Podcast · Sport

Oborne & Heller on Cricket

by Peter Oborne, Richard Heller · English · Sport

Cricket authors (and obsessives) Peter Oborne and Richard Heller have launched a new podcast to help deprived listeners endure a world without cricket. They will chat regularly about cricket topics – hoping to keep a good line and length but with occasional wides into other subjects.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest: 3 May 2023
Language: English

Latest episode

3 May 2023 · 56 min

World Cricket And All That Shapes It Covered By Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2023 is the longest edition on record. It not only records the present state of global cricket but also reflects on the mighty global forces – political, social, commercial, environmental – which shape it. Its editor, Lawrence Booth, analyses its content as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Lawrence begins by hailing the turnaround in England’s Test team under Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach. A...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S1 · E117 · 18 Apr 2023 · 54 min
Sovereigns, stars, stewards, scorers, statisticians … Steven Lynch on this year’s Wisden obituaries
Two monarchs lead the obituaries in the 2023 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. As always, it is a melancholy but matchless memorial to global cricket’s losses, and a section to which many readers turn first. Its compiler and editor, Steven Lynch, discusses its selection and preparation as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. In this edition Roger Alton replaces Peter as co-host. Steven outlines the late sovereign’s long connexions with cri...
S1 · E116 · 28 Mar 2023 · 57 min
From teenage record breaker to players’ champion: James Harris of Glamorgan and the PCA
After a record-breaking early start in county cricket for Glamorgan, James Harris is back with them after spells with Middlesex and Kent. He has also begun his second term as chair of the Professional Cricketers Association. He is the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. In this edition Roger Alton replaces Peter as co-host. James has just returned from Glamorgan’s pre-season tour of Zimbabwe. He gives an upbeat account of the country and its crick...
S1 · E115 · 21 Mar 2023 · 1 hr 2 min
The weird genius who revolutionized cricket history
Many eccentric geniuses have written about cricket, and indeed played it. Few have been as eccentric as Major Rowland Bowen – or had his genius. In 1970, after years of dedicated research (not all his own) he published Cricket: A History of its growth and development throughout the world. Long out of print, it is still unmatched in its global sweep, its presentation of arcane facts, and its insurrectionary daring (which delighted C L R James) in overturning almost sacred cricketing myths. It ...
S1 · E114 · 14 Mar 2023 · 55 min
Two testaments of cricket and war
John Broom has combined his passions for cricket and military history in two books on global cricket in both world wars: Cricket In The First World War Play Up! Play The Game and Cricket In The Second World War The Grim Test. They are both meticulous and moving. He explains his mission in writing them, as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. John sought to fill a significant gap in cricket’s historiography. Eminent writers of standard works had...
S1 · E113 · 1 Mar 2023 · 50 min
A story made for the movies – Pakistan women’s cricket
Based in Mumbai, Aayush Puthran is an experienced cricket reporter and analyst, with a strong focus on women’s cricket. He has written an inspirational book, Unveiling Jazbaa, which weaves together the astonishing personal stories of the creators and players of women’s cricket in Pakistan. Aayush begins by explaining the Urdu word Jazbaa. It has no precise English equivalent, but conveys a cocktail of emotions and passions which generate stunning unexpected achievement. It has been regularly...
S1 · E112 · 14 Feb 2023 · 45 min
After a hard day in Nagpur, the great cricket writer Mike Coward gives a masterclass on Australian cricket
Mike Coward is among the world’s most distinguished and distinctive cricket writers and broadcasters, although he graciously declines the title of “Australia’s John Arlott.” He makes a welcome return to the crease as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Mike begins by responding to a grim result (for Australia): the innings defeat within three days in the first Test of their current series in India. Coming after two unsatisfying one-sided domes...
S1 · E111 · 7 Feb 2023 · 55 min
An elephant never forgets India’s first Test victory in England
In August 1971 Bella the elephant from Chessington Zoo travelled to the Oval to watch India’s historic first Test match victory in England. Her story gives the title to the fascinating book, Elephant In The Stadium, by the historian Arunabha Sengupta. Around it he weaves not only the gripping cricket played in the series but also the major surrounding events, the political, social and cultural history of India’s relationship with Britain and its empire, and its enduring legacy. He is th...
S1 · E110 · 24 Jan 2023 · 1 hr
How professionals save soccer – but not cricket – from public school amateurs, explains sports historian Richard Sanders
In the British isles cricket had a start on association football of over a hundred years as a game with Laws, organization and popular following. In the late Victorian era it was overtaken in a short time. Based on his fascinating book Beastly Fury on the strange birth of British football, the distinguished documentary maker and sports historian Richard Sanders teases out the reasons why. He is the latest guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their cricket-themed podcast. Richard’s boo...
S1 · E109 · 13 Dec 2022 · 56 min
Cricket, diplomacy and a fierce despatch from Freddie Flintoff
Cricketer, diplomat and author Tom Fletcher is now Principal of Hertford College, Oxford. As the UK’s ambassador to Lebanon, he made notable efforts to support the country’s cricketers, especially from its community of Sri Lankan workers. Previously, he served in 10 Downing Street as the principal adviser on foreign policy to three British Prime Ministers, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. He is the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Re...
S1 · E108 · 7 Dec 2022 · 1 hr 1 min
England versus Pakistan – the first seventy years with historian Najum Latif
As England play their first Test series in Pakistan for nearly twenty years one of the country’s leading cricket historians, Najum Latif, describes their reception and celebrates the timely republication of a classic work on the start of England’s cricket relationship with the country. He is an expert tour guide to a vanished world as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Read the full description here: England versus Pakistan – the first sevent...
S1 · E107 · 29 Nov 2022 · 57 min
Another thrilling spell from fast bowling legend Wes Hall
Few sights in cricket’s history have been more thrilling than the great West Indian fast bowler Wes Hall in the 1960s bounding in from his long run. He is now Sir Wesley Hall and the subject of a fine new biography Answering The Call by Paul Akeroyd. He creates the same thrill in his spell as the guest in the latest cricket-themed podcast by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller. In Peter’s absence, Roger Alton again faces the bowling. Peter, Richard and Roger are delighted to put out the appeal a...
S1 · E106 · 22 Nov 2022 · 1 hr 4 min
Before D’Oliveira – the glories and the shame of England’s Tests against South Africa
In his book Swallows And Hawke, co-written with past podcast guest André Odendaal, the historian Richard Parry gives a uniquely penetrating account of England’s first eighty years of cricket relations with South Africa, ended by the D’Oliveira affair. It is full of pulsating cricket matches in exciting locations – but all deeply entwined with racism and imperialism. He is the guest in the latest edition of the cricket-themed podcast by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller. In Peter’s unavoidable a...
S1 · E105 · 15 Nov 2022 · 53 min
A select offering from Ed Smith
Ed Smith played cricket for Kent, Middlesex (as captain) and England, was an incisive commentator on Test Match Special and was England’s Chief Selector from 2018 to 2021. In that role, he drew on learning from many different fields as well as those of cricket, as he reveals in his recent polymathic book, Making Decisions. He is the latest guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their cricket-themed podcast. Ed begins by describing his childhood training for the post of Chief Selec...
S1 · E104 · 8 Nov 2022 · 53 min
From the captains’ table – cricket in two village communities
Two highly successful captains of village cricket teams, Tom Greaves of Reed, Hertfordshire, and Callum Widdows of Horningsham, Wiltshire, are the latest guests of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. They share the problems and triumphs of making cricket thrive in local communities – where it belongs. Both were raised in the villages they now captain, but had little exposure to cricket in primary school. At around 12 years old each was inspired by watching...
S1 · E103 · 1 Nov 2022 · 43 min
The cricketing car park of Beirut
Fernando Sugath, a Sri Lankan expatriate, has been playing cricket in Lebanon for 25 years, in some extraordinary places and despite some extraordinary obstacles. With Will Dobson, an English expatriate and a bookseller in Beirut, he recently organized the biggest cricket tournament in Lebanon’s turbulent history. They are the guests of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-103-the-cricket...
S1 · E102 · 25 Oct 2022 · 48 min
Wendy Wimbush – fifty years of keeping but never settling scores
Wendy Wimbush has given a lifetime of service to cricket. She is best known as the BBC scorer in the 1970s but has also worked in other capacities in other countries and with some of the most famous names in cricket. She is the guest in the latest edition of the cricket-themed podcast by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller. In Peter’s unavoidable absence, Roger Alton takes up the attack. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-102-wendy-wimbush-fifty-years-of-keepi...
S1 · E101 · 18 Oct 2022 · 57 min
Mike Coward - sixty years of great cricket writing
After sixty years’ experience in all forms of media, Mike Coward has become one of the most honoured reporters and analysts of cricket in his native Australia and across the world. He is the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-101-mike-coward-sixty-years-of-great-cricket-writing/ Get in contact by emailing [email protected]
S1 · E99 · 11 Oct 2022 · 50 min
At the wonder house of cricket books
Most of cricket’s history for nearly three hundred years can be found behind a small shopfront in a quiet suburban street in Surrey, forty minutes on the commuter train service from London Waterloo. It is easy to miss on a first visit. The most obvious landmark is the large plastic poodle promoting the dog grooming parlour next door. But a closer inspection shows a handsome carved wooden cricket frieze at the base. Peter Oborne and Richard Heller went there to meet England’s premier cricket b...
S1 · E100 · 4 Oct 2022 · 1 hr 3 min
Geoff Boycott celebrates yet another century
Throughout his playing career, Sir Geoffrey Boycott made a habit of celebrating special occasions with a century. It makes him the ideal and appropriate guest for Peter Oborne and Richard Heller on the hundredth recorded edition (according to official statisticians) of their cricket-themed podcast. With him is his new opening partner, Jon Hotten, his collaborator on a revealing, intimate book Being Geoffrey Boycott. Signed copies and two limited editions – celebrating Sir Geoffrey Boycott’s ...
S1 · E98 · 27 Sep 2022 · 52 min
High performance or last performance? Campaigner Alan Higham dissects the ECB review of English cricket
Alan Higham has become a leading campaigner for the preservation of the county championship as the foundation of first-class cricket in England and Wales and for real consultation with its supporters over its future. He explains why this is essential now in the light of the ECB’s just-published high-performance review, as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-98-high-performa...
S1 · E97 · 13 Sep 2022 · 52 min
Can serious cricket survive pornography asks Simon Heffer
Simon Heffer has had a distinguished career as a journalist, historian, academic and man of letters, above all as a cricket-lover who contributes a monthly column on the game to the Daily Telegraph. He is the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-97-can-serious-cricket-survive-pornography-asks-simon-heffer/
S1 · E96 · 6 Sep 2022 · 1 hr 2 min
Rebuilding Ukraine cricket and children’s lives – despite the ICC
When Peter Oborne and Richard Heller last spoke to Kobus Olivier, CEO of the Ukraine Cricket Federation, he and his four dogs had escaped to Poland from the war-shattered city of Kyiv. A lot has happened since to him and to Ukraine cricket. He updates Peter and Richard as the first guest in their returning cricket-themed podcast. Donations to the programme can be made directly to Kobus Olivier through PayPal to @wardogsandI Follow Anna’s journey on Facebook and Instagram. Read the full desc...
S1 · E95 · 5 Jul 2022 · 50 min
The joy of Sri Lankan cricket, expertly distilled
Given the joy it has given to the world, the history of Sri Lankan cricket has been strangely neglected. A young author, Nicholas Brookes, has now filled the gap with a masterly study: An Island’s Eleven. He shares its rich and often surprising contents as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. In Peter’s absence, Roger Alton is co-presenter of this episode. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-95-the-joy-of-sri-...
S1 · E94 · 21 Jun 2022 · 44 min
Dutch cricket – and when it can be dangerous to watch
The Netherlands has played organized cricket almost as long as England. Steven van Hoogstraten was chairman of the Royal Dutch Cricket Association for over a decade and is a current member of its supervisory board: he has also had a distinguished career in public service in the Netherlands and with the United Nations. As England play their first one-day international series in the Netherlands, Steven explores the rich history of Dutch cricket and analyses its current state as the guest of Pet...
S1 · E93 · 7 Jun 2022 · 48 min
Writing and cricket: two matching crafts for Harold Pinter
The 2009 edition of Wisden Cricketers’Almanack contains a beautiful tribute to Harold Pinter. It was written by the academic and musician Ian Smith, his friend and teammate in the celebrated Gaieties Cricket Club. Ian traces Pinter’s deep dedication to cricket and its influence on his life and work, as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. In Peter’s absence, Roger Alton is co-presenter. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.c...
S1 · E92 · 31 May 2022 · 58 min
Cricket – a prisoner of market forces?
Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde won major awards in 2020 for their book Cricket 2.0, tracking the T20 cricket revolution. Tim has now joined forces with one of the world’s leading sports economists, Stefan Szymanski, to write Crickonomics The Anatomy of Modern Cricket. He reveals its essential messages about the inescapable impact of economic and social change on the future of cricket, and surprising conclusions from its data, as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cric...
S1 · E91 · 24 May 2022 · 54 min
Charles Sale digs deep into the tunnels at Lord’s
Charles Sale has been a sports journalist for forty years, almost half of them as the incisive sports diarist of the Daily Mail. In his book The Covers Are Off, he excavates the chaotic and costly story of the redevelopment of Lord’s cricket ground, blighted by two decades of unnecessary conflict between the Marylebone Cricket Club and a sharp-witted local property developer. He shares its story and analysis with Peter Oborne and Richard Heller as the guest on their latest cricket-themed podc...
S1 · E90 · 17 May 2022 · 50 min
Non-racial sport: its slow journey with English cricket in the rear
The former Sports News Editor of the BBC, Mihir Bose, has written with great authority about British and international sport for nearly fifty years. His latest book, Dreaming The Impossible, tracks the slow journey towards a non-racial sports world. It draws on dozens of interviews with leading sportspeople, coaches, managers, administrators, business leaders and campaigners for change. He outlines its vital messages as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-them...
S1 · E89 · 10 May 2022 · 56 min
Writer, broadcaster, cricketer Isabelle Westbury celebrates the upward trajectory of women’s cricket
After a playing career in the Netherlands, Middlesex and Somerset Isabelle Westbury has become one of Britain’s most acute writers and broadcasters on cricket, in combination with a professional legal career. She is the latest guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their cricket-themed podcast. In Peter’s unavoidable absence, Roger Alton shares the bowling in this edition. Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-89-writer-broadcaster-cricketer-isabelle-wes...

About Oborne & Heller on Cricket

Oborne & Heller on Cricket is a English sport podcast from Peter Oborne, Richard Heller. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Peter Oborne, Richard Heller
Language: English
Category: Sport
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest episode: 3 May 2023
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1508997188

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