Test Match Special - Good Pace for Radio Ep 3: Chris ‘The Wizard” Woakes joins us!

Episode Date: October 29, 2021

Chris Woakes joins Tymal Mills and Mark Wood for the third episode of the podcast that takes you inside England’s World Cup bubble – Good Pace for Radio. They talk about the best ball they’ve ever bowled, how they’ve changed as bowlers, plus why Tymal didn’t get full marks in his A Level cricket assessment, and just what went wrong on his Duke of Edinburgh expedition.

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Yes! Mills sprints in, very full, in the air and court. A wicket for Tumall Mills. Wood balls and he's yorked him. Exceptional pace from Mark Wood. Good pace for radio. Inside England's World Cup bubble with Tumal Mills and Marlon.

Hello, welcome back. Episode 3. Good Pace for Radio with me, Tamar Mills. Hello, I'm Timmer Mills. Now I'm in a hat rick. You're with me, Mark Wood. I don't technically think hatchericks can span multiple games, can they? I think they should. I mean, it comes to my eyes. Any ball other you get two in a row, I'm seeing Hatrick next game, on you? It doesn't feel the same. I've been lucky enough to take a couple of hat tricks in T20 cricket. Listen, I'm ready to start the crowd to get to Australia. I'm ready to get the clapping going.

The slow clap, first ball when I come on to bowl in like the eighth over. People will think, what the hell's going on? Yeah, I'm ready for it. But no, we're here again, episode three. We're going all right, aren't we? Yeah, I'm enjoying it. Two from two. Podcast is going well.

You think we're winning because of the podcast? Yeah, probably. Like, we should, well, we probably shouldn't trial it by not doing an episode and then seeing if we live on. No, no, let's definitely not do it. So this week's guest is Mr. Chris Wokes, formerly known as The Wiz, The Wizard, the Great Man, the opening ball at, and the Whistler Let's go with the Whistler Hello Wuxie

How are you going You're right Yeah good Yeah thanks for inviting me on I feel honoured actually To be the first full-time guest I know Yeah well

Obviously there's a long list of people out here And we thought First of all who would say yes That was the first port of course Wasn't it I can imagine you've gone to me first there I can't say no Exactly

I feel under massive pressure I just looking at him He's hair looks fantastic Like I'm already nervous You've got a lot of air time I was watching in the changing room when we were batting and you were obviously sat on the boundary edge. You were on the screen a lot.

The camera just zoned in on Wokesy throughout the whole inn. It was weird how he gets tense on his biceb though. Do you nothing that was weird? Tres kept telling me to stroke my beard. But yeah, how you found it so far, mate? Obviously we've touched kind of on how things have gone so far. You've had your family here, your wife, your little and your two little girls,

but they've just left. So have you found the whole kind of tour experience so far? Yeah, it's been really good. mate um the first time they've probably been with me uh especially with the kids for an extended period of time so that was you know different but nice at the same time um obviously we had the isolation period in oman which um felt like a bit of a holiday i'm not going to lie um but it's good for the kids good for the for the families to get around each other um and obviously once the cricket got underway it obviously gets a little bit more serious but yeah they've they've ventured home

i think bobble life finally got hold of them a little bit but um no really nice to have them here and obviously you know with T20 cricket we get a lot of time out of the cricket mode don't we so yeah been really good so next game if you get like I don't know three four spit again and you know are you going to fly them back across and say look you've got to get back yeah I'm on a roll yeah I know lucky omen I reckon but um I don't know actually it's a weird one when you got when you're trying to get in cricket mode sometimes I reckon it's a good good thing to get you know kind of away from cricket and spending time with your family then also So sometimes I feel like when I'm in cricket mode,

I find it hard to kind of fully commit to family mode at the same time. So we'll see. We'll see how the dynamic changes with them not being here. We've got two lads here and me and Tee who like to show us to spread the fielders out a little bit. And then we've got Chris Wilkes here who doesn't get that chance to be. No, mate. As all the guys in. How good.

Mate, talk us through so far. Obviously, we spoke the other night after the game, didn't we? You didn't overly expect to be here? You told me just with regards to the amount of T20 cricket you've played the last. a couple of years and then you obviously got a go during the English summer but you said to me you didn't actually read too much into that did you yeah not at all mate I think you know having not played international T20 cricket since I think it was 2015 you know to start thinking about being selecting the World Cup squad would have been a bit ambitious so um it was never really fully on my radar

and obviously got the call-up in the summer a few injuries knocking around or whatnot to get the call-up was great great to be back around the squad around the boys um having not being around for a while, but I still didn't really expect to, I suppose, be in this squad by any means. As we touched on there, there's a few injuries, so kind of maybe gave my chances a little bit more of a chance. But great to be amongst it. And I think I said to you, I said, Matt, I'm just pleased to be here. It's great to be a part of what's an incredible whiteball team. And it's a world cut. It's a world cut for England. They don't come around too often and the opportunity to play in them. So, absolutely delighted to be in

and really enjoying it so far. Yeah, and you've been smashing it as well. So you've made it so easy for me and CJ coming in. For those of you at home, it makes such a big difference coming in at the end of the power play or just out of the power play when a team are two, three, four down makes your life so easy. What's kind of been your thought process going through in those first couple of those? Yeah, I think you're always looking for poles up front.

You just touched on it. It makes the whole innings a little, gives it a better, I suppose, it just makes it easier for everyone, I suppose, when you're taking Wickets in T20 cricket, because you're always bowling at a new batter. They always feel like they need to get in a little bit to get a few balls grace, I suppose. But yeah, I think looking to attack,

and that doesn't necessarily mean having three slips, but you just kind of look to try and get the batsmen to make errors. I think a lot of the time in T20 Creek for myself, particularly with a new ball, is just kind of maybe giving yourself that extra ball before going to the change-up a lot of the time, giving yourself that opportunity for them to make a, a move rather than you kind of making the move too soon.

Oh God, and I talk Australia aren't listening. He's just giving all these tricks here. This isn't going to go out until, surely, not the Aussie game. You'll be very surprised, Pete your producer, he turns these around pretty quickly. This will be out this afternoon. Maybe it's a bluff. Maybe it's a bluff. If Davy Warner and Finch are listening in, they know what's coming.

But, no, look, I think wickets in the power play gives you a bit of a... I always feel it gives you that few balls sort of grace, as I've said, but almost a honeymoon period as a baller. gives you that few balls, which in T20 cricket is a lot. There's a lot, yeah. Where you just feel that you could just, I don't know, you're on top of the team, you're on top of the batsman, and you just can do what you want to do for a change.

He's great and a nightmare all the one for us, Wokkesy, isn't he? Because he's great in the fact that he takes it tight, then we come on, but he's a nightmare as well when we're talking about communication doing with what the wicket's doing. And he's like, well, I just landed on a sixpence at the top of Offstone, you know what I mean?

We're a spread out lower. I bang one in short of my last so the offstone gets cut for me. more but obviously we've had two great wins we've spoken about we've had it all our own and it's been all our own doing but we've had it all our own way we're yet to have a real tricky period up we really and it's going to be you know it could happen tomorrow against Australia or Monday against Sri Lanka we need to go through everything don't we you want you don't just you do just want to have it easy throughout the whole competition but sometimes it's nice to to go through a you know a close game a sticky period as well in it yeah definitely

I think when you come through those sticky periods like you're coming against a good side and they give you a great game but you come through it kind of gives you a real you know sense of belief doesn't it that you can get through any sort of game I think T20 throws up I always feel before a T20 game it kind of gives you those you always get anxieties as a player as to what's going to happen at the game you know you want it to go well all that sort of business but I feel with T20 you feel that anything can happen so as we touched on I think we've spoke about it we all spoke about it was no one expected the West Indies game to go like that not chance you know bowling a side out like that for 55 um

is unheard of and you know to actually do that we'd never have thought that would happen so um i think you always feel going into t20 game you've got to kind of just expect the unexpected think that anything can happen kind of cover all bases um but yeah we i think you know australia will be a great game i'm sure you know Australia brings different sort of challenges doesn't it you know you have that sort of rivalry and you know tradition behind it as well so yeah i'm looking forward to i've you two have played against australia a lot all different formats test ODI, T-20. I've only ever played against those once,

and it was in a 50-over tour game back when I was at Essex. I was maybe 20 years old, I think, and I thought, it was back then I was young, Quick Bowl, I thought I could, you know, bump anybody and get away with it. I remember I came down the hill at Chomswood.

First ball, David Warner, thought I'm letting him have it here. I thought I was a bit of something. Banged it in, and he hit me over the pavilion at Chomsford. Probably still to this day, I've been hit for some big sixes. That was probably the biggest six I've ever hit.

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to taking on Australia. What do you look forward to when you're playing against Australia? I guess it means a bit more in test cricket than it does T20 cricket potentially, but what are your experiences playing against Stores? No, any time you play against Australia, it's obviously like a big game.

I wonder if Wokesy'll tap into the memories of the 50 over World Cup where we started brilliant and it was a real good feel. I feel like for us as cricket as playing against Australia now, Like, well, once upon a time it was taught about, you know, Australia, they're a fantastic side. But I feel like, you know, they would fear us. Like, we've, you know, played them a lot lately. We've had good success against them. So we've also been beaten by them as well.

But I feel like that's not that, you know, we will go into that game confident that we can beat Australia. So I don't feel like there's any sort of qualms about that. They'll have question marks about us as we, you know, we do about them. But thinking of Australia for me personally, it's always a big game. you're always nervous before any game, but Australia a game, you're desperate to do well, you're desperately, you know, be your rivals. So in the World Cup, we lost to them first in the group stage.

That hurt a lot, and then we put in a massive performance in the semi-final in the 50 of us. So we'll be hoping we can carry some sort of momentum that we've had over the last few years against Australia. I think, would you say that's fair work, see? Yeah, no, 100%, mate. I think, you know, the games that we want to play in against Australia, you know, they're the games that people, you know,

tend to tune in for, especially back home, and it's a chance to stamp your sort of authority on that sort of history of England versus Australia, albeit at T20. You know, obviously test cricket throws up different challenges, and, you know, people kind of maybe just only follow that format, but England, Australia, in any format, is a huge game, and as you've touched on their woody, we have, you know, done really well against them recently over the last few years in whiteball cricket, but as you said, they're a dangerous side and they're a world-class side on their day they can beat anyone. You know, we'll obviously do our research and our plans, won't we?

But we go into it with full of confidence, that's for sure. All right, well, before, obviously, you've got three fast bowlers here. We'll have a bit of fast bowling chat. But before, just checking with you, Woody, how are you getting on? Ankle, obviously, getting there. I think we've got training tonight. I think you're going to test it out. Yeah, yeah, I'm going to have a ball tonight.

So, I'm in positive mood so far. If that doesn't go well, the next podcast, it could be the most dower man on the planet. But, yeah, I'm hoping to have a good boat at night, and hopefully that goes well. but we'll just have to wait and see like I say I'm feeling positive about it so let's hope we go as well

yeah fingers crossed all right as we said Chris Wokesy let's just chat a bit of fast bowling I guess we're kind of the three of us are three very different fast bowlers you'd say wouldn't you obviously you got left arm right arm varying different paces different actions different styles

Woody and I a bit more grunt you a bit more beauty Wokesy on and off the field but for you what's your kind of when do you feel your best What's your, what's your kind of, can you think back to a moment where you've just been, you know, walking on air as such, any of those type of moments?

Edge Boston, Charlie. Edge Boston, what, semi-final? Yeah. I mean, that's one of the, yeah, I mean, for me, that's one of my favourite moments on a field. I mean, obviously, beating Australia in a World Cup semi-final, that's almost as good as it gets, apart from beat them in the final.

But I think, yeah, there's moments as a fast bowler where it's hard to put your finger on why it feels so good. I think you talk about rhythm and people explain it, it's like trying to explain rhythm. Yeah, you almost, it's almost kind. It's just a feel thing, isn't it? It's purely feel on how you feel on that day. And the only way of explaining is when you're in rhythm is you're not really thinking about anything, are you? It feels easy, doesn't it?

It's almost like that shot with the bat that comes out the middle of the face and you kind of don't feel it off the bat. Same with the golf swing, like when you hit the ball and you know you've absolutely nutted it. It's the same with the timing of your bowl. and then your action, you kind of glide into the crease and you kind of just get that sort of just easy feel at the crease. It doesn't feel like you're heavy. It doesn't feel like you're grunting it down there. It feels like you're in control of everything you do.

And you're almost not feeling it out at the hand. Everything just comes out as you'd like it to. I think those moments for me have come more in Red Bull cricket than Whiteball cricket. I don't know why that is, but I think with the Red Bull when it's moving around, that's when I kind of get into that good rhythm and I said for me it stems from my run up massively

for us for 12 last game you must have felt in good rhythm there did you? Yeah I did but getting great points as well Yeah but I wouldn't say I didn't think I didn't think about rhythm in that last game I just felt about where I was trying to put the ball and trying to snap into length pretty much more often than not I don't think I probably bowed two variations in that spell

you know I've almost just kept it simple I felt like on that wicket having got them as I was touched on before getting couple down early, you kind of get that little bit, few balls great. So I didn't want to change anything, just smash the length as hard as I could. So, yeah, I wouldn't say I felt too much about my rhythm in that game. I just tried to run in and hit a length and tried to be consistent as I could. Do you guys also, I don't play four-day crickets.

Do you guys find that you, do you sometimes try a bit too hard in T20 cricket? Because, you know, in T-20 cricket, you know, you've got four-overs to bowl, where everyone counts. You know, it's that higher level of expectation pressure, whereas a four-day game, know you can get yourself into a spell a bit, you've got about 20 overs a day. Do you find you sometimes find you go a bit too far the other way when playing T-20s? Mate, have you seen my action? I've fought over every third ball. I think I've put as much in as I can.

Sometimes I think I have that. I'm guilty of that. In any format you can try a bit too hard and you get a bit tense and you then maybe not as accurate as you want. I mean, that feeling that works you're talking about being in the zone. I would say that you very rarely have that where you're totally there. but that definitely that feeling and feeling light, for me, like whippy, you know, at ease with your action, running in, you don't feel like you're running in hard, but you are. And almost at times I feel like when we talk about that, it's like the field is almost irrelevant at times.

Like, you're delivering the ball exactly where you want. And whatever field has or placings you've got is you don't really notice them or feel them. Whereas when you're under pressure, you wish you had an extra man, or they're not quite where you think they would be. the seat slide off in between fielders and stuff like that

I'd probably say that in test match cricket you can settle in a little bit more and you maybe can try a bit harder in 2020

but that's just the nature because you're under pressure a little bit more whereas if you chuck it in the channel at a good length

and test cricket and the leave it it looks pretty but really it's just you getting into your spell whereas in 2020 you don't have that you've got to be on it

straight away even when you have first like say you've had both two of us and you're coming back for your third over. That first ball you've got to be on it

straight away again. It's not just a loosener at the top of off. You might be coming on that first ball to bowl a ball of yoga or a wide slur ball or you've got to be so accurate with it.

Like we're all known on those days in 2020, you can feel in the best rhythm in the world and you bowl the perfect ball in the whack for six. And then there's days where you're tense,

you're not getting it right and you bowl a half volume the chip to mid off. So it's just the nature of the beast really. You just have to go through your your rhythms, your processes, your prep before.

And I feel like whatever happens in the game, you're trying as hard as you can anyway. And if it happens, it happens. Yeah. So you mentioned a minute ago, you reckon you're only bowled a couple of variations the other day. Probably good if we can give some insight into how we choose what we're going to bowl

because you actually, it was a good example in the West Indies game when you pulled out of a delivery because you wasn't happy and then the result the next ball went perfectly if you want to maybe tell that story for the listeners. I think massively in T20, cricket is playing a lot of times playing on the mindset of the batter or what you believe is the mindset of the bat of what you think the batsman's doing so touching on what you

mentioned there to is in that game against the west indies i think a bold two balls might two or three balls i think it was to evan lewis and it just got a feel that he was he was going to do something different he was going to you know he'd faced about five or six balls and is that just a good feel just something i've seen them tap on the bat more or is it just like is it just a literally a good feel thing pure gut feel because i think he we all know in a T20 game, you know, if they haven't lost wickets at the top and you've faced two or three dots or they haven't got any runs, so speak, or haven't scored a boundary, it's coming, you know, at some point it's going to come, and that's what I mean by playing on the mindset at the back,

you know he's under pressure to get boundaries at the top of the order. So I was at the back of my run-up and I came, I set off and I was just going to bowl a heavy length straight again. That was my, what I was going to bowl. And halfway through, I just pulled out and just, because halfway through I was thinking, maybe I should go slowball. So I pulled out. came back and I was like, right, he's going to come hard here, let's go to the slower wall, and that's when we obviously got him caught a mid-off by a great catch by Moe.

Did you tell Moore, not the walk-in? Were you given it the old more-dorn walk in here? Yeah, yeah, well, started chugging backwards. It's going to be on the fence. But I think that's just a time where it actually worked and it came off and, you know, it looks brilliant. But there's other times, isn't it, where we go, you're kind of second guessing yourself,

should I, should I go slowball, should I go hard length, should I go bouncer? And I think in T20 is, there's so much risk reward. So there's a chance of you, you know, there's a chance of that delivery, whether it be a bouncer or a slowball, going for a boundary or going for a six. But there is a good opportunity that you could get you a wicket. And I think that's when you just have to be brave in this format, don't you?

You have to trust your instinct, go with it. If it comes off, great, if it doesn't get back to your mac you mark and go again. So that's the one thing I'm big on is once you decide what ball you're going to bowl, when you start running in, that's what ball you're going to. I'm not somebody personally. I can't be, start off at the end of my run up, think I'm going to bowl, slower ball and then halfway through change it to a pace on ball or a yorker because bombs of the move yeah so i will always say i'm running in and i'm bowling a i've decided i'm

a slower ball this ball i'm bowling a slower ball and then my only change will be i will change my line on my length according to what the what the batter did so a good time so against bangladesh the other day i was just planning on bowling pace on heavy length and then the guy um i forget his name apologies he he he came down the wicket at me he he He took a big step down the wicket and I just instinctively then banged in the bouncer kind of instinctively and got a tickle down down through to the keeper. Which one? Neural Hassan.

Neural Hassan. Neural Hassan, middle order or batter. But for me, I'm not somebody that can change pace on to pace off because that's just so much to think about. You're running in, you're looking, you maybe looking at the front line, you're looking at the batter, you're thinking all of a, you know, one thing. then to suddenly change, just a whole different mechanic bowling a slower ball, isn't it, as opposed to bowling a pace on ball. So are you quite similar, Woody? Yeah, I would be exactly the same as you.

If I know what I'm bowling, and I've made my mind up and I've got clarity on it, that's what I'm bowling as I'm running in. And then it's just the execution would change if the bat's move. So, like, for example, if you're trying to bowl it wide and they move wider, you'd probably chuck it even wider, or if they're moving the leg side, you might try and not give them any width, so you follow them. But you're still bowling, pace on. I wouldn't, then, I would find it very difficult to running,

thinking I'm balling Piers on and then go, right, no, I'm going to ball. And then, like, that's exactly what, what Wyss said. He did the exact right thing. The best thing to do in that situation is to actually stop, turn around and then go again. Yeah, definitely. I think, I haven't yet really, at the level we're at, obviously, at international level, I've yet to come across a bowler who can kind of change that sort of

so late. And you're actually, you know, we're running in, it doesn't always look like we're running in probably that quick, but we're running in quick enough to be able to, to be able to change your mind that late and be able to change, like you say, the whole dynamics of your action, really, and how quick your arm's going to come over and how it's going to come off your fingers,

to be able to change that so late is really difficult. Difficult question. You two especially have taken, what, thousands of wickets in your careers, but have you got a ball that sticks out in your mind that's just been the best? I'll start if you want. I remember way back when I played four-day cricket, a long time ago, I bowled a nice one to Michael Klinger.

one of those ones where any time you can get the stump cartwheeling, as we all know, it's a great feeling. And it's one for me, I'm not a big one that's swinging it back in, but I've got it to, I reckon pitch on,

maybe leg stump, and then nip across him, take the top of off, and then, yeah, the pole took a few, a few foot back. A long time ago, as I said,

I was playing four-day cricket. I was at Essex, so it'll be, what, pushing 10 years ago now. I reckon you made to get me out that year as well. We played a 40, it was a pro four. that's how old that's how long we're talking here in the shin before I moved my bat was

still on its way down I was walking off at Chelmsford was it so yeah sorry T's got both of us yeah you got me in that KKR game or KKR yeah so the game yeah so the game yeah we we bowled first I got you out court long on maybe or deep square or yeah they could track that classic that classic slowball gone by the classic T slowball but we walked off what bowled them out for 120, hundred and 30, whatever, thought we,

you know, we're in the game here. Then we got bowled out for the lowest IPL score of all time. I was batting at nine, I think, which tells you

everything you needed to know about our team that year. It tells me that you should be back nine in the England team. I'm not to know about that. We'll maybe get to that later. Have you got a ball

that springs to mind? Yeah, I would say, well, in white ball cricket, I got a good ball of Sharjiel Khan at Lourdes against Pakistan, run it down the hill,

Manchester ball on there. And my favourite, My favorite ever would be St. Lucia, when I nicked off, hit my at the first slip, just purely because as a bowler, we were talking about this the other day in the dressing room, but as a bowler, I find LBW bowled, caught behind. I find the nick to first slip is the most satisfying. It makes a lovely noise.

You can see it all the way. I was bowling quick that day, so there were a long way back and it looked good from my perspective flying through, so I'd say that would be my friend. Everyone talks about that spell. Whiz, what springs to your mind? my favorite one would be Lords against Pakistan

and it was an in-swinger which knocked the Hobbs out and at my pace I don't generally knock the stumps out too often Do you remember the batter? All of the stumps Who's the left arm quick? I'm just sure I'm just sharing his name Left arm quick, slingy Wahhab, wahab, it was Wahab batting

so it wasn't like an absolute jet of a batsman but yeah knocking stumps out as best so Lord's a bit of a roar at Lord's as well It wasn't for FIFA but I did get Fifea so it was nice Cheers mate I thought I took that in there Wiz how

how different of a bowler you'd say you are now in in 2021 compared to three four five six however many years ago have you made a lot of changes to your action you know you run up your mindset what

and do you think there they've obviously been changes for the better yeah definitely I think I went through a phase mate really fairly early on in my career I had relatively good success when I first became a professional for

Warwickshire and you know typical English Seema really was bowling you know late 70s maybe touching 80 mile an hour swinging it away and had good success and then kind of got tipped to go and play for England and made my debut for England and I made my debut in Australia and you know it kind of just it made me realize I needed to to up my game and realize where I had to get to stay at that level I didn't want to just play one or two games I wanted to you know potentially have a career at that level and I had to put on some pace. I wouldn't say I completely changed my action.

My action's been very, very similar from the day I started when I was probably about eight years old, but I kind of had to tinker with a few things. My run-up was certainly one thing, which I had to inject a little bit more pace into it. My front arm was completely just, I just didn't use it, basically. So that was something which I had to kind of bring into my game. And then obviously, at the same time,

it was the timing of the action. my arm was very much very laboured in terms of there wasn't a delay and a you boys bowled 90 mile an hour and you can see when you hit the crease there's a massive delay with your bowling arm coming over from your front arm coming through and that's something which I had to kind of integrate into my action because it was completely abnormal to me and it took a good couple of years for me to get it right and I put on pace pretty quickly you know I put on two three four mile an hour and it did make me a better bowler from that point of view but I I did lose a bit of my skill. So, you know, these things don't happen overnight. And whoever's listening, you know, don't expect these things to happen, like, you know, with a click of your fingers. It was something which took me probably two years to kind of nail down and get used to be able to bowl at a quicker pace. Yeah.

My body being able to cope with it, you know, gym session is getting stronger. And then obviously without being able to keep some skill involved, which is obviously a big part of my game when I'm only bowling, you know, I'm bowling low to mid-80s. You need to be able to be quite skillful. so plenty of changes but as I say it took quite a long time for me to get to grips with it yeah I think all bowlers go through changes don't they um really I know you've you've been the same we've spoken about it um I myself but for me my run-ups been the one thing that I always

battled with or it was a lot of I battled with it but it was always the one thing that when I got it right my run-up was whenever my run-up was right my bowling tended to to go right as well so it was just finding that consistent run-up wherever that be pace but that the difficult thing about cricket is that no two cricket grounds are the same, are they? So some, or even within a cricket ground, I play at Hove and you're running up and downhill at Lodge, you've got the slope left to right. Also, you've got days when you just feel rubbish and that affects your run-up, doesn't it? And then that can affect your bowling. So for me doing a lot of running work and running mechanics to try and just make my run-up and my running as consistent as possible,

that's been the one thing that I've changed a lot. And then this year, after having a couple of stress fractures, we actually looked at my bowling and my action and my run. And my run. run-up and kind of saw some I'd gotten into a couple of bad habits and my run-up I was from bowling over the wicket I was coming a bit wide and I was jumping in at the crease and then I was inconsistent was where I was landing on my front foot and I was putting more pressure on my on my back more of a more of a pinch without getting too technical and not having the benefit of images to go with words here but so we've made some changes for that and you'll see now if any of you watching at home during the World Cup I draw myself a runway with the paint so I take

while it's annoying if you're trying to mark your run up after I'm waiting for me to use the paint because I've got quite a lot of different marks that I do so I'll from over and around the wicket I'll have these two lines as a little runway for me to run through so I don't get into those bad habits of jumping in over the wicket or jumping out so there are there are a couple of changes that I've made especially in the last couple of years what about you mate um obviously the run-up has been well documented for me from that sprint has run up to the to the longer run-up which has certainly helped. All that changes, you know, when I was a kid, I used to have a sort of windy run up, then I would jump in and fall away, which would put more pressure on the, you know,

the left side of my body, my ankle, and I would collapse a little bit. So I drilled that sort straight line stuff at Durham and the Academy. My actions changed even now from when I started England, when I've got more of like a coil in my shoulders, you know, a bit more of rotation, which allows us to maybe get that extra whip. I run in a little bit wider than I did. I used to run dead straight. So little tinkers here and there, but I would say all in all, you know, you tinker with little bits just because you're always trying to improve. I wouldn't say these are things that are, you know, I've actually gone back to some things to how I originally bold. I've changed some things. So it's all about trying to find that sweet spot where you feel

that you can perform consistently. Anything else you want to mention? If we talk about maybe when it's not going so well, I think we all have these moments in T20 cricket, obviously we haven't had too many of them in this tournament, but, you know, looking back over our careers, We've had overs, games where we've, you know, we've got smacks. We haven't gone so well. How do you boys deal with that? Say mid-over, like you've gone four, six, six. The over's already a bad one.

How do you stop a bad over being a horrendous over or any of those situations? Yeah, I mean, if I knew the answer, it'd be great, wouldn't it? Because we all have those moments where we, you know, we get some, a batsman gets hold of us, gets the better of us. And he's almost just knowing exactly where we're going to ball the ball. And there's no worse feeling than that in T20 cricket, I think. Do you bring to mine sort of, or have you got, is there an over that any of you boys can remember? Well, I got launched in the practice game, didn't I, against Guptill for one over? But actually, in that practice game against New Zealand, it was like you almost have to bluff yourself a little bit.

And he just got one over mid-on, and then he played a good shot. And then, so actually I'm thinking in my mind, like, I've bowled that where I've wanted a ball. he's played a good shot I've nearly had him caught so you're almost bluffing your own mind to think well it's not a bluff necessarily you've executed what you want

he's just he's either played a good shot or he's getting away with it or something like that the skill is identifying did the batter play a good shot or did you bowl the bad ball and if you don't execute

it might be re-evaluating like the Morgie I think's really good for me it takes time out of the game where you know sometimes I can be you know I'll get my mart and I want to run in again

and try it again or you know be a bit more like you know things are racing a little bit too much whereas he could calm me down what's the plan have clarity and then almost it takes your mind away from that

he's just hit us for six or it's just going for four I'm up against it here and then almost you can be like right just focus on this next ball only instead of thinking well the last three balls have gone for six six four or something like that focus on this next ball only and then you can sort to get back into your structuring you over

that way rather than thinking too far ahead or looking too far back and I think in 2020 cricket Quicket, cricket, it's quite important that you think of that one ball at a time, especially when you're under pressure rather than when, you know, when things are going great, it just seems to sink into, like, rhythm dead easy. You can, like, progress you over the way you want it. When it's not going well, I think it's even more important then to focus on one ball only,

or for me, I don't know if you two are the same, but for one ball only to then bring yourself back into the moment, not being, you know, up ahead or anxious or, you know, anything like that. Yeah, I think that's spot on would have you because I think there's so many times where your first three balls of the over have gone for barringes or whatever it is. You're immediately, it's natural, I think, a human reaction would be to, I need to get out of it's over. I need to go to it's over. I need to bowl my sixth ball and get down to fine leg. But actually, you've got three balls where you can still change the game or change the rhythm of what's happening. Do you know what I mean? So, you know, the most important thing is if you've gone for three bandages, you either get that guy off strike, get you can bowl at the other guy.

It's like, how can I get this guy to just be at the other end? you know he's got the wood over me at the minute but you know if I get him off strike and bolt the other guy and start again start afresh and we all know that in T20 cricket that one ball two balls can change innings can't that you know completely change the momentum but such a huge you know three balls in a T20 game especially in your spell is such a huge amount of your deliveries that you got to deliver and obviously you ball in a tough time during the game do you do you actually enjoy that or do you find it like hard to do or do you like look forward to it and think no i'm going to get wickets here or

yeah i i think naturally i prefer bowling at the top than i do at the death which sounds daft i suppose because you've got more fielders out of the death but i'm more suited to bowling with the newer ball but i enjoy that challenge of you know trying to get wickets at the top obviously bowling at good batters at their so-called you know maybe best batters um and i do enjoy that challenge um i think you know you have to try and embrace t20 cricket as a bowler you You are going to have moments where you go around the park. You are going to go at TENS occasionally. On certain days, TENS is going to be a good outcome.

So it's just, I suppose, just making sure you realise that some days it's not going to be great. It's going to be hard. But try and enjoy that challenge. And there's nothing better, I feel, than in a T20 game when you come out on top at the death. It's such a difficult time to bowl. When you come out on top against these world-class players, that actually can launch the ball out of the park when you come out on top in those moments

I don't mean there's a better feeling to be really honest no 100% I found myself in a in a tough spot during the summer the overall blast game playing against Surrey first ball I bowled to Will Jax dropped dolly midwicket Travis Ed, cheers mate dropped and you do you think about

I thought about that drop probably I was annoyed obviously because nobody likes a drop catch and then mate Jacks hit me for 27 I think off the next five balls and I was probably then guilty of just not letting that drop go because I think the next one went for either four or six obviously because the next five of them pretty much all went over the fence but yeah it can be a tough place T-20 cricket sometimes can't it

what's the worst you're, is that the worst you've that was definitely my worst over I think it went for 27 28 and one of those was a drop catch I got belted in South Africa and I think I've bought like three over us for like 50 and honestly I was like I'm giving up that's it I'm selling my boots

I'm not coming back and then we I think they got like 220 or something was in Pretoria and then we knocked it off at the end of the game I was like

this is the greatest game I'm absolutely little angry emotion you seem forget about your three overs for 50 when everybody else is going around the park it's a maybe good one

to finish on is how how your teammates' performances can affect you so like it's such a good example you and Mo have in both bowling

brilliantly so far at the top so say when i come on at the end of the power play there is an expectation to you know to close out that power play to keep on top um what do you have have you found that as well you don't want to if everybody else is bowling well you don't want to be the guy that's that's letting the team they're both personally pride we're all you know proud blokes we want to do our best every time we play for the team and for ourselves um how have you found that proofs i think it's spot on and that question is all formats as well yeah yeah i think It's probably even worse in a test match, would you say, when you've got everybody else bowling well

and you're just having a bad day and you're going at four, five, and over. Yeah. How does that? I think that's one of one things that we actually openly talk about in, like, bowling meetings and things is actually passing your spell onto the next guy.

So you finish your spell brilliant. It's ended well, right? The next guy starts that spell well, so it's sort of like you're trying to keep the pressure on. In 2020 cricket, obviously, it's a bit more difficult to do that with batters naturally come at you a bit more and trying to score.

But like you've both said, like Moore has started brilliant war because he's started brilliant so it's actually made it easier for guys coming on because they're getting wickets they're keeping it tight but the wickets is the key thing

because if these guys had bowed tightly but hadn't taken wickets there's still that pressure because the batters are in by then maybe they haven't been scoring as quickly but they've got used to the pace of the pitch

whereas these guys obviously we've had them three down four down the batters then that are in now are just going to be less aggressive on it but we'll end it there obviously we've spoken it's probably the most serious chat we've had

isn't it on the on the on the podcast we haven't we haven't actually talk spoken that much cricket but again you guys have been sending messages in to our email address good pace for radio at bbc.com you guys we'll go through a few questions give a bit of insight got one from prina yadav thanks for messaging in thanks for telling us the build up what the buildup is like to a match but what happens after a game do you have to do interviews as the drug testing what do you eat do you sit and watch other games. Talk us through every, well, Wiz has been doing interviews and man of the match accolades after every game because he's obviously the world's best player at the moment. But yeah, it's very different. I got drug tested this summer during the 100 and then

I got done four times during the 100 after a game. Then I got done after the quarterfinal, the blast and the semi-final, all within a two, three, three-week period. I got drug tested. So that takes the sting out of, out of the game. We won the 100 and I got drug tested. I've got pulled straight away to go and do drug testing. So for those of you don't know, pretty much as soon as the game finishes and you walk off, the two blokes are just stood there, aren't there? And everybody looks around, oh, who's getting pulled?

Who's getting pulled? And you get taken away straight away to, you know, go do your paperwork. Maybe they're looking at you and you can't look away, and they're like, that's him, that's a guy. Do you know what it is? I think it's been because I've gone more than three weeks without being injured. Maybe they're thinking, oh, what's Mills up to here? It's probably usually because you pay a ball.

94-mile-an-hour rockets. You've got to test these guys. What's the, what's a game, post-game normally look like for you out there? I normally just hauled walksie grids, but to get my next take call, don't let go, don't let go. Let me suck you up. Post-game is like, I reckon it's changed, doesn't it, over the years? It never used to be so probably, I mean, as professional as it probably can be. But I think you, first and foremost, for me, I just want food, mate.

I just want to eat. Our nutritionist has been good, isn't it? She's like, you know, fuel to perform, get fuel. in S&C. I think 2020's knacker and me. Yeah, they're mentally on every ball, aren't you? And although you're only bowling four others, I haven't knack it at the end? So eating, like you're starving by the end of the game, aren't you?

Yeah, smash your feeding. I don't know, I suppose there's a lot of media going on, especially at ICC events. There's always media going on, so guys are here and everywhere. We then obviously all probably get back in the dressing room, don't we? Is this your push voice now? This is your TV voice now? TV voice, yeah. Less Brumie.

Less Brumme. The Mrs always says that. says you don't sound brilliant on TV funny that but it's a relaxed atmosphere and there's you know you can have a beer

if you want you say it's not like years gone by where you know they're having beers during the game well it depends what's happened

in the game as well often when we've won like it's like the atmosphere is pretty good everyone's bouncing around like a few jokes like lads are like hanging out to get out

if you've lost it's a very different atmosphere lads are just packing that kit no one wants to do anything else it's pretty quiet but this group's pretty good I think

it's pretty level isn't it we don't seem to get too high when we win we break things down well but yeah I think after the game I think it's pretty chill isn't it yeah pretty much again it all depends on how the game's gone we didn't have a debrief actually did we

after the game against Bangladesh I assume we'll have that probably tomorrow in our meeting looking forward to Australia but whereas after the West Indies game we actually sat and had a bit of a chat didn't watch other games we don't really watch other games do we no so we had to so the first game we obviously we were an evening game in Dubai

so we hung around a bit afterwards but because we were in afternoon game in Abu Dhabi the other day we actually had to be out of the 15 minutes? We got told our manager Wayne was getting an absolute earful because we got told 15 minutes after the game we had to be gone because Scotland was like a game show wasn't it?

Scotland Namibia were kicking off not that long after us so we had to pack all our sweaty kit and we got kind of just ushered into a nice little sports bar actually over the road. Can we check it? I hope you've got everything. No I haven't got anything back here. I know how it next one show on one show but um yeah after a game it's you know so far after the games have been a good

good atmosphere good environment uh we've got eddie wright who not only is he sent in a question but he's also got a claim to fame that he opened the bowling for belgium in 2012 wow yeah good for you uh eddie how um are you watch are you up to date with belgium cricket buddy well eddie right doesn't stroke me as the most uh belgique name than i've ever heard so unfortunately i i wouldn't recognize eddie erie right but i believe you him, I believe him. Do you want to read the question now? So, Mal, did I really see you throw with your right hand so actually that

you've got to run out? If so, how on earth can you be that ambidextrous? What does it feel like to have that much control and coordination with your wrong shoulder and did it come naturally? I would love to claim that I actually throw left-handed and then, but just for that occasion I threw it right-handed.

But yeah, I can't throw with my left hand really, which doesn't make much sense. There's a few other guys that do it. Jack Leach, he also bowls left-handed, throws right. Sammit Patel, Liam Dorsen, so they're all left-arm spinners. So they all... It's amazing that, isn't it? Yeah, I don't know why. Yeah, so I throw right-handed and I bowl left arm. I honestly don't know why. I'd have been throwing longer than I've been bowling, so I guess I learned to throw right-handed when I was young, and then whenever I started playing cricket for some reason, left-handed, yeah,

you two ambidextrous? I've got a mate back home, Lloyd. He might as well not have a left-arm. His left arm is pointless. He can't do anything with you. Like, you lobby him an underarm catch and ask him to catch it left-handed. He'll just miss it. He's pointless. You two guys, are you all right?

I'm all right. I mean, I've seen Wizz on the football field and he uses both feet, so he's pretty good, but I'm all right, unfortunately. Same, same, all right. My left peg is not great, mate. I don't know what game you were watching. Must have been a one-off.

I'm all over the place for my hands. I'm like darts, right-handed. also throw right-handed pull I'll be left-handed racket sports right-handed you are all over the show you're right I write I bat right-handed I'll write right-handed yeah I'm a bit of a

no one likes to show off me a bit of a special character I had a message as well from my mate Richard back home Richard Thurston he messaged me privately he didn't bother going through the channels provided but his question is who picks the batting order for the tail

because even though Adil Rashid has a first class 100, Mark Wood has a test 50, I can still see them trying to get you, as in me, above them in the order. So he's obviously been watching me in the Nets, Richard. Why is he trying to stir the pot? Well, tight down the bottom of the order, aren't we? I don't know why he's being like that?

Do you know what? It depends who's bowling, doesn't it? Somebody's bowling 95-mile at the other end. Yeah, then you're number nine. Norquier or somebody like that who we're going to face later in the competition. and yeah I'm not sure we're all scrapping to get out there but um

surely the T20 it's just whoever can hit the biggest bombs isn't it? I mean I should be batting down the order if that's the case. Well hopefully we're like so far none of us have been needed. I know we've not been required I've seen T practicing the scoop shots so he's a man for all position. No you've seen one I tried one and I missed it I mustn't say I've got it in the

well T before going any further I have an email from Richard good enough that can't be right Yeah, my old P.E. teacher at school. Is that right? Good enough. Is he seconded him? His last name's good enough. He plays cricket, yeah. Right. That's an incredible sign. And he didn't make it professionally, so he obviously wasn't. Well, we've had an email from Richard Goodenough.

Yes, your former teacher. He has asked us a question about field settings, but we decided it would be more interesting to take some serious stories for him. So what do you think? He told us, one about when you were on your Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Do you know this? I remember going on Duke Verde. I hated every second of it. Tamal managed to burn.

super noodles but he was so hungry that he ate them anyway. That Duke of Edinburgh trip, yeah, honestly quite possibly the worst. Did you enjoy school? I loved school. Oh, I had the best time. Like, Duke of Edinburgh, that was a good crack

because it was just me and a bunch of lads going for a walk for two days, but it was, I remember it chucked it down so I didn't know how to make super noodles or baked beans or anything. And my mate, so I remember it was one of those like, you share it, if I can remember,

it was a long time ago, it's what, 15, 16, you're like, you're sharing a tent with a mate and my mate was just, you know, mucking around wouldn't let anybody else sleep and it was just a shocking couple of days. He also says that he had an argument with a moderator who didn't give you full marks

for your ear-level cricket assessment. Yeah, 100%. T remains humble at this day and everyone at MCT thanks him for his work slash shirts that he's given us since he has left. Can we talk through this air-level cricket assessment? Yeah, so obviously I did sport, as a level as I'm sure you guys did also

and obviously I chose cricket as my sport because at the time I was playing I was in the England under 19s I think I was just about to go on tour or something I was playing for England under 19s and you have to do your little assessment that you did in the sports hall my school wasn't I went to state school

do you guys play for in state school also so we didn't have like a big cricket facility but they set up a net in the indoor you know in the sports hall and I had a bowl and stuff and it was very basic but yeah I'm pretty sure the guy gave me like a B or a C

and I just I was like mate I'm literally about to go away to play for England under 19s at my age group and he's just

knocked me down and make he not see it I ball left arm I throw a right arm I've got it through the whole whole repertoire but

he's just keeping you grounded mate saying you've still got work to do it did he I was pretty annoyed as well honestly

who was judging you Ricky Ponton I can't well I'd rather it would have been at least I'd have respected the fellow I've still

I'm holding that grudge to this day but luckily it hasn't held me back too much since then yeah thanks thanks mr good i'll call him mr good enough still he's um he's i still see him around he's mcc member and stuff so he comes to the games and and those bits and bobs but um yeah no i think that's that's about it for the for the questions for the day thank you everybody keep please keep uh keep bringing him in with uh we're playing against australia tomorrow in Dubai and then we got another game monday night against Sri Lanka so we'll probably record the next episode Tuesday or

Wednesday. We've got a little bit of gap actually, don't we play, as I say, these two games Saturday, Monday, then we don't play again till the following Saturday. So yeah, we'll get another episode recorded next week. Of course, you can listen to both those games in full on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra and via the BBC Sounds app. And what else can you do? What do you can watch highlights Connie? You can watch highlights as you've just put me right on the spot there as I've just totally switched off from the podcast but you can watch highlights during the game on the BBC Sport website

and app. Thanks to tea for doing that. Yeah, no worries. And Wokesy, thanks a lot for joining us, mate. Always good to get a fresh face and, yeah, give up the good work. No worries, lads. Enjoy it. Thank you very much. Thanks, everybody. Take it easy. Cheers. Inside England's World Cup bubble,

this is Good Pace for Radio with Tammal Mills and Mark Woods. Blah blah blah blah. Happy? Thank you.