Beyond the Numbers (with Gaj Skandakumar)

06/28/20 • 39 min

**BONUS episode with Special Guest**
Everyone loves a list, and most of all our special guest Gajanan Skandakumar ('Gaj'). Not only a handy left-handed batsman, Gaj is also a student of the game, and today he brings in his special "Impressionist" list of his most memorable cricket players (one from each Test-playing nation).
From the expected candidates such the great Viv to more obscure choices such as Kris Srikkanth, there is plenty of passion and argument in this episode - everything from cricket to political wrangling over the monarchy to a comparison to Monica Lewinsky. Many of these players aren't necessarily the best on paper - which leads us into a more philosophical discussion on the value of data itself. Do we rely too much on data to make decisions, and have we forgotten that there is more to life than what can be captured in the numbers?
Join us in our special bonus length episode - and send us your own impressions via social media!

Previous Episode

Impetuous Youth

Perth 2008 - after the bitter acrimony of the "Monkey-gate" affair, two fired up teams face off on a unusually placid WACA track. Australia brings one of the fastest bowling attacks ever assembled, but a lanky young fast bowler from Delhi turns heads by shaking up the legendary Ricky Ponting.
Shourov brings a classic game full of surprises, including a characteristically execrable spell from Shaun Tait and an uncharacteristic brain-fade from Rahul Dravid. But Ishant Sharma vs Ponting is the real game within a game, leading to tales of other young firebrands from our lives.
Today's game: 3rd Test, India tour of Australia at Perth, Jan 16-19 2008

Next Episode

Black and White

January 1984, at the height of the apartheid regime, a team of West Indian cricketers is in the middle of a "rebel" tour of South Africa. Fringe players unable to break into one of the strongest test teams of all time take the opportunity to play international cricket and earn a tidy sum of money. They play good cricket, break down barriers and receive almost universal adulation wherever they go.
However, when they return home, all hell breaks lose. They are banned for life, ostracised by society and many end up destitute. But was what they did so bad ? And why was the reaction to this tour so much more visceral than those faced by English and Australian sides of the same era.
A serious discussion with a surprising denouement, this episode has resonance with a number of modern thematics on race relations, cancel culture and political polarisation.
Today's game:
3rd 'Test' (D/N), Johannesburg, Jan 13-17 1984, West Indies XI tour of South Africa
The article:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21298477/the-unforgiven
The book:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Unforgiven-Ashley-Gray/dp/1785315323