Middlesex County Cricket League (MCCL) · MCCL Podcast

Out of the Ashes into the Middlesex Cup/Trophy

·35 min·2 clips

England's Ashes batting is called cricket without consequences.

Dan Huff from Twickenham CC and Sal Manali from North London open the first MCCL podcast of 2026. They exchange New Year wishes. The weather is cold and wet, although the cold front is easing and Monday may reach 10 degrees. Dan jokes that the nights are already getting shorter and the days longer, even if it does not feel like it yet. They admit they have barely watched any live cricket, aside from highlights. The mood is more resigned than celebratory. Dan recalls being up in Grimsby on 29 December with two others to watch another poor performance. He describes stopping for fish and chips in Cleethorpes. That quickly turns into one of the standout stories in the show. The woman in the chip shop asked whether they had brought their own fish. Dan says people apparently do that there. His Shrewsbury Town scarf probably made it obvious they were not local. He also flags a separate football trip to Wolverhampton, where Shrewsbury were beaten 6-1 again. That leads into a train tale from Ascot, where singing early-morning passengers turned out to be Blackpool fans heading to Ipswich. The detours are wide-ranging, but the conversation keeps circling back to local cricket. They talk about clubs keeping an eye on social media to see what is happening around the league. Paul Smith is due to publish the cup draws on the MCCL website. North London are about a month or so away from proper winter nets, while the juniors are already kicking in. The episode closes with good wishes to everyone involved and the promise of another catch-up soon.

As heard by us

A winter league catch-up that feels like club chat, with cup season just starting to peek through.

The first Middlesex County Cricket League podcast of 2026 has the feel of a winter roll call: a little weather talk, a little state-of-play, and a steady sense that the season is edging closer.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the first 2026 MCCL catch-up, with cup draws, winter nets, and season-start talk back in view.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Middlesex County Cricket League (MCCL)