Test Match Special - No Balls: The Cricket Podcast - World Cup review!

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

Kate Cross and Alex Hartley look back on the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup as Australia win for a sixth time. Plus, Kate tells us about a truly horrible paint colour.

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Hello and welcome back to No Bulls, the Cricket podcast with Emergency. Emergency. Emergency. Australia has won the World Cup shock with me, Alex Hartley. That doesn't make anyone aware of what year it is doing this podcast or what year. That could be any year they've won a World Cup. Yeah, they've won 13 out of 20. It's 2003, February the 26th.

Congratulations. Anyway, me, Alex Hartley, and you, Kate. cross. Hi. Firstly, you could not have got out of South Africa faster if you tried. No, I am back home, so we're back on the old... Well, we're actually doing a rogue call at the minute,

but can I just double-check before we start? You've not got the TV on, have you? Because last time we did one of these, you had the TV on. No, no, there is no TV on, and I've got a very silent boyfriend in the background munching on pepperoni pizza. Nice, okay. Yeah, so I'm back in Manchester.

I left South Africa day after the semi-final, which I don't know what day that was, and got to watch the final at home in my living room, so, yeah. So welcome home. Thanks. Firstly, before we debrief the World Cup, how are you? I'm all right. I'm tired from travelling. I am really annoyed with myself because I've got home and spent the afternoon painting the spare room, which we'll go into in a minute

and we lost the semi-final of a World Cup so put all that together and I'm a bit of a complex mess yep, yep, get that what do you want to debrief first? Your semi-final or the final that we've just witnessed? Let's do our semi-final first and then that hopefully will lead us into the final.

Yeah, I'm all right by the way. How are you? How's your hang over? Holiday. Oh, foo, crossy. It's been a bad day today. It's been a bad day. I've not drank this whole trip and then obviously I took it too far,

took it too far the night before the World Cup final. Reverse. Reverse. That's a ball-faced lie. No, it isn't. Yeah, that is not the first drink you've had this trip. No, no, no. Obviously, I've had a couple of beers.

Oh, right, okay. Wow. Yeah. But no, I'm fine, I'm tired, I'm fine, and holiday mode activated. Right, okay, let's do semi-finals first, then finalis. So, India, Australia, India lost their semi-final. Australia didn't win it. Yeah, I didn't see any of that because we had a team barbecue that day

at Catherine Sibberunt's family's house, which is unbelievable, literally at the bottom of Table Mountain, unbelievable house. So, yeah, I watched a little bit of it, but not much, but the general overall feeling that I got was that India didn't play very well and nearly won. Yeah, that is it. Yeah, do you know what? That is summed up perfectly.

And then yours was the day after. And do you reckon complacency or just not a good day? I don't think complacency because I don't think, I think we've been in semi-finals enough times and lost and obviously not made it to the finals to know that you can't be complacent. I think if I could sum it up, I would say the better team won on the day. I think in all departments we were outplayed. And I think what I'm finding is you end up playing pressure cricket,

like real pressure cricket when it gets to knock out stages of tournaments. The only pressure game we had was against India in the group stage in terms of really being challenged. And it didn't matter if we won or last that game because there was still a very high chance we were going to qualify. for the semi-final. So I feel like Ashes and World Cup semis or finals are the times that we're really getting challenged

and we're not getting enough cricket under really high pressure to practice, being under pressure more. I think the West Indies series that you went, you absolutely hammered them 8-0. Yeah, and then the series against India in the summer, we won the T-20s, lost the ODIs, but we were missing three of our senior players in that team.

So it was quite hard to get the formula of the team with consistency leading into the World Cup. Obviously, not making excuses, like I just said, I think the best team won on the day. And the day out that Brits had was game changing, wasn't it? Like, she just seemed to be wherever the ball went. It was ridiculous. She said after the game, I was on a five for catches,

and I was like, you know what, that sums it up? Like, you just couldn't keep her out of the game. And when someone's on in T20, they are on, aren't they? Like, she was just a magnet all day. that catch that she took to dismiss capsie second ball to catch of the tournament for me Loss Winfield Hill reckon that's the best catch she's ever seen and I challenged her

I was like what about Deandra Dotting's in the World Cup last year and she was like to dismiss you because that got me out so no but I actually there's obviously two different catches but DD's was more of a reaction like unbelievable specky but Britses was like a really athletic if a bloke took that catch everyone would be screaming about it So, yeah, it was an unbelievable catch.

It was a really, really good game of cricket, but a really tough game of cricket at the same time. I found it really hard to watch because I could see it slipping away. Yeah, I think you kind of, well, it's hard to say you felt like that on the sideline because there's always that belief that you're going to do it and that, like, Heather's going to pull something off or Sophie's going to go in and whack some sixes. And even, like, Glennie and Dino can bat.

So there's always that hope, but, I think from my point of view, it's obviously so difficult not being able to influence the result in any way, shape or form. And that's kind of obviously how my tournament has been. So, yeah, just an overall very frustrating day because it feels like we where we were two years ago. I know we didn't get the opportunity to play in the semi-final two years ago, but we didn't make the final of a World Cup yet again. Yeah, I know what you mean. And like, if you look at that, it's deemed as a failure, isn't it? because the second best team in the world

haven't got through to a World Cup final. So you look at it and you go, well, they failed. But actually, like, you've been so good to watch. Like, you've broken records. You've changed the way that England play cricket. Well, that's – but I was going to come on to this because obviously our debrief in the dress room at the end of the game was – Louis just spoke to us and he kept it really short and really sweet,

but he absolutely nailed it. And he was like, do not let this result define how we want to play. are cricket because what we have been doing has been unbelievable and we have broken records and people have been doing things that they've not been doing before and it will only be a matter of time until those pieces fall into place more consistently i.e. when we're under pressure more and we'll be able to pull those unbelievable days off and it doesn't feel like we're far away from that. Yeah, it's about like when you are in those pressured situations but you've been playing like you have this tournament let's just say three years down the line you don't revert back

to the old England or how they used to play or what they used to do, you'd go, just keep going. And that'll be the challenge for us because it is quite, it's not new because I do feel after that Commonwealth Games, we spoke about we are going to have to shift what we do to beat Australia and to, you know, chase India and chase whoever else is above us. So I think it is just going to be the mentality of keeping going with it. Things don't happen overnight. No.

I was just thinking I've been painting my spare room got a lot of thinking time do you think T20 World Cucks come around too often because when we lost that game I was like right we've got two years two years and then we're back at this

and we're giving it another go and it's only two years since the last one and do you think they come around a bit too often? It's really hard to answer because 50 over cricket is the pinnacle and winning a 50 over World Cup feels like the pinnacle but is that because there's so much T20 cricket played

and T20 World Cup was every four years? So there was a World Cup every two years but it went T20 50 over T2050 over. Would it then mean more to win a T20 World Cup? That's what I was thinking. I was like if the T20 World Cup was every four years, would it mean more to Australia winning it? Would it mean more frustration for us

because we've lost and that opportunity don't come around again for four more years? It's like, I don't know, genuine question, don't know how the answer. Yeah, I'm not sure. I think the problem with seeing it like that is T20 cricket is the entertainment side of it, isn't it? So like getting on to the final today, South Africa versus Australia, honestly, it was one of the best atmospheres. It was right up there with the T20 World Cup back in 2020. It was unbelievable.

And that's obviously because South Africa got through to a home World Cup final, so the crowd was there. But also it's entertaining to watch. Yeah. I actually like yesterday I saw I think Cappy put a picture up on Twitter of the sold out sign and that was like 24 hours before the game and I had goosebumps. I was like that's unbelievable because if you think back to 2020 it was like a real big push and effort to try and get the MCG full. I know that's double the size of Newlands but it still felt like we were trying to really encourage people to come and watch whereas this felt like people on the back of the performances and the back of the South African girls getting through to the final people wanted to come and watch. that game of cricket. Yeah, it was like, we just kept saying, like, South Africa have won. Like, I know they didn't win the game today and we'll get on to it, but like they've won. Like, no one, no women's team in South Africa has ever sold out a stadium or a ground until today. Yeah, it was even playing in the semi-final and when we did the anthems, I was a bit

disappointed actually because the crowd wasn't in as much as I was hoping it would be for the anthems and obviously like a home anthem would have been amazing. to have listened to if Newlands was full. And then within five overs it had picked up and I was like, this is unbelievable atmosphere. It was like, you couldn't even speak to the girls on the boundary. You had to shower at them because it was so, so loud. Jackie Williams got no chance of hearing a Nick.

Don't, let's not talk about Jackie. I've got the world power. Right, did you brief the final? Did you watch it? I actually listened to you. a little bit on the radio today when I was there's going to be a theme

in this pod but when I was going to be in Q to pick the paint up for the spare room so listen to you and Georgia Ellis shall we just tell people what happened

to your bedroom first no I think let's just keep dripping it in and then I'll tell the story if it's not even a good story so yeah I listened to you

I watched the last 10 overs of the Australia batting innings and probably the last 15 overs of the first innings so second innings sorry Australia win another World Cup

Obviously they do Do you know what I was really Bitter is probably the right word But I was more annoyed that They didn't even really look like they were celebrating it I know it was so weird I was on air and I actually stole your message that you sent me I was like they're ambling in

They're not even running in to celebrate And I know the game was won probably 15 overs in so they knew it was coming but there was no like running towards each other where they just ambled in and had a big hug the girls actually on the bench really they ran off out of their dugout and onto the pitch

and they were probably the girls that haven't experienced that level of winning as often as like your lannings and your healies and Jonathan and stuff so like I wonder if it actually means more to the girls that weren't playing than it does to the girls that were playing Kim Gough's come from Ireland so she'd probably buzzing

she's won a trophy Yeah, true But the game itself I was speaking to somebody In the back of the commentary box And we were talking about Australia And the fact that they got 157 Or 156, 157 to win

And I was saying That team, that Australia team If they played like England do Which they are capable of doing They would get 190 every game So why aren't they doing that And they're like, yeah but they're winning So why do they need to change?

Yeah, yeah I think that is like going back to what we've said about how we play our cricket or trying to play our cricket now like we have to do that because we're not winning the big game so we're having to change something and I guess if you're not being challenged why would you change what you're doing if it ain't broke don't fix it yeah true genuinely think you're going to challenge them this year though I do think the ashes will be a probably a more fair contest I don't know if that's the right word but it feels like if we can deliver what we're trying to do, it will definitely feel like we'll challenge them

a lot more. Yeah, definitely, definitely. So yeah, Australia, congratulations, well done. What's that come down with me quote? You win. You know it better than I do. Wait, I'm going to get it up. I'm going to get it up. Your silly little life. Right, you ready? Ready. Dear Lord, what a sad little life, Australia, you have ruined my night completely. So you can just take the money and the trophy, but I hope you now spend it on gain some lessons in grace and decorum because you have the grace of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on. Oh, wow, well, 15 minutes of cricket chat. What a treat if you've come to this podcast to

actually listen to cricket chat. Yeah, emergency podcast. We're probably only going to 20 minutes, so we're just going to catch up now. Yeah, I... Oh, wait, I have got a question, sorry. A question. A question. Serious one. How do you, as an England team, catch Australia?

Like, in the field, more importantly, I think my question is. What, just in the field? Yeah, because I think actually with the bat and with the ball, we're getting there. But I think they are... They're all just incredible athletes. Yeah, I think... How do we... How do we...

catch them. I think what you're starting to see now with the generation of play that we're bringing through like Charlie Dean, Alice Capsy, like the confidence that those girls have because they're playing more consistent, better, higher levels of cricket, I think we'll push the standard of our group. I actually think fielding is the area that we've really made a stride on. I think we, when we're, when we're really attacking and really trying to be spectacular. I think we're up there with one of the best fielding teams. But I think what we, like, again, it's mentality. I think sometimes we just revert to being safe and you see long barriers come out and then that's when mistakes start to happen. So I think if we can just

continue to be a team that are happy making really positive mistakes. So if someone's racing in trying to pick the ball at one-handed to get us like run out from the boundary, that's forgivable. Whereas if someone... Yeah, I tell you who does that really well. Brunty does that really, really well. She had an unbelievable tournament in terms of fielding. Like, say she's 37, she was full lying around on the boundary. That Pakistan game, the ridiculous runout where Freya took the stumps because the girl didn't have a batting. Like, we were, we'd won the game by 114 runs and Brunty's still diving at long off. So like, yeah, you know, that just goes to show like the commitment that people are starting to have. So is it a mindset? Like, how do we get

11 Brunties? Because we haven't got 11 brunties. I do. Yeah, I think it's, it's practice and hard work and like just being willing to do that stuff under pressure and like being willing to pull off the speckies like that's what we talk about so much in training now i don't know if you've seen one of our warm-up drills but batesy our fielding coach just fires incredible out us off the catch it ramps and it's just about trying to take speckies and then like you just feel great about yourself and then you think i can do this in a game and everyone chases that specky i think because that'll be the one that gets repeated over and over on the iCC instagram channels if it's you Tell me you love Instagram without telling me you love Instagram

So you're going on holiday now Yes, I am, yeas I'm off on a safari for five nights I think it's five nights Before we go on pre-season tall together Lovely, so I am actually heading over to the WPL I'm part of the commentary team So that's one of the reasons I needed to come back super fast

You already know what I have to wear in the WPL And you've already laughed in my face Honestly guys guys guys Guys now seriously you have to listen to this If you're just zoning out listen to she has to wear A blue waistcoat Or a white waistcoat Or a grey waistcoat

But I'm off to WPL So I'm really excited about that I'm going to meet you in Dubai to do some pre-season stuff And then we're going back to Mumbai So hopefully we'll be able to catch a bit of the WPL when it's getting towards the final, what do they call it, the big dance, the big dance stage. Yeah.

But I've got a question for it. It's nothing to do with cricket, and it came to me today. At what stage and what age do men buy sunglasses that look awful? Why do you think it's a thing? I think it might be a thing. So I feel like when they get to like mid-40s, they don't buy cool sunglasses anymore. They buy those ones that, like, fit into the eye socket.

You know, like men in black glasses? Yeah. I can't say I've ever noticed. Well, maybe you need to start noticing and having a look. People on your safari, see, have a look at kind of ages and stuff and see what sunnies they've got on. Well, there's a bit of a thing with our safari, so it's a honeymoon camp. Oh, good God.

Why am I invited? So I'm really intrigued to see, like, the age dynamic of what's going on. And I think we should pretend to have just got engaged, see how much free stuff. stuff we can get. Get all the freebies you can. Absolutely. Harry just said no in the background. Oh.

Oh, he doesn't want to be associated with being married to you. Is it just the fake engagement you don't want? Is it just the fake engagement you don't want? You want a real one. Oh, is that an exclusive, Al? He said surprise. Oh, my God. If you got engaged on a safari, I don't know what I'd do.

If the lion's not delivering it is, no. Oh, God. Anyway, so the podcast, we're having a break. Yeah, but not for long, though. Oh, a week? Well, that's the most consistent we've ever been, so it's not actually that much of a break. No, it's not.

It will just be inconsistent for 10 days or so. You've teased everybody on why the hell you're painting your bathroom, bedroom. Bedroom, the spare room. So I've got a lodger coming in tomorrow, Phoebe Graham. The Thunderbird's own, Phoebe Graham, is moving in with me tomorrow. and my mum and dad tried to do a really nice thing for me and come round whilst I was away and paint my spare room

because they did you that I wanted to do it doing. So I'd done some taste to paint colours on the wall and I picked this colour out. Al, it is the most disgusting colour I've ever seen. Well, you sent me a video and it was like mouldy green? It really is and it's awful but she's moving in tomorrow

so I've had to go to being cute. I landed at like, well, I got back to Manchester at two o'clock. I was in B&Q at 2.30 picking out paint. And I've now been painting the room for three hours. And I've got to wake up early tomorrow to do the second coat. And I'm just fuming it myself. But why have your mum and dad not painted it and gone, that colour is awful? Well, mum did. She rang me and she was like, it looks horrible. I don't think you're going to like it. And I'd just wish she'd rang me maybe two hours earlier and gone, and you're sure this is the right colour. But she didn't. And she was doing me a nice thing. But here I am. I've got to go

back and do it now. I've got to go finish it off, so I'm going to go. All right, well, we'll let you go. Guys, I hope you've enjoyed the emergency podcast episode. Congratulations, Australia, yet again. See you soon. Have a great holiday. I'll actually see you in Dubai. I'll see you next Tuesday. See you next Tuesday. Yes. All right. Bye. Bye. And cross strikes in the first over. It's what England we're looking for. He falls. Down the track comes scoring. This time she connects.

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