This week, we round off the action in the brilliant Pakistan vs England T20I series. After England's back-to-back wins to clinch the series, is the team peaking at just the right time? And for Pakistan, have they answered enough questions ahead of the World Cup?

Join Dan and Glenn as they round up the individual winners and losers of the mammoth series and look ahead with their England starting XIs for their first World Cup match vs Afghanistan.

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Glenn and Zac are joined by Hammad to discuss the thrilling bilateral T20I series between Pakistan and England! 

Four matches in and the teams are tied at 2-2 after a succession of entertaining games. How on earth did Pakistan win the fourth game—God's plan, says Hammad—and where did England throw it away? What have we learnt so far from the series, and which places are still up for grabs within both teams going into the World Cup?

All that, plus a very special announcement from Zac. Enjoy! 

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We’re back! Although Dan remains on holiday (must be nice) and Will has a Master’s dissertation to write (boring!) Zac and Glenn are reunited to guide us through an eventful week of cricket. 

Rob Key had barely finished announcing that Jonny Bairstow was going to open the batting in the upcoming T20I World Cup before England’s star player suffered a serious injury while playing golf. With Jason Roy’s form flatlining, what will England’s batting line-up look like in Australia? We examine England’s WC squad announcement, alongside catching up on a thrilling Test series against South Africa. 

In Part Two we examine all the action in the Asia Cup, and conclude by reflecting on the recently completed second season of The Hundred. Why was the women’s tournament so much stronger than the lackluster men’s, and what went so tragically wrong for the men’s Welsh Fire franchise? Thanks for listening! 

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This week we whether we're seeing the beginnings of a seismic shift in the makeup of world cricket. Before all of that though, in part one, we have a quick chat up to give our first impressions of the 2022 Hundred, England's poor white ball summer and the brilliant action at the Commonwealth Games cricket!

In part two, and in thanks to some brilliant journalism from Tim Wigmore at The Telegraph, we spend the final half hour of the show discussing the relationship between domestic T20 cricket leagues and wider international cricket. Are we seeing the emergence of a football style club and country set up? Is there an apetite for an effective IPL for 12 months of the year? Listen and find out!

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We’re delighted to be joined by Paul—AKA Twitter’s @SlogSweeping—this week for a masterclass in fantasy cricket! Paul finished second overall in The Cricket Draft’s T20 Blast fantasy game (a truly remarkable achievement) and we discuss everything that happened on Finals Day, picking up some fantastic words of wisdom for our own fantasy strategy along the way. 

But before that, England’s Test captain Ben Stokes shocked the cricket community by announcing he is retiring from One Day Internationals. His retirement sparked a fierce debate around ODIs, and what their place is within the contemporary cricket ecosystem. Zac and Glenn leap to the format’s defense, aiming to win over a skeptical Dan. Do they succeed? Listen to find out! 

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Join Dan, Will, and Glenn for the most hilarious Rain Stopped Play episode in recent memory. 

The source of our laughter? A fake IPL league that conned Russian punters (yes, it really is that ridiculous) into placing bets on matches that were completely staged. We dive deep into the story that has gripped the international cricket community—uncovering potentially new crucial evidence on the ‘Century Hitters T20’ YouTube channel in the process. 

Then we turn to real cricket, although England’s white ball team may wish this last week of cricket against India had also been staged. We discuss England’s failures, India’s brilliance, and conclude the podcast by examining Jonathan Liew’s excellent article ‘Bazball isn’t a philosophy or blueprint—it is a response to a game in decay.’ Enjoy!

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Well, what a week that was! Another thrilling win for the men's Test side, another chase in the fourth innings and another heroic knock by Jonny Bairstow. A full Rain Stopped Play team are here this week to react to the final Test of a fantastic series between England and New Zealand.

But before all of that (5:28) we react to the breaking news that Eoin Morgan has retired from all international cricket with immediate effect. What sort of legacy will he leave? Was it the right time to go? Is Buttler the only candidate to replace him?

In part two (16:01) we dive deep into the third and final Test between England and New Zealand as well as briefly preview the fifth - yes fifth - Test with India that starts on Friday. And in part three (55:14) we take a look at the state of play women's Test match between England and South Africa and round the pod off with Zac's Quick Question.

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Join Dan and Glenn—other podcast members will return soon, we promise—as they analyse England’s record-breaking tour of the Netherlands! 

Sixes rained down in Amstelveen as an intimidatingly strong England team put a youthful Netherlands side to the sword. Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, and Phil Salt led the charge in the first match, while Liam Livingstone wrapped up the carnage by blasting England’s quickest ever ODI fifty. 

However, one tourist missed out on the fun: captain Eoin Morgan, who recorded painful consecutive ducks. With a sustained poor run of form over the last year, is his side in the team now in doubt... or are his critics overreacting? Form is temporary, yet class is permanent after all. All that, plus a quick preview of the third Test between England and New Zealand. Enjoy! 

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Well, what a Test Match that was! With all three results still possible as we entered day 5, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes took the game by the scruff of the neck and took England over the line in spectacular style. Join Dan and Glenn as they react to yet another brilliant game between these England and New Zealand sides and try to process just how good that chase was.

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England’s dismal run of nine Tests without a win finally came to an end as they completed the third-highest chase at Lord's!

Join Dan, Zac, and Glenn as they run through all the main talking points from an entertaining and somewhat chaotic first Test versus New Zealand. Joe Root appeared to relish his new post-captaincy role, Matthew Potts impressed on debut, and Ben Foakes finally looks like fulfilling his potential. However, England’s top order still struggled, showing everything certainly isn’t perfect under Rob Key’s new regime.

New Zealand’s specialist batters also failed, and poor Colin de Grandhomme had a match to forget. Will they bounce back and beat England at Trent Bridge later this week?

All that, plus a look at how our Blast fantasy teams are faring (not well!) and a round-up of international action. Thanks for listening!

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It's a jam packed episode this week with a preview of the England vs New Zealand Test series, a review of the IPL Final and Pitch Inspection to squeeze into 80 minutes of podcast air time.

Part 1 sees us discuss whether Ollie Pope will work at number three, whether it should be Overton or Broad for that final spot and if Brook deserves a go over Bairstow. For part 2 (29:09) we react to the result of the IPL Final and ask how the tournament got on with two new franchises on board. Finally, for part three (55:34), we have our weekly Pitch Inspection discussing the over priced Vitality Blast tickets and why the media's coverage of this is such a problem. Enjoy the episode and we'll be back same time next week!

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This week, Zac and Glenn are joined by John Welch, co-founder of fantasy cricket game The Cricket Draft, for a special T20 Blast tournament preview!

In Part One, John gives us a fascinating insight into how The Cricket Draft functions as we discuss the points system, awkward match schedules, and how to keep fans engaged with the game over a long season.

In Part Two, Zac and Glenn reveal their own provisional fantasy teams for the upcoming T20 Blast, with Zac utilizing cutting-edge statistics and Glenn instead relying on vibes for success. We conclude, as always, by getting everyone’s predictions for the teams who will make it to finals day!

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With the news that Brendon McCullum is now the new Test coach for the England men's team, Dan and Zac sat down for a quick chat about their initial reactions. Exciting? Surprising? An inspired choice? Find out what the chaps think in this short reaction episode.

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This week, Dan and Glenn react to the not such breaking news that Ben Stokes is now the captain of the men's Test team. We discuss whether Rob Key has made the right decision or whether he's played it safe with the only realistic option currently in the side.

What will a Ben Stokes Test side look like? Will the role overload him? Who will be his vice? All this and much more discussed on this week's pod, enjoy!

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Barney Ronay in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/apr/29/ben-stokes-has-the-drive-and-celebrity-wattage-to-revive-the-pulse-of-test-cricket

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Join Dan, Zac, and Glenn as we discuss all the key developments in cricket this week.

We start with George Dobell’s puzzling support of Joe Clarke in The Cricketer. After receiving a backlash for his article, which suggested Clarke may become a future “role model” despite his past participation in a misogynistic group chat, Dobell doubled down on Twitter. Why is he dying on this hill?

We then turn to the Wisden Cricketers of the Year and learn that Dan doesn’t know what an almanack is.

In Part Two we round up all the action in the IPL and Country Championship. Jos Buttler is flying, and Somerset are struggling, so nothing new there.

More importantly, why isn’t the ECB bothering to advertise the Country Championship’s outstanding selection of international players? Yet another excuse for us all to complain. Enjoy!

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Only one place to start this week - we get Dan, Zac, Glenn and Will's thoughts on the latest in England's rearranging deck chairs. Is Rob Key's appointment a classic case of Jobs For the Boys, or a surprisingly shrewd move away from the cushy ECB status quo? And we ask what happens now - who should be captain, is Langer going to coach and what is Joe Root's legacy?

Plus - join us in Part Two for Around the Grounds on the latest in County Championship and IPL news.

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We're joined once again by our women's cricket expert Ellie to delve into the World Cup final between England and Australia - a game that was dominated by Alyssa Healy's match winning knock. Did England get the decision at the toss wrong? Or were Australia always destined to win?

In part two, we're joined by a very happy Will as he revels in the fact his Rajasthan Royals are being semi-decent at cricket. He brings us his yearly 'outside shout' for IPL winners and some trademark football analogies too. We round off with a chat about South Africa vs Bangladesh and chat about Ross Taylor's last game for New Zealand.

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There's only one topic of conversation on the lips of England cricket fans right now, and that is the position of Joe Root as men's Test captain. After the 1-0 series loss to the West Indies - and two embarrassing batting collapses - is Root's position as captain tenable? Are there any replacements? Is the whole system rotten to the core? We have our say on who should be in charge for the upcoming summer.

Elsewhere, the England Women's team are once again doing the nation proud with a hard-fought run to the semi finals of the World Cup, can they continue their run and make it back to back titles? The IPL has started off in typically exciting fashion and Zac has a Quick Question that isn't answered on air. Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter: @RainStoppedPod

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Join Glenn and Zac as they reflect on another packed week of international cricket!

Over in blissful Barbados, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite broke records with his magnificent effort with the bat in the second Test against England. Despite a lifeless pitch, the tourists did their best to force a result on the final day—but the West Indies earned a deserved draw with a watchful defensive display. We discuss the game’s standout performers, and look forward to the decisive third Test.

The Women’s World Cup continues to entertain with a string of thrilling games in New Zealand. England are fighting back… But will they make it through the group stage? We round up all the action from what is turning out to be a tournament for the ages.

Finally, there’s an exciting start to the third Test between Pakistan and Australia, and Glenn manages to ruin the quiz for everyone. Thanks for listening!

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We welcome cricket analyst, author and all round top bloke Ben Jones from CricViz onto the podcast for this very special episode previewing the 2022 IPL. Ben joins Dan and Zac to talk through what we should expect from the 2022 IPL, the new format and the potential Covid pitfalls while looking at all the main talking points coming into this year's tournament.

We also delve into the two new franchises, which England or overseas players to watch and which young Indian players to keep an eye out for. We wrap it all up with our predictions and some fantastic kit chat - we very much hope to dedicate a full hour of kit chat at some point in the future...

Thanks again to Ben (@benjonescricket) for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the episode! Be sure to follow us on Twitter @RainStoppedPod where you can also find our Discord channel.

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