One Brings Two

Vivek and Alex rate the Ashes players and pick their Streets Don’t Forget XIAustralia player ratingsSteve Smith (8.25) Still elite… but by Smith standards this was “only” very good.Travis Head (9.75) He loves the Ashes, moved up top and ripped England’s heart out.Alex Carey (9.0) The quiet assassin: created wickets, scores runs, moved to 6.Marnus Labuschagne (6.0) Got involved everywhere, but lost scoring options and looks fallible.Mitchell Starc (10.0) Played all 5 games, won them the first three

Alex and Vivek discuss the frailties of the English cricket structure following England's defeat to Australia in the 3rd Ashes test in Adelaide. Changes have to be made.Episode timestamps:0:58 - Fixing England's cricket structure15:54 - Bazball's rejection of the county pathway20:09 - 3rd Test Adelaide in focus27:55 - Defending Stuart Broad32:27 - What Alex wants to see in Melbourne36:06 - What we would do if we were in charge48:51 - Records broken in New Zealand

Alex and Vivek debrief the 2nd Ashes Test at Brisbane. England suffer another defeat under the lights as Australia show them how to play old-school, gritty test cricket. In other news, West Indies save a remarkable test match in Christchurch vs NZ, and Kohli's back with a bang in Indian colors.0:50 - Ashes 2nd test review34:45 - Nathan Lyon to retire?38:28 - West Indies save test vs NZ 44:33 - Kohli vs SA

The 1st Ashes test has come and gone with Australia rocking England in a flash. Meanwhile, India get whitewashed at home for the second season running. India are done, but England have Starc under lights looming large.Alex and Vivek need a therapy session.0:00 - Intro1:09 - India back, South Africa good18:45 - Ashes England rant (toss)22:08 - Crawley27:24 - England bowling and cult35:07 - Australia 41:34 - England batting collapse51:42 - Ashes picking nits57:52 - Question 1v1

This is it. This is the big one.Alex and Vivek enlist resident Aussie Aryan Jain for a mega Ashes preview - spicy decks, fragile batting orders, arthritic quicks, and series predictions that we already regret.0:00 - Intro2:50 - Favourite Ashes moments6:11 - Recent form13:33 - Selections, Aryan on conditions in Australia21:08 - Australian openers30:31 - Shoaib Bashir34:02 - England central contracts and Joe Root40:45 - Nathan Lyon45:05 - Mitchell Starc 48:31 - Contemporary bodyline tactics50:53 - Zak

Alex and Vivek cover India Women’s first World Cup win, Rohit and Kohli’s swansong down under, England’s ongoing identity crisis, the enigma of Babar Azam, and the shifting fault lines of world cricket.0:00 - Intro0:57 - Women’s WC5:15 - Pak vs SA, Babar Azam13:13 - Virat-Rohit18:15 - Eng vs NZ27:12 - Ashes - England38:48 - Ashes - Australia42:41 - Chris Woakes Retirement43:43 - Global Cricket Structure 54:42 - USA Cricket56:15 - Listener Questions

Alex and Vivek cover pitches, selection, individual brilliance, and everything else India- England before looking ahead to whose strengths are pointier and whose weaknesses more acute in this winter’s Ashes.0:00 - Intro1:27 - Ind vs Eng series context3:52 - English pitches13:56 - Dropped catches18:01 - Siraj27:37 - Indian selection39:10 - Bazball 51:31 - Ashes1:11:32 - Awards & Categories1:17:42 - Outro