What's He On About? Cricket Podcast · Charlie Harden

Australia vs South Africa WTC Final Preview

·26 min·1 clip

Kagiso Rabada has 327 Test wickets and the best strike rate in history among bowlers with 150-plus wickets.

This episode starts with a welcome back and a fast reset on where the T20 Blast stands. It treats that competition as something that needs constant attention because it moves so quickly. From there, it shifts to England's Test squad for India, announced a full 15 days before the first Test. The selection chat is immediate and pretty opinionated. The show keeps coming back to who will actually play and who is there as backup. Chris Wokes becomes a major talking point because of the contrast between his record in England and his record in India. His numbers at home are framed as strong. His numbers in India are framed as much tougher. That opens into a broader look at England's bowling options. Brydon Carse gets a positive mention. Shoaib Bashir is treated as a lock because the captain clearly likes playing a spinner. Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue, and Sam Cook are all in the mix for the last place. The selector's view that Cook and Potts were close calls is brought in as part of that argument. The episode also spends time on what England might do with batters like Crawley, Pope, and Bethell. The sense is that the side will not make changes unless it really has to. From there, the show pivots to the World Test Championship final. Australia and South Africa both get preview treatment. The Australian batting order is imagined out loud, including Rickleton at the top, Cameron Green at number three, and Steve Smith and Travis Head in the middle order, with Alex Carey further down. The South African side is discussed through its pace attack and the sheer strength of the bowling group. A combined XI becomes the final flourish. The bowling unit is presented as almost absurdly strong. Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Stark, Nathan Lyon, and Kegiso Rabada are all named together, and the reaction is basically disbelief at how loaded that group is. The show also nods to Stuart Broad finishing his run as South Africa's bowling consultant. Live-stream chat reactions sit underneath the whole thing and keep the tone loose. The episode closes in a very direct, fan-first way, with thanks for the likes and a final reminder of the show's central question: what is he on about?

As heard by us

A cricket catch-up that turns squad calls and bowling debates into a lively final preview.

This episode feels like a cricket catch-up that moves from the T20 Blast table to England's Test side for India, then into a World Test Championship final preview with a look at likely Australia and South Africa XIs, before landing on a combined XI.

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Why you'd press play

You want a cricket preview that thinks out loud and keeps going.

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