be good and go well forever.

27:21That's all I want. I just want the best for Johnny Bairstow. I just, I love watching him bat. I love watching him. Just love watching his little face just sitting in the crowd. Do you see he was sitting in the crowd just watching other games before the final? Oh, was that? I thought it was rugby. Yeah. I thought it was assumed it was rugby. Oh, his little face. Just wherever it is, I'll follow his little face. Wherever it is. Don't care what he's watching. Just watching stuff. Izzy Wong is going to be on in just a second. What's going on in the Sri Lanka game, Fee? Are you watching? Yeah, I'm trying to while we're recording.

27:52Sam Curran has just taken a hat trick. Oh. And currently chasing down, if you bear with me, England are chasing down 49 from eight overs with eight wickets remaining. So we are certain to lose that game. Joe, what, that would be lovely watching the spin out there. Everyone bowling spin. And there's been some innings as well this week in the 50-over stuff. I know it sounds crazy because, because he obviously scored a hundred and ashes, but it almost hit me for the first time. How good Jacob Bethel is watching his innings. Like Brooks scored 120 off 60, but he just like, you know, when someone like the cricketer, but because he looks quite young, doesn't he?

28:31When you see him do everything, but when he bats, like he's sort of like, he becomes someone else. Like his whole, everything fits him in a different way. Do you know what I mean? He like stands way taller and composed. I know it sounds strange because we've been talking about him for years, but it only really occurred to me how good he is this week. Who's that? Jacob Bethel. Oh, yeah. Watching how tall he stands and how he scores from all around the wicket. Maybe it's because in Sri Lanka, maybe it's just sort of separated from the craziness of the Ashes. Yeah. Do you know what? Just touching on that, you like him watching spin.

29:07I've not really been across the white ball stuff in Sri Lanka just because when you see two seamers on the team sheet, I'm like, oh, I'm not sitting here watching people nerd or spin around. It's not even cricket, is it? It's not real. Bethel's one of those players, isn't he? That you, I mean, not that we played against anyone anywhere near as good as that, but when you just see someone smiling and enjoying it, you're like, oh, this is going to be a long day. We might as well just go and stand in the field next to the boundary, because that's where it's going. and he's got that. He's just so assured, isn't he?

29:43So, Fee, can you keep us updated TMS style? Oh yeah, can you be Ellie Eldroid? Ellie Oldroyd. I can be Ellie Eldroid. Can you be Eli Oldwood on Live 5 Radio, please? Yeah, I'll do it on, you know, the little live reporting updates. I can tell you what they're saying on there. Great. Latest in from Kevin Howes, Tom Banton is putting a strong case forward for running the team. As you were. thank you kevin let's cross live now to the midlands and someone else who probably hates seeing spin dominate hate theme is our very own izzy wong the long lost izzy wong hello hello oh izzy we miss you where the where have you been i've been everywhere i've been everywhere it's been a it's been it's been a really good few months actually but you know i hate just on the spin point hate when they give the spinner just like the first over of a T20 as like and they think it's like oh we're trying to steal one and it's like you just ruined a ball that might swing that ball might swing for nine balls and you've spent six of them on the off spinner to steal an over out of them I'm so with you on that and it's usually a part time spinner as well not even a good one who can maybe hit the same opening backers wouldn't want to face them straight up that's so funny yeah what the thing behind that is but you just sort of nick or just bowl it really quickly before they got into the innings you just sort of just race through and over and fall in and over oh it's second over because it's unexpected but is it not just now expected a lot of the time it's expected now it's devastating as a swing bowler it is devastating when you like can't wait to get a new ball in your hand and the captain's like we're just going to give Glenn Maxwell this first over for f*** sake it's even worse sometimes people teams do it in 50 over games and they'll open with a spinner from one end.

31:39And if you're the seamer at the other end, you've got like 90 seconds in between your overs. It's like you bowl your over and then you get to the end of the game and you're like, right, I can't wait to go down to find leg and get a drink. Firstly, they don't have a fine leg. And secondly, the over's over in 60 seconds and you're back bowling. It's like Homer Simpson when he's working like three jobs, but he just goes out to bed and then walks straight up again.