Test Match Special - Jasprit Bumrah – the best of all time?

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Jonathan Agnew, Steven Finn, Cheteshwar Pujara and Sir Alastair Cook debate whether India's brilliant Jasprit Bumrah is the most complete fast-bowler in cricket history.

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you're getting a fair exchange rate with no extra markups. Be smart. Join the 15 million customers who choose Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. T's and C's and C's Apply. podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Hello, I'm Jonathan Agnew. Welcome to the Test Match Special podcast. And during this episode, we're going to ask a question raised by the former England bowler Stephen Finn during this week's test match at Headingley.

Is Jasbit Buma the most complete fast bowler in the history of cricket? We'll hear why Stephen thinks this might be true. And learning, Desot makes Bummer so good from those who know him, have faced him and played alongside him. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Well, Chasprit, my beautiful brother, the best bowler in the hole of cricket.

Bumra, on his way, moves in Bolesstrom, is Boulden. Perfect Yorker. Woods out, first ball. Bumra Bauder, he's bold. A smiling assassin has a big grin on his face. One came back. Might have just taken a bit of bat. Terrific piece of bowling.

Beaten by pace and there was a quick off-cutter. Bumra. Balls forward and bowed again. Just big Bumra is ripping through this England lineup. India comes together. He wants his football. Clean ball right through him. Bummer's hit the stunts.

He didn't quite get across and over. to the line of the ball. He's 26th wicket of this series. Around the wickets here again. And oh, he's bowled him. Jaspera Bumra is on fire. And Alex Carey, who has been the informed batter for Australia, has just been knocked over.

Bumra bowls at the stumps, and he's striking Smith on the bed. The fingers up, Smith's out. Steve Smith's out for four. India surging back into this contest. What a delivery from Bumra. The seams angled in towards the leg stump and Yanson, he presses forward on the front foot, offers the full face of the bat.

Yanson waits. Oh, it's a beauty. And Jasprit Bumra is doing everything he can to try and haul India back into this game. And this incredible bowler. And he really is. He's unbelievable. Bumra. Bolshek, striped through Collins, crashes into his stunts. And Mr Khan walked from Jasper at Bummer He is an assassin

Now he's on his way Galloping in a bowl's him He's got his five foot And England are all out for 4665 We do that enjoy Watching you destroy England with wicket after wicket After wicket

There we go Nice here, cold play as well Jasper Buma has got an amazing record in tests, ODIs and T-20s, but can he be considered the best multi-format bowler of all time? And why is he so special? Well, Stephen Finn is with us. He's written a column on the BBC Support website and app

that's attracted some attention, I think, below the line, as they say, making the case that Blumber is the most complete bowler of all time. We'll hear later from Alistair Cook on how difficult it is to face him, Tadasha Pajara, and Deep Gupta on what is like on and off the field. But first of all, let's start

with the stats. Andy, We're talking multi-format. We're talking tests, ODI, T-20, the whole package, if you like. What's your assessment then? Well, he's clearly one of the best bowlers that cricket has ever seen. So in tests, including this game, 210 wickets, average 19.3 in 46 tests, and of all the test bowlers with more than 200 test wickets, which there are now 86.

He's the only one averaging under 20. The next best was Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Kirtley, Amber is all fractionally under 21, and Freddie Truman, Glenn McGraw, and Keghisa Rabada between 21 and 22. A proper, proper test bowl are going back through the generation. Yeah, yeah. So, obviously, in the early years of test cricket,

there weren't so many games. So we had SF Barnes. Before the first world, we had 189 wickets average 16. What's interesting with Bumra is he's so unorthodox, you might expect teams to get more used to him as they play him more often but actually his recent form has been significantly improved even on what he was doing before

so his last 20 tests including this one is now taken over 100 wickets at an average of 15.2 and there's only one fast bowler in the history of test cricket who's ever had a better 20 match stretch in terms of average that was Imran Khan whose best 20 match stretch average

14.0 So that sort of puts it in context That's tests. Then in one-day international cricket, maybe not quite so spectacular. Average is 23, 1449 wickets in 89 matches. But they're a very good economy rate in modern ODI cricket of 4.6. And looking at matches between the top 10 in ODI cricket in the last 10 years, that's comfortably the best economy rate of any seam bowler.

So we quite often see teams just trying to see off Bumras 10 overs, which might explain why his son. his sort of average, although still good, is not quite as astonishing as it is in test cricket. In T20 internationals, 89 wickets average 17, but the economy rate that Finney mentioned earlier on 6.27 per over in T20 international cricket. Again, looking at games between the top 10 teams since 2015, and he's been playing for any since 2016. Bowlers who bowled 70 or more overs, pace bowlers. his economy rate 6.6 is almost half a run per over better than the next most economical bowler in T20 cricket.

So he has a rather sort of, well, a unique combination of a huge wicket-taking threat but also being very, very hard to score off. His test economy rate around about 2.7 or so very low by modern standard. So, yeah, he has sort of shown he can do it in all conditions. Well, his record in Australia is absolutely astonishing in test cricket. Averages 17 in Australia, also averages 17 in India, which for a pace bowler in the modern era is sort of unprecedented. Right, well, there they are.

There's the facts and the figures. It's a pretty strong case, isn't it? Prakashwakankar. Tell us a bit about the Bumra story. Where does he come from? Tell us about the man. Well, Gisbred Bumra was born in Amdabad in a suburb called Wastropur, which is where, coincidentally, the Indian Institute of Management is,

and his school is as well, the Nirmana High School, where his mother was a teacher. And he sadly lost his father when he was very, very young. He was picked up by the school coach to sort of play around a little bit. And when he saw his unorthodox action, it was he who ensured that he wasn't going to be pushed into sort of complying, if you will, with the manuals. And let him play on.

However, as he grew up and was picked for a district team, then he was left out in the reserves because the coach there said, this guy is unconventional. He can't be right. And so that was the first sort of early disappointment. His mother, Deljeet, who then as a single mother brought him and his sister up, actually is supposed to have gone and had a conversation to say, is he really that good?

Should I really keep pushing him for cricket? Or is there other things he should do? and the compromise was okay I'll give him two years and those two years turned out to be to be fantastic because he made a mark really when he was picked by the Gujarat whiteball team for the Sayyad Mushhtakali trophy where he sort of bamboozled the opposition

more often than not he then got spotted by John Wright and at 19 he was picked by the Mumbai Indians for the IPL Zavu and Wright was after his time as Indian he was a scout for Mumbai Indian and then onwards of course The script has just unfolded. And when he was brought into the test team against South Africa, there was some people who still were concerned

whether he'd be able to make the transition that quickly. But, you know, phenomenal learner and just a lovely, lovely person. He always got a smile on his face. Always. Yeah, that's for sure. Okay, Prakash, thank you very much indeed. So, okay, come on there, Finney. You've been writing this piece.

From a fast bowler's perspective. I mean, let's face it, we're all fascinated, aren't we? Those of us who played the game, especially when you see someone, or something unusual and everything about Jaspert Puma is unusual

and it's not just his action that's unusual his run-up is unusual and if you think how well grooved and how well honed a fast bowler's run-up

is and how it has to be and how smooth and rhythmical it is because that after all that rhythm is a bit of a key word in bowling isn't it quite a hard thing to define

but you know when you've got it and when you haven't a lot of that comes from that flying run-up his run-up is anything anything but smooth and rhythmical, well perhaps it is rhythmical

because actually although it looks odd and strange and stuttery and stoppy and starty and stuff, actually it's always the same isn't it? And so it does always get going eventually and hits the crease. Yeah, it's very hard to put your finger on exactly

what makes him amazing but I think there's a lot of different things that go into the melting pot together that then at the end of it have this fast bowler who he finds himself in a position where he's almost in the perfect position to deliver the ball

his arms just beyond the perpendicular he's closer to the batter than any other bowl is possible to get in terms of where he releases the ball is so far in front of his front foot he's almost reducing the pitch to 21 yards in length but it's the computer

underneath all that that fascinates me a little bit more he seems to be able to deliver with absolutely perfection almost every time what he wants to bowl and I don't know what you were like as a bowler but I relied on rhythm I relied on a flow to the crease from a long run up and I would have a plan and you would you would have an ideal position that you want to pitch the ball but you're bowling it in a general area towards that so you're trying to bowl with precision but you're bowling fourth stump

some might come out a bit fuller some might come out a bit shorter but there's something when you're watching him compile an over that he almost seems to in absolute control of everything that he's doing. And I think that to go with the quirky action that is very hard to pick up are the two things married together that mean that those numbers that Salts was just reading out

are phenomenal. And they're not just phenomenal in one format. They're not just phenomenal for a short period of time. They're phenomenal for his entire career. And that's why I... The headline of the piece that I wrote is he's the most complete bowler, complete fast bowler in the history of the game.

and I think it's important to understand that you cannot compare eras. It's almost impossible to compare ears because Malcolm Marshall would have found a way to survive in modern cricket. Kurtly Ambrose would have found a way to survive in modern cricket, but it's across those three formats and all the facets that make him what he is. Yes. Does he bowl differently in those particular formats, or does he still bowl – it seems to me he wants to bowl a yorker, you're right.

Bang, he bowls a yorker, which of course is very useful with whiteball cricket, isn't it? And he rarely misses the length. Yes, I mean, my target area would have been, you know, a few sheets of A4. I've got some lying in front of him, so I said that, but, you know, quite big. Whereas he seems to hit one piece of A4 for a length. He just, he is that, he's that, he's that accurate. I can't remember, and I love watching fast bowlers. I've studied fast bowlers from the past.

I love sitting behind the arm now in what we do and watching fast bowlers. And I love watching Pat Cummins. I love watching Rabada. I love watching Hazelwood. It feels like they're playing a long game with batters. They're looking to put the ball in that area enough to challenge on the front foot. It seems as though they're playing a longer game. It seems as though Bumra, every single time, every single moment that he has the ball in his hand,

it feels like he could take a wicket because of what he's calibrating in his head. And I think that it's that you watch him bowl and you think, oh, it's because people can't pick him up. It's not just that. it's his ability to decipher what's necessary in any situation you think of moments and some of the commentary at the beginning of what we were talking about when he recognised the moment he had to bowl it full and straight to Marco Janssen

in the World Cup final in June last year almost 12 months ago to burst open that game for India there are just so many examples of him knowing exactly what to do in the right situation that I think set him apart from everyone else so we've talked about the run-up a bit What about the actual action then? I mean, what do you've been analyzing

and you've been explaining why why he's awkward, why he's difficult? What are the key points of that? So I think as a batter you're stood there and I've not faced him, that man stepping him beside you has faced him. But I've not faced him, but from watching and studying,

you're stood there as a batter and talking. I've talked to Steve Smith. I've talked to various batters who faced him. And they say that the run-up you don't expect, you can face it so many times but you don't expect the ball to come out with that velocity behind it when someone's stuttering towards you

as they come to the crease but if you're watching him as if you're the batter you want to follow the ball you think about batting you want to follow the ball from the moment the bowler loads up all the way through his action he juts the ball up towards tour if you're looking at him on a clock face

it'll be going up towards 10 o'clock on the clock face he then brings it down into the bowling path So your eyes are immediately going up and then down into the bowling path. His arm comes through into its natural swing and then his forearm is left behind. So the hyper-extension of his forearm leaves his forearm behind and you lose sight of the ball as it's coming over.

So you're immediately thinking, okay, the ball's disappeared. That then comes over like a catapult. His wrist then flicks. And to me there's no tell in what he's going to bowl for the batter. So sometimes you can see, a bowler load up in differently for a slower ball. You see him lose his front side to bowl a bouncer.

You see his wrist come just down one side of it. He's going to bowl an in-swinger. But to me, there is no tell for what Jasperit Bumra bowls. So you're reacting to a ball that's being bowled off a shortened pitch because his arm is out in front of him. There's no tell. It's 90 miles an hour and he can bowl it on a six. It's so accurate.

There's just there is no, I do not see a weakness and I can't fathom that there's been a fast bowler in history that can do that so consistently across all three formats. What's interesting, and I'll throw this into the mix, is that all of that, and it's all totally unusual, and that might explain why he's got a bad back. Yes. They can only bowl three games in this series. So he's back, he has one more serious one, that's it.

Yes. And so maybe, despite the quirkiness of him is very effective, not perhaps for a long time. And the more traditional coached bowling action is it more likely to be more enduring? I don't know. But with all this stuff going on, he has got a bad back problem. Yeah, and we're in an era where bowlers tend to be specific with the format or they're becoming more specific with the format that they play. Stuart Broad James Anderson, great bowlers,

just played test cricket for the last eight years, nine years of their careers. he's able to do it across all three formats but yes when you're sat here talking about the greats and the true greats of the game and you're thinking Ambrose, Walsh, McGraw, Marshall and others who are in that ilk who've taken Stain, taken more than 400 test match wickets longevity is part of being a great fast bowler

and he's not a classic action generally they had Yes but I would just say he played in Australia played four and a half test matches he got injured halfway through the last test I think I'm right in saying with such a huge workload because as we've seen in this test match here at Headingley

the team is so dependent on him to take wickets or to build pressure I would argue that he's robust in being able to play as much as he does with the workload and the pressure that comes with it I was talking to a fellow last night at the hotel is that they've been studying him I think of some sort of university course

or something and because he lets go the ball so far ahead of himself what they discovered is that he actually puts some backspin on it because he flicks the ball and so therefore because it is way in front and that also helps the swing but then also the unusual nip off the pitch yeah and it's that ability to just be in control because quite often you have bowlers who can bowl an out-swinger

but they struggle to bowling in-swinger or they can bowl a wobble seam and they'll struggle to swing it every bowler has their strengths and weaknesses I just don't really see a weakness in Bumra. I don't think there is anything that he can't do. Maybe I'm over-egging it because we've watched him bowl fantastic here. He's been, he's the leading ICC cricketer in the world, which is unusual for an out-and-out bowler who's not a captain.

Yeah, I just don't see a weakness. I do not see anything he can't do. It's very special. There's no doubt about that. So there you are, Cookie. You've got your helmet on. You've walked out of bat and you've got Jaswick Bumra for the first time. You think I've heard a bit about this bloke.

I've seen him on the telly. What happens? Just before you mention it, Finney quite likes him, doesn't he? Oh, he does. I love fast bowler. No, I love bowlers. I could sit here and do the same about Cummins.

I could do it about Hazelwood. I love watching bowling. He is truly special. I think the first thing you, Finney is absolutely right on, is the unusualness of a bowler makes it a lot harder. The fact his action is unusual.

You're starting before that? Are you starting with a run-up? Well, everything. Like, so a run-up, you know, the run-up is one part of it. You face James Adams and the Nets, and he got me out of those times we've played for Lancashire,

but there was a rhythm to his bowling, so you could get a rhythm to your batting. You know, me, I've got a fair few trigger movements, so actually from the first time you face him, is like, when do you start your movement? And it's all subconscious really for, you'd say, for 95% of bowlers, but for certain bowlers,

and Brumwell then adds into that way there, you know, when he starts walking at you, and then you think, And then you think, when's his run going to come? And I should ask him, does he have a little mark on the runner? Because he does walk that first bit. And does he have so many steps and then he goes? I don't know.

He must have 10 steps he does and then he goes. So you don't get any rhythm for him. And it is all a bit of a thing. So I used to, it's a certain ball. So this is no, like Brett Lee, I didn't mind facing Brett Lee. I know that seems a bit of a mad thing to say. And there's no disrespect for Brett Lee. And if I ever have to face Brettley again, you'll probably remind it.

of course he gets me everyone gets you get out to good bowlers but again he's running at you you get ready and he had a lovely action lovely rhythm all things so you got some rhythm for him and you can see it all the way well brumra and I'm going to put malinga in that same

same class Mitchell Johnson again I face him so much over the times that you kind of got used to him like that something like Sean Tate again you're struggling for clues to pick up so with Brumra in particular we'll go back to Brumra

there are no clues you really get from his run-up from when you start your trigger movement to actually when he let go the ball so when I first face I actually wanted our assaults just because it was amazing how your memory does kind of let you go I think I don't think he in when he came over in

2018 in that last series I don't think he played the first game or the first couple of games I think he played on the third game Zaltz is now knocking at me so we'd heard obviously about him and we'd see I don't know if he was injured. He must have been injured or something.

Anyway, so I think it was Trent. Was it, Trent Bridge? And the first time you faced him, it was like, yeah, he was a lot quicker than I expected, a lot quicker. And he gets that movement out of the pitch, which he finds every bit of anything out of the pitch. So the first time I faced him, I'm not sure whether he got me out or not, but it was more of a case of just trying to get used to him. It's the first few balls. Well, isn't it? It's the first few balls.

And actually, suddenly realizing he was good. I think he's developed since I faced him. I remember the ballie bowled at Keaton Jennings in Southampton. And no, again, I'm not trying to make fun of cricket, but if you ever want to make someone getting out, but if you've ever wanted to make yourself smile, is actually the boomer one. Because I was at the other end to the Jennings one

because he generally, early on his career, to a left hand who come over the wicket and just go across you. So I think I'd got either a leg by or a golf strike and a third ball. I think it was either fourth or fifth ball, he bowls this immaculate in-swinger, which none of us knew he had. So Keith went to leave it.

He also missed his pad, so his knee-buckled, and he knew it's absolutely dead, but I was trying not to laugh, but thank God I wasn't facing it because we didn't know he had that skill. And as Finney said, he doesn't seem to move, there is no clues in his action

to bowl an in-swing, it's just his wrist position. So he's unusual, you've got to take time. He is a fine, fine bowler. I mean, how you rank bowlers, impossible. It is absolutely impossible,

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or walk in Patara through ancient civilizations that might reveal the history of humanity itself. Plan your detour at go-turkia.com for a gripping adventure. This is the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. What's your like off the field, I wonder? Finney, you've been talking to his teammate, Juteshwajua Pajara, about what Burma is like off the field? He's very friendly, is a person you always enjoy chatting with.

He doesn't like going out much. But whenever you ask him for a chat or just to go out for a meal on field, he's very calm, very composed. And he thinks a lot about the game. Even when he's relaxing in the dressing room, he's keeping an eye on what's happening on the field. So as a person, yeah, he's a great person to have a chat with.

And take us into your team meetings that you have before the game. You're analyzing the opposition. You're talking about the game. What's he like in those? Is he forthright? He is. And as I was saying, he likes to analyze the game. He likes to what the opposition is doing, what the batters are doing.

And he will have his own game plan according to a batter. So first he understands what his strengths are. And then he will try and see what the batter is trying to do. First, he will try and have his best ball, no matter what the batter is and what the batter's trends are. But, yeah, I mean, whenever we have a team meeting, he's very open about what he will try and do. And he will also have suggestions for the bowlers that there are areas which they can try. Now, he's experienced enough to suggest that what is a good line and length on a particular venue. If he has played on that venue, he will come up with suggestions.

He will come up with some game plans as well. Does he have a nasty streak in him at all? Because usually bowlers who can bowl 90 miles an hour and rip batsman's helmets off or smash them on the clubs. Is there any of that in him at all? No, not at all. Not at all. I've faced him enough in the nets. He will bowl a hot bumper when I've faced him in the nets.

But apart from that, whenever he's bowling in the nets, he will try and look after the batters. But when he's bowling, you have to make sure that you're very well prepared because even in the nets, his energy, his intensity, it's still the same. And it's unusual for a fast bowler to be a superstar in Indian cricket. You think of Doni, Tendorka, Koli, Rohit. How does he deal? Because he looks so happy all the time.

He looks like the limelight doesn't phase him. Is that the same off the pitch as well? It is. He's very down to earth. He's very humble. If you request for a photograph or an autograph, he will be more than happy to oblige. even when he speaks to a stranger he is very polite so that way he's very sorted he's very happy in his life he's not and even today he when his wife actually was interviewing him he said

that i am in a bubble i i don't try and get affected by what's being said even if i've been praised i appreciate it but i just try and live a balanced life i don't get carried away by someone praising me but I also don't get bogged down when I'm not performing well when I'm not bowling well so he's someone who stays balanced and he understands what life means because in India if you are a superstar you you get praised but at the same time you do get criticized but he stays balanced he understands what what's required of him as a human being as well so we look at the India team and the makeup of it now with the recent retirees of Virat Koli, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin.

Does that mean he'll have to step up off the pitch just that little bit more? Yes, he has to, and he has already started that even when we are having a look on the field, he goes to Siraj, he goes to Prasit Krishna, and he has a chat with them on the field. And even when there's a net session going on, he will go to them, he will tell them what is expected out of those bowlers. what do they need to do to get better in OC's conditions so he's helping all the young players but at the same time he has a lot of input for the batters as well because I remember in 2018 when we went to Australia

and we were having a great battle in the nets and there were certain things which he told me which was helpful for me even as a batter so he will go to any player and pass on his thoughts and he's very helpful that way in the team environment that's Cheshra Pajara talking to Stephen Finn about the off the field Jasprit Bumra

Deep Daskoop has joined us now and commentates with them all over the world special we're just having this conversation about the best multi-format bowler that there is that automatically makes a kind of a modern day question doesn't it

but what do you think when you sit there and you're watching come on you must have seen so many games where it's come on and made an impact and I think that's the word. Whether he's one of the greatest ever, but I guess he's one of the most impactful

bowler ever. I think that's because if you're expecting longevity from a modern day bowler, you're not going to get it. You're not going to get a 100, 120 test match bowler anymore. Fast bowler, that too. So it's, if he's going to end up playing 70-75 test matches, the impact

that he would have over those 70-75 would be as good as picking up, let's say, 6, 700 bickets. I don't think you're going to get another seam bowler picking up 600, 700 test wickets. That's not going to happen. But then, 300 wickets or whatever it is that he's going to end up, what was the impact of those 300 wickets?

So we have this concept in India called SENA countries. Sena would be South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia. So he's already is the highest wicket taker in Sena countries as far as Asian bowl is a concern. He's just beaten Vasimakram and in Kumbla. He's gone above them now. And we're talking about. half the number of test matches.

Yes. So you can very well see the impact that he's had over the career that he's had so far. Can you remember when you first saw him? Oh, yes. It was Ranji Trophy, actually. And a place for Gujarat. Parthiv, a very dear friend of mine, like my younger brother, he's like, you've got to watch this guy, he's different.

I was like, really? And then I first saw him bowl the way he did. I was like, yes, he's different. but is he any good? Then obviously he was keeping wickets and batted and stuff. He's like, yeah, yeah, he's very good as well. It's not just about his action, which is obviously extremely unique. But also, he's like his zippies, and he spoke about that,

In Swinger to the left-handed to Jennings. That was the first time anyone saw him bowl that. So you've got a feel for Jennings to have the first one. But yeah, I mean, we were surprised in the Combox. Like, really, he's got that as well? So he's got all that skills. said plus the accuracy and then his cricketing IQ is is superb just reading of situation reading of batters and and just just assessing them first test match made his debut in south

africa he was a tad bit shot because it was still then was a white ball bowler so his length was that seven meter kinds he realized that in south africa was beating the bat but was not getting pick uh wickets second innings i think second innings picked up four or five if i'm not wrong but then his length was a lot fuller and and and that's how he is he picks up things very very quickly and because he's self-coached he's never had formal coaching in his formative years because his self-coached he picks up things easy uh and and and he can assess that much better than as compared to some of the other players who had coaches to tell them what to do what not to do because that's what he's been doing all through his life.

Yeah. I wonder what he would have looked like if it came through the English system. I was just about to say exactly that. I think that's something that in England we're very guilty of overcoaching young bowlers. You think, oh, he might hurt his back when he's a bit older if he's bowling from that position. You can't load up out there. It's outside the line of his body. Well, Jimmy Anderson was a classic case in point, he bowled at cones for about three years.

Exactly. and I've gone through that as well like you're trying to look at every minute detail of your action and you're overthinking it that the fact that he is so free I think comes from the fact that he has just been let be himself as a bowler

and I think we would find it in this country the coaching structure and the system that we have we will find it very hard to unearth someone as unique as or even close to being as unique as bummer yeah who else cookie you might have come across who could qualify to be a serious contender to challenge. And you too deep,

and you see so much one-day cricket and IPL and so on. I mean, who else would you put out there who could possibly challenge him as being the best multi-format that there's been? Is there anybody else who comes close? It's quite difficult, actually. I can't think of anyone right now. Stark is probably, I mean, across all three formats,

Stark is probably 350 test wickets at 27, and remarkable ODI record, the best ever ODI record for a bowler. Maybe Cummins as well, if you think about it, what he's done in the last few years in all three formats. You can add him. Hazelwood's is a much improved T20 bowler now. But Hazelwood wouldn't go near the death, would he really? The thing about Bummer is, like, you can throw him the ball at any stage of any innings,

of any format. And in my eyes, he will be the best. There is no one that can rival him at that versatility. as a scene bowler. I'm not rivaling. I'm just putting another name. I think Trent Bolt is very underrated. I think he,

as an all-formatted bowler, who can bowl at any stage, I think he could be put in that mix. I'm not saying he's above boomer, but I'm just trying to think of other all-formatted bowlers. Yeah, yeah. What about his longevity deep?

I mean, is it actually set in stone he's not going to play three matches in. That is absolutely set in stone, only three matches in this series. Yeah, I mean, I just hope the other bowlers pick it up as well. I mean, if he has to bowl 25 overs every innings, then it's going to be three test matches.

But if the other bowlers kind of start to contribute and his workload is reduced a little bit, because then as of now, and it's always Shubbengail captaining for the first time, we'll always have this tendency when things aren't going India's way to go to just with Bungra. Right on the ball. Exactly.

And that becomes a little bit of an issue then. I mean, ideally, you would want to use him for shot of spells, three over spells, a four over spell. But then, yeah, for that to happen, you need someone like Sir Raj and Prasid or whoever is playing to kind of step up a little bit. Well, thanks to Deep Descocter, Sir Alistair Cook, Cheteshva Prajara and Stephen Finn. It's certainly a fascinating question. And that's it for this episode, the Test Match Special podcast. Don't forget every ball of every game of this series and England's women's white ball matches against India

will be available to enjoy on BBC Sounds and across BBC Sport. And to make sure you don't miss a thing for the Test Match Special podcast to subscribe. on BBC Sounds. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. What does it take to go racing in the fastest cars in the world? Oscar Piastri. Your head's trying to get one way, your body's trying to go another. Lance Stroll.

It's very extreme in the sense on how close you're racing wheel to wheel. We've been given unprecedented access to two of the most famous names in Formula One, McLaren and Aston Martin. I'm Landon-Aris racing driver for McLaren Formula One team. They opened the doors to their factories as the 2024 season reached its peak. They work to build a beautiful bit of machinery that I get to then go and have fun in. I'm Josh Hartnett. This is F1, back at base. Listen on BBC Sounds.

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