Test Match Special - No Balls: Crossy's World Cup squad reaction

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Alex Hartley & Kate Cross discuss Crossy's omission from England's World Cup squad for the tournament in India & Sri Lanka next month. Crossy talks about the tough call from head coach Charlotte Edwards, as well as how she's coming to terms with the decision and how she's processed it whilst being in the middle of The Hundred with the Northern Superchargers.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Dakar Rally is the ultimate off-road challenge, perfect for the ultimate defender, the high-performance defender, Octa, 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine and intelligent 6D dynamics air suspension. Learn more at Landrover.ca. This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Plus, Wise won't add hidden fees to your transfer. Whether you're buying souvenirs with pesos in Puerto Vallata or sending euros to a loved one in Paris, you know 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 apply. Al, we've got to issue a swear warning because you are an absolute potty mouth. Not another one. And you need to remember that Your grandma listens to this. She does. She also abuses me on social media. But don't worry, we beep it out. See, your kids can listen.

And Grandma Jean. Cross. I'm doing round the wicked. Boulder. Lover, leaving a ball alone, Litchfield. I think it's the wobble ball. It just nips back. It jags back.

It's the nipbacker. That is a beauty from Kate Cross. An absolute seed. That is a beauty from Cross. Hello. and welcome back to No Bowls the Gricket podcast with me, Alex Hartley, and you, Kate Cross. Hello. I don't really know.

I don't, I want to ask you if you're okay, but I know you're not. Oh, God, oh. Oh, Crossy, what a day yesterday. One of the worst, I reckon. Yeah. Yeah, you've, you've had some bad ones too, but... I actually feel a lot... Now that we've started this, I actually feel quite sick in my mouth.

Oh, no. Which is how I felt yesterday. Well, the worst thing about yesterday was, for anybody that hasn't seen or lives under a rock. A bit context. The 50 over World Cup squad came out yesterday at 11 a.m. And you haven't been selected for that 50 over World Cup. That got announced yesterday. And then you had to go and work as well.

Yeah, so I got a phone call at 9 a.m. yesterday from Lottie, give me the new. And then I was like, God, it's a bit too late to pull out on comms. I literally got two comms days in this hundred. So I was like, probably won't put too well if I pull out at such short notice. So I was rang my very, very, very good friend, Hen to just kind of get a bit of a plan of how to tackle that day. But I think I said it on comms, actually, that I said to Wardy, I said, you can't not ask me about this because it'd just be so bizarre if I was on commentary. and then the World Cup squad's been announced and I'm just sat there going

oh what a wonderful shot Joe Root well done so I said to him like he probably has to ask me about it and then I thought if once it's done it's done I don't need to talk about it anymore but yeah that was something that I probably didn't actually envisaged would happen because we obviously have this podcast we choose

when we talk about stuff that's big news that's hard news that's stuff that you have to process and then I was just on live TV doing it so it was geez tough day you didn't even have time to process the selection before you then had to go to the ground and work no literally that's what the phone call with hen was about basically and i actually i'd been okay up until i spoke to hen and i was on the phone and i was like oh sorry crossy i've just lost you and i was like do no no just coming to cry

it's just not the signal it's just me oh when you get that news there is i don't i don't even know how to describe it it's just like worst feeling in the world? It is and it's always it's perspective, not perspective that's the wrong word, it's context, isn't it?

Like, in my world right now that is big news. In everyone else's world it's not big news. Everyone, like the messages that I've had have been amazing and everyone said how good they are for me and ultimately I'm not going playing some cricket. Like it's minuscule

in that sense but it's hard to take because I don't feel like I've done enough to deserve not being on that plane and everyone that is a player, a current player who doesn't get selected is going to disagree with selections and going to think that they should be there but what I'm really struggling to get my head around is it all feels like it's happened so quickly that I've just clearly fallen out of favour with Lott and that's a hard bit to get my head around

If I'd had 14, 18 months of being pretty average at cricket and not performing an England shirt, then I think I'd understand it a bit more. And I guess to an extent I have, because I didn't have the best summer in an England shirt, and I had the really tough winter and missed out a lot through the back injury. But I think leading into that, I definitely didn't feel like I wouldn't be on the plane.

Being in the best 11, a different conversation, but being on the plane feels like it feels savage. when so this time last year you're like okay I've got a 50 overwork up to work for I remember we were speaking about in the pod you were like I'm going to get fit I'm going to get strong

I'm thinking about that now when did you start to think that you might not go or did you not think that when I got dropped for that last game in the India series I think that was I think

I mean again the difficulty of getting my head around how quickly it's all happened And I started that India series as vice captain opening the bowling, and now I've lost my place in an ODI squad. Like that was a month ago. Yeah, yeah. So they've gone three seamers, haven't they? With Nat being the fourth seamer.

I think she said on commentary yesterday that I think the interviewed her, and she said she'd be looking to be bowling in this World Cup. Yeah, okay. So that's why. because she's back bowling I know it's hard for you to get your head around it's the same you for me it's like oh hang on a minute you've played

you've taken 100 wickets you know you've played your 100th game like everything seems so rosy so great and it rained at lords you didn't play you can get your head around that and then you didn't play that last game and it's like well what's happened yeah and like lot said to me

If that 50-over game at Lords had been a 50-over match and wasn't rain-affected, I would have played in that. So again, it's like what's happened between me not playing in the Lord's game to then not even feeling trusted to come back for the series decided with the Dura game, which was a 50-over game. So there's so much for me to get my head around, and I haven't processed it. It's been just over 24 hours still. So it's still really raw.

and yeah yesterday was obviously tough but it felt like I think this whole tournament's almost felt like I've just put a bit of a brave face on and tried to be the best version myself for the team because I know how much I love playing in this team and it's like we're having a good tournament which is so helpful and I've got some amazing people around me but geez it's been tough three weeks this

yeah yeah I can I know it has like you've you've had to distract yourself from real life for three weeks and I think I've said it to you but credit to you because you're playing well and you're bowling well and you're not letting what's happening in your life affect you around the girls and you performing for the superchargers which is some people wouldn't like you know whatever you've been through some people wouldn't even be playing in this competition I just need I just need a break I think I just need time that might be why I'm probably finding this a little bit tougher because I've got a lot of people messaging me like

checking I'm okay and I'm not very good at lying like I think probably you're actually the worst at lying because if I touch you say you're okay you'd be like no yeah I can't say I can't say yeah and um hide it and I don't know whether that's a good attribute but it feels like a bad attribute at the minute because I wish I could just be like yeah I'm absolutely fine um but like my phone obviously blew up yesterday and I saw you didn't and you just said just put your phone on do not disturbed don't look at it um but a lot of people have messaged me and i feel pretty bad that i've not replied to her because i'm pretty good at my phone and i'm not one of those people that ignores messages but it just feels a bit too much for me at the minute to kind of thank people and get

back to them but i will do eventually but um yeah just but they're not expecting people don't message you yesterday saying sorry about the world of expecting you to reply no i know and i like i'm trying to think if the she was on the other foot and i'd message someone i wouldn't expect them to reply either but again like i've got a game of cricket in 24 hours that you go out and you try and put, like, there'll be people that watch that, that won't even realize, they won't have a clue that,

which is the way that I wanted to be, but we obviously have a podcast where we do our therapy quite openly and honestly to, to our fans. So it's, yeah, it's just, it is. And that's, I think I said it again, and Wardy asked me yesterday, like, it's what you sign up for.

Like, you don't get to have those amazing highs without having these really low lows. Um, but, it doesn't make the lows any easy and knowing that they're going to be there and like I probably had a good indication that I wasn't going to be in this or like it would be tough

to come back from being dropped in that last game to then doing enough in the 100 to get ahead of the bowlers that have now leapfrogged me but it doesn't make it any easier even if you're half expecting it and like I think I've kind of had a career where I've always expected the worst

and then anything that isn't that is like good news but yeah you don't prepare yourself for it. And there's always, always a part of you that's like, I might still go. As much as you prepare yourself for the worst news, there's always that part of you that's like, I might get picked here. I could still get picked.

I bowed well. I've taken wickets. I've done what they've asked me to do. Like, and you prepare yourself for the bad news, which doesn't work, but you still cling on to the might. Yeah. And I've not had that conversation with Lottie yet, because obviously she delivered a pretty call to me and then like I said thanks and there's probably a bit more detail that I need to

get around what is my expectation of if an injury does happen am I next or is that it is the door closed um I know I'll probably go back and play well finish the 100 and then go back and play the 450 over games for length so I'll be getting some cricket under my belt and workloads and stuff but um it that I think that's almost the hardest bit is you hear the news and then someone goes down and you might be playing in three weeks time in a World Cup and then everything that you feel right now

is so confused and like manipulated almost because you've got to then just spin it around and go and... I think the 100s give me confidence in that that even though I've had a bit of a tough time of it I feel like I've performed well for the team and kind of done my job

and done what I've done for 40 years in the 100. I've not had an exceptional 100 but I've not had a bad 100 so I feel like that's the consistent... But that's what makes you such a great player, such a consistent player. is that you deliver. You're so reliant.

So, yeah. We'll obviously see what happens. Things change quickly. We've always said it, haven't we? Years a long time in sport, but this year has been a pretty... Do you know what? It started when you said,

you'll be playing. You'll be playing in that 50 over game. Do you remember I didn't play because I was rested because of poorly. I had the flu. It started then. It's been downhill ever since.

It's your fault. It really has, yeah. And you knew you weren't playing. And I was like, oh, tell me. silly gosh you're the world's best bowler i've been the same since i can only apologize for ruining your 50 over world cup two years ago how are you i'm good thank you i'm good i am well and truly on the hundred train like yesterday was my third consecutive day in three

different cities today off which is fantastic it means it's not off because we're doing the pod but yeah I'm just like going from city to city and I was saying to Henry yesterday I said the amount of cricket me and you have watched in this last month but do you feel like you've not watched cricket and he was like yeah I know what you mean because all the games merge into one yeah they do yeah I introduced Trent Rockets versus Manchester originals

as if they were playing the northern superchargers like live on the BBC I'm just a bit head mangled and then I was really anxious and felt ill yesterday and I think it was because I knew you were going for a good sympathy anxiety yeah we had a we had a good chat yesterday like I woke up to a message from you and obviously came straight to where you were and I said to you in the restaurant I was like what should I order for food I can't function and you went you've got a That's what I heard. And it actually fits really well.

I think we've both got punctures at the minute. Yeah, we're slowly, slowly deflating. Yeah, deflated. Yeah. Most travellers stick to the highlights. But in Turkey, if you go off the beaten path, you'll experience a whole lot of adventure. Like the St Paul Trail,

where cyclists chase the first. thrill, or Euler, where you can kite surf to your heart's content. For exploring on your feet, hike up to Mount Memorid, 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. You did also, you've got to remember you had, where are we, August, you had July off so that you could be ready for the hundred. yeah and then i've got like september off as well so i've got a week to go that's it it's gone quick

this hundred hasn't it's so fast well it's you said to me the other day you're like i think it's five days too short and i agree yeah there's just been too many double doubleheaders i think i probably said that on this pod before but so apparently the odd years so obviously 2025 uh they've got to condense the tournament but then the even years they've got a bit more of a window to get it in so um what yeah so next year it'll be longer so it'll be more like a three and a half four week tournament so it won't feel as crushed into the schedule next year. Crushed is a great word. Crushed.

How are you finding the 100th of this year? Because they know the Supercharges, you're flying. Yeah, we're doing well. We obviously had a bit of a tough game against Manchester. I'm trying to think where did we last record? I was in Leeds. We played Birmingham? Peas.

We had Peas on one episode. What a woman. I got her a cinnamon swirl, by the way. took it on to the game yeah and then left it on the bus and it was a really hot day if you remember so then we got back on the bus in rock hard so I didn't give her that I took of the breakfast the next day to say thank you though um yeah we're doing well we I would say we've not had a bad game yet but we have we played against brave and we were pretty average we we lost the Manchester game we felt like we won 70% of that game but the 30% we lost

was quite like the sway momentumy sway yeah um but I think you're gonna get games like that, aren't you? Like, Lisa said that to us in our debrief. She said, that's tournament cricket. You're going to win some that you think you should lose, and you're going to lose some you think you should win. So it feels like we've got two home games to finish on, which is nice, though.

We're not hotel hopping now. Because our three games in five days that everyone has in the schedule was chaos. Oh, just different. You were Southampton, you were London. We went knots to Southampton up to lead across to Manchester down to London. So it was a lot of bus travel. Yeah. And I don't know if you've seen, but obviously we lost Georgia Wareham to injury,

so she had to head home. So we went and watched Sam Fender in Manchester on Saturday night before the game, and I was like, I'm going to try and get one of those massive cardboard cutouts of Wolf and see if we can just take it around for the rest of the tournament. And it ordered it on Saturday. It arrived on Tuesday in London. And I loved the content that the Supercharger's put out of her, like kissing the wicket, like Spinner's Union, like so great from you.

Yeah, she's sat on the bus now. We've left her on there for 24 hours. She'll be right. She's in time out. Yeah, a little quiet time for Wolf. But yeah, she's such a big part of this group, actually. It was really gutting when we found out that she wasn't going to be able to finish the tournament with us. And I think we played the game.

It was the Southampton game that we played without her. And you just saw this massive hole in our team. Yeah. And we obviously didn't have the replacement player in that Kerry then. So it was quite a big indication of how much she impacts in all three departments. So many replacement players Sammit Patel Instead of Bich Santner

I just saw him in the hotel actually I was like welcome He was commentating on his last game And now he's playing for us I know how weird There's been mad injuries in this tournament Like weird injuries Yeah

Trent Rockets had some awful ones Adam Hose that was Traumatic Hope he's okay We've not sent him our love haven't we No we're doing that right now doing that. Have you got anything on your sticking out? Probably not out because

I've been a bit all over the place to be honest with you. Jack has sent us our document. We can have a quick gander on that. I did have something else I wanted to talk about and I can't remember what it was. Was it the game? Which is good for a podcast. Was it the game yesterday? The game yesterday. Oh my word, crossy. One, the celebrations from the other Invincibles need to get the bin.

What's happening there? Yeah, absolutely getting the bin. So I've got a theory about Jordan Cox's yesterday because he did the little money money sign but he did it to Will Jacks who was at Long Off and I think they might have had a bet between themselves being like

if I hit if I get a direct hit you owe me whatever because he really stuck with the money thing and then he was doing the cash sign to him and then Tom Curran did it back oh there must be yeah there's got to be something there like some little internal wager maybe because

otherwise I can't really justify that one. But I was on air. Maybe he clipped it up. Me going, that is vile. Yeah. Also,

a lot of dancing. So much dancing. Sam Curan dancing. I don't hate the dancing. At least it's like friendly and it's, you know. Shake the hips. Yeah.

Do you think he's auditioning for Strictly? Maybe, oh my God, maybe he's going on Strictly. And that's his sign. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. If you're listening, please can you confirm or deny whether you're going on strictly? If Sam's listening to this podcast, he's going through it tough time. Sam, if you listen to this podcast, do you want to come on it?

Yeah, that's good. I wonder if the Coldplay Man still listens. Coldplay, oh, I don't know if I can say this, actually. I probably can because it's past tense now, but Coldplay Man was at Our Lord's game. Was he? Yeah, he was there watching. Did you go see him? No, it weren't allowed.

He was like on the absolute DL. Oh, was it? Yeah, he didn't see anyone. He just stayed in the box and, yeah, watch the cricket. But I was like, so I know the security man, and I was like, please say hi to Colplayman if you see him. And then he comes into the dressing room, the security man. He's like, Coldplayman says hi, Kate.

I was like, oh! And all the girls are like, you know Chris Martin? I was like, no, no, he just listened to the podcast. You're like, no, no, it's the Colplay Man. It's the Coldplay Man. He doesn't have a name. I hope he still listen, Coldplay Man, if you do, I hope your tour's going well.

He's starting Wembley soon, isn't he? So good luck with that. We should go. Shall we go? Should we try and go? We should actually go? Oh my God, let's go. That's exactly what I need right now.

Yeah, let's get some things in the diary. We'll do magic night. We'll do cold play. Let's just have time a bit. Yeah, all right. You can email us, crossy. On noblespodcast at BBC.com.com. Noblespodcast at bvc.com.com.

It's so good. It's so good. They said it twice. They've got a text and a WhatsApp number now. You can text us on. 8-1-1-1, but you've got to start your message with Noobobob. balls which is all one word otherwise you're going to get lost and the long WhatsApp number oh double three oh one two three one eight two six nice so make sure you get in touch with us but we have had a couple of emails oh and a few WhatsApps that's nice oh we've got a lot here we

go oh like the WhatsApp because you get a little emoji in there yes Andrew's put the beer the beer emoji Kia has emailed probably not the Prime Minister thanks Jack put that in brackets for us Hi, Kate and Alex, long-time listener, first-time emailer. Recently, my team bowled out, the team top of the league. We were second bottom for 76. Unfortunately, despite myself and my opening partner making the score 28 for none, when I got out, we were bowled out for just 60 and lost the game. My question is, have you ever had a game where it looks like you're going to win

and you go on to lose or vice versa? Keep up the pod and thanks for them all the funny times. And I'm going to add a bit on. The sad times And the sad times Loads and loads and loads Of games of cricket Where you think you're going to win

And you lose And also when you think you're going to lose And you're going to win So many Like I reckon it happens More often than it doesn't Yeah Like Manchester

I was like Yeah We're going to win this And then we lost it Yeah It happens It literally happens all the time That's savage though

Getting bowled out for 76 So they were 28 for non Chasing 76 All out for 60 Sixth Must have been a tough pitch that though. Yeah. Pitches have been tough in the 100 this year actually, haven't they? They have if you play at Trent Bridge. Because they use it

15 times. Everywhere else has been alright, I think. So, Southampton, they've got their little blueprint there, haven't they? Cardiff. Yeah, it's always tough at Cardiff though. Well, I don't know what's going on with them again this year. No, neither. Anyway, Andrew's WhatsApp does. Yeah. Hi guys, I love the show. Can we call it a show? Yeah. I wanted to say a massive thanks to Alex, who my son, Zach, who's 10 years old and I met on Saturday when the Invincibles men and women beat the fire at the Oval. We couldn't believe it when we saw Alex. Despite being incredibly busy with media responsibilities, you came back and took the time to speak to us and give my son advice on his spin bowling and sign his cricket ball. If I'd been less of a fan boy, I would have remembered to get a selfie with the three of us, but I'm a bit old school. It was always signatures when I was a kid.

Thanks again. You made a great day, even better. Looking forward to a pint. in the slug and mullet, Andrew, from Little Hampton. I remember exactly the two people. So they were like, Alex, Alex, can we get your autograph? And I'm so sorry, I'm on air now, I'm late, but I promise to come back. And do you know when you're like, okay, I've said it out loud, I've got to go back. But then when I went back during the men's game, the crowd was busy and I couldn't see them. So I'm like, looking around and there's people asking for photos.

And I'm like, yeah, yeah, not a problem. I'm like, but where's that little boy gone? Oh, no. I found him. He found him. Well done. That also made me laugh because in my family, a Hampton is a slang term for a Willie, and he's from Little Hampton. Hampton? Yeah, we call it Hampton. Do you?

Yeah. I don't know why. What do you call the flower? Flu. Flu? No, we don't. We don't have a nickname for that, don't think. What do we call it? I don't really. Just a Hampton. Just a Hampton. Andrew, Andrew from Little Hampton. Andrew's got a Little Hampton.

A Susie. I call it a Susie. A Susie? A Susie, yeah. A Susie? A Susie Bates. Anyway. Yeah.

Not where I thought this podcast was going to go. No, sorry, Andrew. Georgie's email does crossly. Dear Alex and Kate, I was watching the 100 the other day and saw the field to take an excellent catch in the deep. She threw the ball up in celebration. then looked anxiously on as it fell back down amongst her on rushing teammates, which got me thinking, have you ever been hit on the head by a ball?

We were talking about this just yesterday. Yeah. Have you ever been hit on the head by a ball that has been thrown up in celebration or witnessed any other celebration-related injuries? Long-time listener, first-time email at Georgie. Oh, I thought she dropped the catch, right, I see. So she's taken the catch. She's thrown it up in celebration and then you throw it into the pile of cricketers that

are running at you, got you. Leo Tohoo Dislicated her shoulder Celebrating, didn't she? She punched the air though Didn't she? She was batting and punched the air

and dislikated it And her shoulder fell out That does That does come into the game More than you think it would Because when you do celebrate You do kind of like Like check where the ball's gone

Yeah Catherine Siverbrunt did her ankle Celebrating didn't she? Yeah Yeah Who else we got This isn't about injuries at all actually But in the game on

at Lord's the other day So when you swap over, when you swap tens, so swap ends, there's a countdown in the corner of the scoreboard that's 50 seconds. So obviously the TV break goes to an advert and then you're not allowed to bowl until that 50 seconds is done. And I'd just bowled a set. We'd swapped over and Nick Carey was bowling. So I've run to long off and I retied my hair because I thought it got time to do it.

Put my hat back on. And as I turned around and my hat's going back on, Nick Carey's running into bowls. So I said, oh, God, I've got my sonies in my hand. My hat's kind of not on. My hair's all over place. And then the ball came out to me, obviously. And so I've run around, picked it up. But I had my sunglasses in my hand.

Oh, no. And I've thrown it. And then I was like, oh, my God, that'll be five penalty runs, I think. But thankfully, it was a dead ball because she'd started running in at like 20 seconds to go. So it was dead ball. And we replayed it. And then there's no footage of me doing it because it would have been in the TV break on the YouTube of Sky. So I couldn't find it.

But that was silly, wasn't it? I've never done anything like that. Amy Jones said that in an international once, didn't she keep it? Did she? She wasn't looking. Sima Brunt's running into ball if he's looking at point. Yeah, but she didn't have illegal objects in her hand because that's five penalty runs,

wouldn't it? It's like anyone picking up wicket-keeping gloves or catching it in your hat or something. Yeah, Matt Henry was running into ball at Cardiff the other day and Johnny Birstow stood at Short Fine talking to Short Fine. Oh, well. And he bought the ball. Any more Celebrate Tree Injuries.

I can't think of any off the top of my head. No, but we were talking the other day about me dropping catches on my own head Yeah, you've dropped a few onto your own head Yeah, yeah James emailed too He said, great nobles podcast with Elise It was very good

I feel like we've not given her enough attention But she was amazing Yeah, but she's going to a World Cup Alex, try vegan ice cream Delicious, even though I bought it by mistake And it avoids your lactose intolerance Available in many supermarkets Keep up the excellent work, James

It's tough, it's not great When we're getting people telling you want to eat to avoid your IBS, aren't we? No, no. Maybe we share a bit too much with these people. Well, I did tell everyone that I was a bit thrushy. Oh, God, yeah. You are them.

We do. Anyway. We do share. So I'm going to go, because this is tough. Yeah, it's been really tough. I'm not angry with this one. Sorry, guys. No, I'm really proud of you, though, like, genuinely,

because it's fucking talking about what you've just had to. thanks email us text us and whatever else WhatsApp us go and have a cry yeah I'm gonna go I need some lunch actually

I need some food and I sit down and then lie down go and have a cuddle with Holly I'm gonna go shopping actually oh what are you gonna get anything

love you love you bye bye bye There it is! It's a date to remember for Wayne Rooney. And now he's got a podcast.

Welcome to The Wayne Rooney Show. Twice a week, Wayne Rooney, Kay Curd and me, Kelly Summers, break down the biggest stories in the Premier League and beyond. As much as you'd like to say it, loyalty in football now is no existence, whether that's from players or managers. Plus, we'll hear the funniest, wildest and most outrageous stories from Wayne's career.

The Wayne Rooney Show. Everybody's talking about it. Listen on BBC Sounds. In Turkey, if you're willing to take a detour, you'll discover the food, even social media hasn't got to yet. From Michelin stars and wine in Urla to traditional recipes and the home of Baclava in the east. Discover the culinary capital of Gaziantem and talk to the locals. Every dish has its own story. Flavors, experimentation and tradition, Turkey has it all. Plan your detour at go-turkia.com.

Thank you. Thank you.