Nasser and Athers answer YOUR questions! | Sky Sports Cricket Podcast Q&A

[@Adisonhvc]

I genuinely feel this has been one of the best podcasts i have watched, please do more of these q and a style pods,will be great

[@manningbartlett522]

I am 56 years old. People were talking about the "death of test cricket" back when I was a child in the 70s and the ODIs first started.

[@abhishekraom3872]

Absolute legends when it comes to Cricket punditry. Truly remarkable, I just keep waiting for the podcast every single time.

[@atulmalhotra2303]

I think it's also about the purity & unadulterated nature of their language.

[@DinDjarin914]

Get a life. Teasing 😂 Same here!

[@MASTAHMELO]

Please never stop these podcasts. These 2 are the best together

[@jamesward9372]

Here in NZ test cricket is most certainly alive and well…… the recent series against England proved this. For smaller countries boutique grounds are the answer. The Hagley test was fantastic albeit we lost, the atmosphere was superb particularly the Barmy Army whom entertained us all test. Better than any T20 game I’ve experienced.

[@MD-wv7ee]

I stay up late into the early hours to watch test matches from New Zealand due to the cosy cricket grounds, the regular fans and the kids having a knock about around the ground. I know England gets crowds but they are of a certain social class and income bracket cos it is unaffordable for most. NZ has got the balance

[@RegionalVariation]

Quality chat as ever. Hope this kind of question and answer feature becomes a regular occurrence.

[@jacklancer7735]

As always, a fantastic podcast. I could watch 1000 podcasts from these two and never be bored.

[@vinayrao815]

These 2 are great cricket pundits absolutely legends on talking cricket 🏏

[@JOHNCORNISH-f5i]

hi guys. i am an aussie but you 2 are the best because u have a non biased point of view of the worlds greatest game.long live test cricket. john

[@alpinecricketer]

Make this a regular feature ❤

[@FaisalMehmood-o9l]

41:40 for the moment u are here

[@tomnicol8927]

the pitches in australia have been more bowler friendly then the ones in england in recent times

[@sumbdi]

Yes and that has been the case since 2022.

[@joebowden4065]

Isnt that related to the ball as much as the pitches?

[@tomnicol8927]

@ yh but also they leave a lot more grass on the pitch these days and i think the drop in pitches are slower then the old ones

[@princeroytilakasiri5675]

Cheers guys for the podcast ❤. Some good laughs 😂 and interesting questions. I really enjoyed listening to all the different questions from different people 😊!! I hope that you both do more soon!!

[@Pcolloins]

I love these two This podcast is gold

[@theunfinishedarticle]

Always great to hear the boys having the chat! Cheers from India at the mo!

[@seanp295]

Great stuff thanks guys - my question/request is can Sky please unlock the vault of old cricket content like The Verdict and post it here/sky on demand. There must be 100s of hours of classics. Thanks!

[@darrencullen3288]

Talking about 6 hitting, Alan Lamb in 1987 hit 18 off the last over against Australia, which included two sixes. The wider cricket world talked about this feat for over 20 years. 18 off the over happens in test matches now let alone 50 over cricket. Different game

[@AlunThomas-mp5qo]

Botham hit 22 off Hadlee's last over in 1978, one of the best finish to an innings that I have ever seen.

[@Emanonsi]

My wait continues for the day Indian cricket puntids speak sence and useful cricket talk show like these two . Im just addicted to these guys speaking anything just so much sense and clarity where everything is nowadays clickbait content.

[@tripleschezwanfriedrice]

you two are always so funny, love you both

[@Kaushiknara]

SA have a won an ICC trophy way back in 1998 btw. It was called ICC Knockout those days

[@imranqureshi-nj1di]

gr8,loved it,2 gr8 legends.

[@BOXINGKINGS786]

well done to these too keep going in this weird times

[@ngcaliclock2529]

Of course Nass isn't going to mention the fact that United were 1 man down and a cheap penalty awarded against them 😂

[@joebowden4065]

Funny his takeaway was united parked the bus and not that arsenal bottled it

[@James-st9uu]

​@@joebowden4065 like Wales in the euros 2018

[@sabarishgopalakrishnan391]

Test matches with the pace in which they’re played should turn into golf like itinerary- Thursday to Sunday. Predictable schedule and weekend games.

[@vivekharish746]

Thanks to both of you for considering/answering my question about Jonny Bairstow! Yes Fine player as Nasser mentioned but Eng may have moved on! He got 4 tests in India but didnt go beyond 39 even once! In Limited overs format also he is the same after the Golf injury!

[@brownbeardedguy9266]

Shut up and focus on Indian cricket pal. Not going so well for you is it 😂😂

[@MD-wv7ee]

@@brownbeardedguy9266 Saw Bairstow batting in the SA T20 yesterday. He's turned in to the Michelin Man!

[@Wtc2325]

Eng havent won a test match in aus since 2011 0 wins in 15 attempts

[@davidbrown1602]

Superb !

[@rajivradha]

Nice show!

[@GagandeepSingh-zp4in]

Great discussion ❤

[@SJHealthandWellbeing]

Threw me for a second when Athers mentioned Mitch Stanley. Hope he does play for England so I can say "I coached him and taught him everything he knows" lol 🤣🤣🤣

[@BOXINGKINGS786]

u two r brilliant

[@BenjiB999]

Guys would be awesome if you got a zimbabwe cricket legend on before the series

[@dhirshg]

Greetings from South Africa (don't sleep on Tristan Stubbs as part of the next Fab 4) - great show. Please get my childhood hero and nemesis of Athers on...the great Allan Donald :)

[@JasonX2]

Rickelton looks quality too

[@samosawallah6609]

Really enjoyed the pod cast.. Samosa Wallah is impressed.. worthy of some samosas. Thank you for your passion .. thnak you test cricket.

[@itsnavsub]

Quite a collection of books in Nasser's book shelf - Especially Ben Elton books. Maybe one day - you would do your picks for some good reads :)

[@Mir_Fawad]

S .Cook deserves a place in red ball and white ball team.. Highly Skillful bowler 👍

[@soulgalorememories9921]

With regard to club cricket - I remember in the 70’s and 80’s being stuck in the 2nd XI team with no chance of playing for the first team. In that first XI were what we used to call “the old lags” guys well Into their 50’s and 60’s there mainly for the social group and activity that belonged to those long time members. The absurdity of a guy standing at slip with a huge gut, u able to chase a ball is why everything is wrong with club cricket. I’m not saying that all of these older players are not worthy of a first team slot, because some are extremely talented even at their age. I AM saying though that three or four in most teams are not worth their place and are keeping the younger, more hungry players away from improving more in a level above what they are playing. I haven’t a clue if this is still going on, but it was always so - the first XI was reserved for those long time members that did not want to give up their place to a young buck. Club cricket has to diversify and promote a senior team and league (unless this is a thing now) to allow young guys to have a pathway to a higher standard of cricket

[@fiddlestickzmuzik]

As a lifelong United supporter I enjoyed beating Arsenal and drawing with Liverpool of late.

[@Adisonhvc]

Absolute goats

[@arpanbera7655]

On those pitches skills are important than wood archer...bolland is unplayble. On those juicy pitches and with new modified kokkabura ball its very tough...

[@keranturakhia5407]

Very good podcast...Samosa Wallah is impressed .. Thank you Nass, Thank you Athers, Thank you cricket

[@SK-lm9yx]

Hi, I love the podcast. I may even push you into double figures in your listenership Hussein has just given an example of players plucked from nowhere without good county records. Naming Jamie Smith in that list but he has a really good Red ball record in 68 matches 11/8 at an average of nearly 42 in first class cricket I think it’s also worth caveating Jacob Bethel I know he didn’t make a first class hundred before he got picked for the test side, but having spent a lot of his early career in Barbados he hasn’t come through the youth set ups at Warwickshire. I do get irritated that they don’t take advantage of the quality at County level having followed Surrey for years how many players in recent times have been selected from that team? Thank you again for the great podcast Sam

[@DJR1409]

Has Bashir gone well? Averages 40+ with the ball, bunny with the bat and has dropped catches.

[@siddharthreddiar3353]

Taken a bucket load of wickets though. Has shown he can win matches with the ball. Needs to work on control and applying the brakes. Also barring Leach there isn't really any spinner in England that can bowl a side out

[@DrummerSpace]

Test cricket should give way to skills exhibition- batters v bowlers on trying wickets. That would make it an Olympic sport. For instance- surviving 5 overs of back to back Bumrah and providing points based on technique of bowler/batter.

[@pablonakasato1478]

Banter is unrivaled among these top blokes 😂. True legends

[@JB-td9fz]

How did we not get a Carl hooper question in for Nas?!

[@siddharthreddiar3353]

With Zak Crawley. England see Sehwag and he CAN build big innings that can go on-and-on (most sloggers are only good for a 30 or a freak 100 e.g. Maxwell/Afridi). But he seems to indulge in his strengths rather than build on his weaknesses (if there's movement or a good opening bowler he can block out for 30mins and make it up later).

[@lolumo]

40:00 Never knew nepotism was a thing in English cricket. Definitely a lot of the same surnames coming in over and over. Cook, Flintoff, Vaughan

[@harrisaziz1028]

They're being picked based of performance

[@AlunThomas-mp5qo]

You're barking up the wrong tree with Cook, he is no relation of Alistair. Flintoff and Vaughan are the sons of Andrew and Michael but they are at the start of their careers and have a long way to go to get international caps.

[@gunvantpatel2560]

Am I looking at Dollond & Aitchison sign board?

[@BenKing-l4g]

You should do more QandA style pods, see how popular Jarrod Kimbers WagonWheel podcasts are every week

[@skintslots]

Athers hit the nail on the head when he mentioned the shrinking social class from which the game is getting it's players. Cricket should not be comparing itself to football as it will never compete and the cost of youngsters playing cricket versus what it costs to play in a football team is huge. The facilities needed,the weather also,and the fact it is seasonal means it's in danger of killing itself as a participation sport outside of a small number of affluent people. T20 and limited overs is the future for youngsters and even Test cricket needs to become some form of time controlled or over controlled sport for the benefit of all. North v South looks very different I'm sure at club level.

[@SamHart8]

Question for FEC and Poppadom Fingers: Do you expect the Hundred franchises to be playing four day red ball cricket within the next 15 years?

[@Grazaman]

Re flagging participation, clubs folding or unable to put out seconds or thirds, Home Office needs to allow foreign amateur clubbies to be able to come to the UK and play to at least mitigate the drop in numbers a tad, impart their outside experience while taking away whatever they garner here, translating to evolution and growth of the game and its management/admin and culture wherever they come from in due course. Some just want to come experience competitive UK cricket at own expense and needn't be paid overseas pros but would gladly help juniors or clubs out to take in and contribute to the whole spectrum of our incredible game.

[@Ash.2604]

ECB should have focus on blast more than hundred, blast has potential to go Big...

[@pradeeppradee5065]

Nasser hussain sir A bigg fan of u sir Biggest scary question sir Why wrist spinners couldn't sustain in test cricket likes of Shane Warne

[@hazzmat9527]

A bit of shade there. "KPs work of fiction". 😅😅😅.

[@mohitkumarrai5536]

Shane Warne is legend

[@pavanshetty7005]

How can english county increase payment for red ball cricket or can tgry as t the present situation 😊

[@hannibalking85]

Travis Head def the best current all format batsman

[@saurabh_3589]

Not really He has done well against 1 team particularly against india in test cricket

[@djakaonlineacct3634]

Did Atherton just say 'cool'?

[@boldedits5868]

I don't know iam still going for SA to CT 25 because they've got well rounded team definitely hot fav to win

[@Malcolm-fk4rr]

The Crawley issue is bizarre. We need to stick with him because we have stuck with him!

[@AndyL-gh2hr]

well they've invested so so much in him, i really feel he could ave 10 against India and still be on the plane for Australia, the strange thing is the Aussie pundits rate him. (maybe they feel he will perform badly as well lol)

[@RomeSingh-u2e]

What is your opinion of the proposed idea of the two tier system where the big three would play each other only?

[@AlunThomas-mp5qo]

Ridiculous idea, that would soon become boring.

[@siddharthreddiar3353]

If we go through the 2-tier system should be 5 teams each tier. Tier-1 play 5 match series home-and-away. Tier-2 play 3 match series. And bottom 2 teams get relegated each cycle. In terms of Historical series even if Eng/Aus are different tiers you can still play Ashes just doesnt get counted towards the cycle

[@AlunThomas-mp5qo]

@ That is a much better idea and would work. Having England, Australia and India playing each other around the clock would be ludicrous.

[@muhammadusman-lj3de]

Don't agree that Saim makes it yet to next fab 4. Too early for Saim!

[@danhunt8811]

Thinking about the future of the domestic cricket structure here in the UK in the face of the incoming onslaught of short term private cash. If I were a chief exec at a non-hundred county (ex. Durham) I'd reduce membership fees to £1, excluding blast tickets from the deal. These are mutual societies, co-operatives effectively, they could build their membership (their owners) to a number that carries significant weight when the crunch comes in a few years time (which it surely will). At present, Yorkshire, the geographically largest county has 6000 members. Imagine if the smaller counties had memberships of 50,000 because it only costs £1. That becomes a real voice in favour of county cricket. I know there might be a short term loss of ticket revenue but it depends how quickly you can build the new base. But keep in mind, an individual could be a member of more than one county. £10 a year would get you a vote at ten counties. Ok, now someone point out the flaw in my plan... 😂

[@scarlet1958uk]

Love the podcast but the continuous gambling ads are irritating

[@HACKER-vw3ev]

i,m not holding my breath over stoksey going through another op and recovering fully.when you get so many injuries like he,s had and the way he plays i have my doubts.

[@Rohanbhal_30]

Nass is the typical arsenal fan haha, forgetting that we played with one man down for half the match when dalot got sent off

[@hannibalking85]

Not Two tiered system. Will be more of. Super League type

[@magiccarpet-]

Love the podcast but so many adverts

[@tomnicol8927]

no way crawley gets any runs in the ashes going by the pitches they produced in the Bgt

[@sumbdi]

Not just crawley don't think apart from brook and root any of the england batsman ll be able to score runs

[@sequencefinancial]

Sky Sports need to start showing cricket matches rather than just podcasting about them

[@MD-wv7ee]

Leave the intelligent cricket talk for the men and you go and find an online stream to go watch some cricket

[@sequencefinancial]

⁠​⁠@@MD-wv7eewhat a silly point. I like the podcast but SkySports losing matches (the games you need to watch to speak about), is a priority.

[@MD-wv7ee]

@ They do show matches that they have the broadcasting rights for. You don't have to be very intelligent to understand that basic concept

[@sequencefinancial]

@@MD-wv7eeyeah, and you also don’t need to be very intelligent to know that major cricket series are not being shown on skysports and they are analysing them. To not think this is a limitation of sky sports, is well….dont have the words

[@jollygoodyoutube]

Sky haven’t ’lost’ anything. It’s their strategy when it comes to cricket rights. Their budget is mostly reserved for the domestic rights contract, ensuring Sky is the home of cricket in the English summer. In the winter they are happy to pick up T20 franchise leagues that are relatively cheap to acquire and fill up the schedules for several weeks. Things like cricket from Australia or New Zealand isn’t attractive to Sky any more because the matches are played overnight our time and not enough people watch them to make it worth buying the rights.

[@abdulwasaywaseem4147]

To whom did athers refer to while saying bob and who was the other one?

[@SamHart8]

Bob Willis and Lord Botham...

[@maodijong3661]

In an ideal world, test cricket would be 10 teams, two divisions, 5 teams each. And all teams in a division must play each other in at least 2 tests per cycle, so no India shenanigans.

[@kadichidu4171]

Please bring ian Chappell to the podcast

[@adam-d3m5y]

nasser and mike so u think kholi should retire from test cricket

[@michaelfox774]

My question would be. Will England win at least one test match next Ashes. Forget about regaining it.

[@RobMorrison-vf2is]

Because some people are making a lot of profit out of the shorter forms of the game that is probably why they try to devalue test cricket. Test cricket is still the best in terms combative cricket. Shorter forms of the game are entertaining which they are supposed to be, but they test players in a different way to test cricket. There is room for all forms of the game to thrive.

[@alfhodgson8200]

What does anthers library look like?

[@davidwil58]

What does the hundred do that the T20 blast can’t? I’d have also asked do you have to be interested in women’s cricket too? Most viewers are men and many just aren’t bothered about the women’s game.

[@JimmoyKalita]

My god Even Nas Knows we need a Striker.

[@pavanshetty7005]

James vince has given up english county championship 🏆 contract has we speak

[@SK-lm9yx]

I think the hundred should stay, but it should be made at 20 over competition. I think having four formats is insane. I only watch the women's hundred. I don't really care about the men's they have enough platforms. And the arguments about time taken is valid, but they can bold an extra 20 balls in the allotted time and the punishment should be losing a fielder. If you go over the time they do that in the CPL one final thought when T-20 came in in 2003 it was designed for casual viewers to be more engaged with cricket. I could fit the first ever match on a VHS tape for my friend. I will be interested in others opinions

[@SK-lm9yx]

I would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts

[@laurasands8322]

I love test cricket but I pull my hair out at the criminally slow over rate , when will something be done about it?

[@JA-oi4vj]

¨robust¨conversation. 🤣

[@fahadfazli]

No wonder Ind is a fantastic side and anybody would count them as a firm favorite for being one of the two finalists in upcoming CT but just because I want the final to be in our Lahore therefore, I just hope India doesnt make it. I know Pak has a chance too but yea Ind are firm favorites.

[@alfhodgson8200]

Sky test cricket coverage is fantastic , unfortunately they don’t always get every game. Have to make do with talksport .

[@stevenbox4523]

Do you really want to have a load of teams in an "English league" with dopey Indian names like sunrisers south London or MI Midlands? Teams which most real cricket fans actually hate? Terrible idea.

[@martincooper7583]

Is it just me or is the sound and lips synch out of time??

[@satnav0961]

If we don't preserve first class cricket, money will destroy cricket in England. Private equity is a slippery slope.

[@habibullah3864]

Why not Pakistan nasss

[@abhinavsargar]

😢😢😭😭 my questions weren't considered 😭😭

[@MD-wv7ee]

It was a terrible question. That is why

[@shivaram9745]

This was on the cards for a while. The T20 is a perfectly good format for the short form of the game. There was no need for the hundred which has led to this. The county clubs have been screwed over again and again by the ECB. England were so fixated on other countries with their shiny t20 leagues and sponsorships, they didn't realize they had the best system.

[@Jim-gx6um]

Its obvious cricket in england died when it was taken off terrestrial tv never had satellite not watched it since

[@SubhashModhvadia]

Ath don’t lie u say what sky tells to say so please be honest

[@siddharthreddiar3353]

@SubhashModhvadia please be honest and really answer do you have any legit cricket points or just trolling?

[@InfomaniacommonIMC]

Don't put brooke like trash in Fab four

[@Apis4]

Hmm... well, I do not think there has ever been a period, even that mid 80s lull, that Australia ever would have been in contention for a tier 2 relegation, if that was a thing... and I do not think that will ever be on the cards even if it DOES happen. Also, given the ratings, and attendance records for the BGT just gone, I doubt Test Cricket will die. It might die, everywhere else but India and Australia, but that will be a failing of those countries. India seem to always have players willing and ready to play Tests, I guess because they can use it to up their IPL stock, for that auction night, rather than have to worry about being available to be IN the auction if nothing else. Australia, it is different.... the reverence for the Baggy Green has never truly died, not among any serious young cricketers playing juniors are district rep level or above... the aim is not a big IPL or BBL contract, not to wear the green ang gold, or gold and green... all those things are just markers, en route to a investiture which means they have actually fully made it... when they get their own Baggy Green, and that number is forever theirs, in the annals of Aussie Cricket. Red Ball will not die, when players want to play the hardest, best, most trying form of the game for pride, for their own measure, and for their country's glory..... why some Aussie players have even taken long breaks from the payday of the IPL. If you do not breed those kinds of Cricketers, that is a failing of your system, at ground level, and you probably ARE doomed to fall from the Test landscape... and probably deserve to. HOWEVER.... a two or even three tier system, with a whole clutch of countries being given Test status, (maybe we just say that you have to be able to HOST them, have somewhere to, be able to TRAVEL TO them, with all associated staff and logistics, and prove that you have say 15 blokes actually FIT enough to PLAY a proper Summer Test, that is to say, fellas that will not collapse and pass on by day three of Test one in a series if they have to play it outside of England, Ireland or New Zealand... and you can have Tests status)... well that system COULD .... *could* ... actually SAVE many countries from falling out of the Test picture. If you only have to play for promotion, against teams of equal skill, and do not have to play as much, so less costs involved, and really only have to worry about keeping fans, then you can invest a little, market aggressively, and still not lose out when that might just get you 5K fans at games.... and since it would allow more 'commercial', potentially more profitable, Cricket you could use that money to subsidize Tests at that level, ask a bit of charity from players and staff, seek a bit of discount from grounds, etc,. Because if you're free to make more money from Cricket in other ways than you would be having to keep up with the big boys, and aim for staying at the top, trying to stay in contention deep in to something like a WTC cycle, fighting to convince one the big three, who might actually MAKE your Tests money, to come play you instead of each other more, then that would invariably make it easier for the red ball format to hang around. You keep a lot of toes in the pool, just dangling, in. Once they grow their Cricketing systems, including maximizing their profits, and ensuring growth in funds, they can then look at actually making a tighter fist, some year down the line, of improving.. moving from 3 to 2, or 2 to the top. I think Test Cricket right now, does favour monied teams, with strong systems, and strong history and legacies.... not just one of those, all of those... and the rest kind of feel like they have to catch up, or are measuring against those teams, namely the Big Three... Brian Lara's tears at the GABBA when the West Indies won that Test you mention, in a way, kind of highlight just how much more it means, to be on par with say, Australia, even for a game, than say, Bangladesh. But you will just bleed money, and fail to regain the fans, and have those empty stadiums, if you are just not at that level, but are expected to be at that level, or the teams which are get all the money, all the ratings, all the fans, and all the limelight. It is a step in the right direction, I think, so long as there is still a WTC in that format.... whatever form such a system takes, at least, because it will at least hopefully remove some pressures, and the expectations, maybe let some places be 'smaller' on the Red Ball game, small enough they keep it around, and in so doing, hopefully save it in those places.. maybe even grow it in some new ones.

[@noameier46]

If Test cricket dies, I leave cricket. I find the commodified white ball cricket to be without much consequence and very crude!!!!!

[@Wayne-x1w]

Jaker Ali of Bangladesh could be part of your Fab 4. Came of age against the West Indies this winter, he just needs to back it up.

[@hannibalking85]

A couple of things Sky wouldnt let u say. Free Palestine. And India has become a snob of World cricket

[@darrencullen3288]

Sort your hair out Athers,