Hello and welcome to Stumped, your intercontinental hit of news, features, and debate
from the quirky world of cricket. I'm Alison Mitchell and I'm in Northamptonshire in England.
Well, the ECB - the England cricket board - now need a new chief executive, alongside a whole
host of other appointments they've made recently. They have just got a white-ball coach secured from
the international women's game, which is a very interesting development. And I won't be here next
week because I'm going to be off to commentate on the French Open tennis, but I'm sure you will
be put in excellent hands, nevertheless. I'm Brett Sprigg here at the ABC in Sydney,
where it's been a sombre week since learning of the tragic and sudden passing of Andrey Symonds,
which I know we'll talk about later on. On the field, next summer is taking shape. It sounds
like Cricket Australia wants to start its One Day Internationals earlier in the day and finish
before night-time to allocate more broadcast time to the Big Bash. Whether such a move is
able to revive that competition, time will tell. But, I'm liking the fact that we won't have these
50-over games finishing so close to midnight because nobody wants that, do they?
Well, it does happen India all the time in the IPL. Hi, I'm Charu Sharma, once again in Bangalore
where it just can't stop raining. There's some pre-monsoon madness and everything's flooded,
including our basement by the way. We had some midnight drama trying to get our cars away from
there. Oh gosh. And of course, no golf, no tennis, terrible stuff. But looks like we have to deal
with another tragedy in the world of cricket. Terrible about Andrew Symonds, and of course
English cricket, I know Alison just can't seem to get its act together. What's going on here?
Let's hope they can get their act together in time for that first Test match because that squad came
out as well this week. Some interesting names. A lot of people saying you know it's a bit of same,
same going on, but we'll have time to talk about that in the show as well of course reflects upon
Andrew Symonds, because that's just too shocking news and so soon off the back of Shane Warne as
well and Rod Marsh even before that. Well, if the legend that is Sachin Tendulkar describes
you as "an inspiration for all the young kids aspiring to be cricketers," you know you've made
a pretty enormous impact. He has scored more Test runs, more ODI, runs more ODI hundreds
and overall hundreds than any other batter in New Zealand history. He's recently retired after
a long and distinguished international career. It is the ex-captain and now former New Zealand bat,
Ross Taylor. Ross, welcome to Stumped. Hope you are well? That was a nice tweet
from Sachin Tendulkar, wasn't it? And you replied to him in Hindi, which was
a classy touch. What did those words mean to you? Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah,
I must admit my Hindi translator Ish Sodhi has been very good to me over the years
and translating a few messages, as well as replying to [Virender] Sehwag and co,
and some other banter as well. But no, Sachin has been an inspiration to a lot of players,
and young kids growing up and I was no different. He was one of my favourite players along with Mark Waugh
growing up, so to have played against him a few times, and to obviously have got that message
is something I'll never forget. I know you announced your international retirement back
in December, but it's only last month when you played your last game. We spoke to you on Stumped
two years ago to mark your 100th Test match, and 100 International appearances across all
three formats as well, which does speak volumes about the longevity of your career over those 16
years. And you said at the time, you know that the R word was cropping up. I didn't say it, you did.
But former players advised you that you are a long-time retired. So, having played until
the age of 38, what then made you decide that, you know, now was the time to stop?
I think everyone talks about the right time. I think if you go on a little bit longer,
I probably would have had to have committed to play the next World Cup, and it just gives the
next bunch of guys a few more opportunities to play. Covid probably put a halt to that,
it was pretty disjointed. Everyone in all parts of the world were affected in different ways.
When you're getting older and not being able to play as often, it probably made me retire a little
bit earlier than I probably would have liked, but I'm really comfortable with my decision.
I've enjoyed the time at home, but saying that I'm still looking forward to playing a few tournaments
around the world in the coming months. You came over to England at quite a young age and had a
very formative experience at Lord's. It seems quite fitting as we're talking to you only a
couple in a week or so before New Zealand will take on England at Lord's but tell us about that.
I didn't really know much about Lord's to be fair. I heard about the slope
and coming from a population of 20,000 to the population of London was definitely an eye
opener. It was a good baptism of fire to really pursue the career that I wanted to, to live and
breathe cricket. To play at Lord's inspired me to want to come back here and probably play County
cricket and hopefully one day for New Zealand. So, I was able to tick off a lot of those goals.
I wasn't able to get on the honours board but a few family members have gone through the the MCC
tour over the years and apparently my name has come up a few times for hitting a six over the
the members side, so it couldn't have been all too bad! You know, I was actually on one of
those tours just yesterday Roscoe and your name did come up, you're absolutely right!
Obviously there's not many stories to tell but I thought my family was just making it up!
Your rise to the captaincy did happen pretty quickly, of course. In 2010, you had your first taste
of the national captaincy. Talk us through that, and I guess how you coped with that responsibility of that role initially?
Yeah, I suppose it was...I got it by default a little bit.
I was vice captain. [Brendon] McCullum and [Daniel] Vettori were on paternity leave.
It was a strange one having to captain players that are older than you, and significantly older
than you. I'm half Samoan, and you always were told to respect your elders. And it was really hard.
I found it really hard to tell older people who were in some cases a decade older
me what to do. But no, I enjoyed the challenge. I thought it brought the best out of my batting,
but yeah, I suppose it was good. It was good fun. Had some good results. But yeah, I guess,
history will probably say something different. Can I take you back to 2008? It was very special year
for all of us, because that's when the IPL started and give us some of your early memories because
you mentioned the population of London. I presume that even Bangalore and everything else about
India was not easy to get used to Ross for you? I was just ecstatic to go over. No one really knew
what to expect. I didn't plan that first game. I remember Martin Crowe said to me "Brendon McCullum
was on the Red Bull's." He said "he's either going to get a duck or 80!" I mean, Brendon ended up getting
158, which probably helped us out! But for me, being the youngster sharing a dressing room with
guys I'd watched on TV: [Rahul] Dravid, [Anil] Kumble, [Jacques] Kallis, [Mark] Boucher, you
know, guys that were legends of the game. I think that helped my cricket and I think it helped
New Zealand cricket. I think it broke down the walls, the aura that these people had.
We beat Mumbai & Sachin wasn't playing but at the old Wankhede Stadium.
I remember hitting Harbhajan [Singh] for a couple of sixes. I didn't know which way the ball was
going, so I just slogged it! A couple came out of the middle and one landed on the roof! So,
looking back on it, obviously once you retire, you have fond memories, but at the same time
I was pretty naive and pretty raw back then and it probably wasn't a bad thing
with everything else going around. To have not had the full appreciation of what was going on.
I'm sure you got your due the IPL later but for the first year I do
apologise I don't think we overpaid you at all but I'm glad you came!
Did you not clear the Chinnaswamy Stadium as well? Because I mean, I remember you
know all of us were marvelling at your bat speed. It was it was fabulous! And tell us about some
other memories... did the IPL help international cricket as much as it perhaps did your career?
Yeah, I think I get messages on my Twitter and Instagram. I still have the
sixth or seventh longest six. I don't know if it counts because it was off a fellow Kiwi Jacob Oram.
I remind him of that every now and then. But yeah, as I said before, I think it
definitely helped New Zealand cricket out. I think the way all these players were playing, and other
teams would. We used to put the Australia and South Africa [players] on a pedestal,
but once we saw them in action, yes they were better than us but they weren't
that far ahead of us. So, we knew what we needed to do to get better. So, when we did play them
it's sort of broke down their walls and you know when Kallis and Boucher who you played with for
years would end up sledging you but then laugh afterwards sort of softened how things were, and I
think for the benefit of cricket I think all that other stuff actually helped out. I don't think New
Zealand cricket is probably the only one, I think a lot of other countries would have benefited from
IPL and you know, right to the stage there's a lot of players who are benefiting. New Zealand cricket
are in fantastic shape, and I think a lot of that's got down to having world class players but
them getting the experience of rubbing shoulders with these players that wouldn't have happened before IPL.
And of course, I mean, we would seem to think that that's a high point in your career,
but will you consider it so winning the World Test championships? The first one, always special?
Yeah, I think so. I think to win the inaugural one. People keep telling me why do
you mention it? But after the heartbreak of 2019. Can I just say, I wasn't going to mention it!
Yeah, that's why I'm bringing it up, because it comes up anyway. You know, to come so close,
it was a fantastic final at the home of cricket. You're flying back home with all the emotions of
the game and the what ifs. You also think that's probably my last chance of playing
in the World Cup and playing a World Cup final, to two years later being in the same country,
obviously different opposition but in a different format. And then being there at the end with Kane [Williamson],
and hitting the winning runs, I couldn't have scripted it any better.
I still get goosebumps thinking about it now. So, the Test series is about to start:
England versus New Zealand. What did you make of the appointment of Brendon McCullum
to the England Test team role? And obviously your relationship had its ups and downs throughout the
year. I'm interested in did you sort of exchange messages at the moment? Has he had any message
from you or vice versa? Yeah, I sent him a message once he got it to congratulate him.
Two weeks ago, if you would have told me Brendon was going to coach England, I would have said no chance.
Then to coach a white-ball team, I probably would have said, Oh, maybe. But the Test team? It's a
complete surprise to a lot of New Zealanders. But you know, it's no surprise that he interviewed
well, and I think his combination with Stokes is going to be an interesting one. There'll be, you
know, very attacking. They're very similar minded people, I think. And no, I'm just excited to see
how they go. Obviously, because it's my first series away, I was going to watch
it with interest, but I think the added dimension of Brendon being the coach. If there's any person
that knows our team the best, it's going to be him. I'm sure he's going to be passing on
some inside information, so I'm sure that in some ways it's going to be
it's going to be his hardest test, but it could also be his easiest in the way he can scout the
team and know the nuances about how different individuals play. And he's very good. He's very
close with a lot of those players too, so I'm sure that first morning of that Test, and when they do
see each other, it's going to be a bit strange for everyone. But I think he's going to do a
fantastic role and I look forward to seeing how him and Stokes and the rest of the team
developed over the years. Congratulations on your international career, Ross and we really
enjoyed chatting to you about it here on Stumped. Thanks for having me.
Next on Stumped, England's men's cricketers might not have played a match for a couple of months but goodness me it
has been a busy time off the field. They've got a new Test captain in Ben Stokes, new Test coach
as we've been speaking about in Brendon McCullum, and there's been even more this week. Tom Harrison
resigned as chief executive, James Anderson and Stuart Broad recalled to the Test squad for these
first matches against New Zealand, and there's now been the appointment of the new white-ball coach,
which is Australia's highly successful women's coach, Matthew Mott, on a four-year deal. Brett,
does that come as a bit of a shock to Australians to lose Matthew Mott?
Yes, because England's gain is certainly Australia's loss, Ali. Personally, I've been lucky enough to work with Motty on
our ABC coverage of WBBL, where his unique insights as national coach have been tremendous,
and he's just a really lovely bloke. I'm happy for him. Obviously, he's a popular coach, very
team-first driven, very open to the evolution of the game and certain game plans which are always,
I guess, a cornerstone of white-ball and particularly T20 cricket. So he would already
have an idea of what sort of brand of cricket he wants this England team to play. And indeed, who
should be a part of its best XI. He presided over three World Cup wins, three Ashes, that run on
26-straight One Day International wins, of course, for the Aussie women as well. And let's not forget
he had some previous coaching experience in the UK. He was in charge of Glamorgan some years ago
before the Australian gig. He also won a Sheffield Shield here in New South Wales before that here in
Australia. It's such a different scenario, Ali, I guess to the Test side of things, where a bit of a
rebuild happening. England is already reasonably successful as the defending 50-over champions,
currently ranked second, also ranked second in T20s. Of course, interestingly, Matthew Mott's
first big assignment in charge will be the T20 World Cup later this year in his home country.
That's a great place to start. But yeah, a bit of a shock, but that's certainly well deserved.
Yeah, as regards the administration, Claire Connor steps up as interim CEO for the ECB.
So, that's quite a significant move as well. She is the busiest woman in world cricket with her
ICC role. I think her ECB women's role she will step back a bit from that in order to
take on the CEO role in the interim period, but I would not be surprised at all if she put her hat
in the ring for that role full time. She would be absolutely qualified to step up. But there will be
many, many other candidates as well. Or will there because of course, English cricket is
still in a little bit of a turbulent period, and there is still long-standing division over The
Hundred. There is still the aftermath and the ongoing fallout from the Azeem Rafiq affair,
and everything ECB is needing to do to tackle discrimination in the game. So,
there's a lot still churning away behind the scenes, that's for sure. Brett, I did want to turn
to the very sad news from Australia, more tragic news with the loss of Andrew Symonds, who was
just another dynamic cricketer in his day who would become popular behind the mic, doing some
commentary as well in recent years, too. He was only 46 years old. Just tell us about the
response down under. Yeah, it's been as you can imagine, extremely deeply felt, given
the other recent losses in particular Shane Warne from the same era. Look, Andrew Symonds typified Australian
iconicism. He could smack the ball around, he bowled spin, he bowled pace. He was a world class
fielder before we truly came to appreciate world class fielders. He loved a beer, which is always
endearing to the Australian public but perhaps not so the Cricket Australia hierarchy at times.
It's a shame that the so-called Monkeygate scandal hastened his exit from international cricket,
but the development no one ever talks about is that he and Harbhajan Singh would go on to become
teammates in the IPL and they got on quite well in the end. So, there was a happy ending there,
even if the legacy of that saga serves to remind us that Cricket Australia was prepared to put its
business interests ahead of the welfare one of its players. It's so disappointing that his career was
tainted by that through no fault of his, but Aussie cricket fans remember Andrew Symonds so
fondly. Certainly, Queenslanders do. I was up in Queensland when the news broke, and there
were 40,000 fans at a Rugby League match I was at that observed a pure moment silence. The respect
was always there for him, and I just feel for his family obviously, and his children are only still
quite young, primary school age. But again, it's a loss at the cricket community will feel together.
Yeah, well, I've heard Harbhajan Singh particularly recalled some fond memories later
on when they became colleagues and I think all of India particularly appreciated his enormous skill,
his genius really with the bat and he was pretty handy bowler as well and Brett,
you mentioned his fielding, so an all-round cricketer, you know. One of the best in
the world. The fact that he went so soon and after some other icons too, it's truly tragic.
Well, that is it for Stumped this week on All India Radio. Don't forget you can follow us on
Twitter, we're @BBCWSSport and use #BBCStumped. Check us out on YouTube as well, go to the BBC
World Service's YouTube channel. My thanks to Charu Sharma and to Brett Sprigg, and, of course,
to our special guest, Ross Taylor, and you for listening. We'll see you next week. Bye bye.