English cricket will learn in the next few weeks whether the new Government will back the proposal to return the Ashes to free-to-air television.

But the overwhelming probability is that David Davies’ recommendation, announced late last year in his review of sport’s ‘listed’ events, will be dropped, allowing the ECB to continue to sell their TV rights to the highest bidder.

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Brendon McCullum is one of the faces of Twenty20 cricket. His extraordinary 158, which cut the IPL ribbon two years ago, is still the highest in the shortest format of the game and he made the second Twenty20 international century a few weeks ago.

But when I spoke to McCullum for the April issue of The Wisden Cricketer (out on Friday) it was clear he is intent upon a more wide-ranging impact on the game.

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The word is that Vivian Richards has softened. He even told The Wisden Cricketer last year: “I look forward to peace and a tranquil way of life. I am more chilled than when I played.”

Who are you kidding Viv? I went to meet him last week to look back over his career for a forthcoming feature in TWC and there was a glint in his eye with each memory he recalled. By the end of it he was cursing the fact that his career had been and gone before the onset of Twenty20.

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“I think in South Africa it’s more a case of third-slip wickets rather than mid-wicket wickets.” Talking cricket with Stuart Broad for half-an-hour is a deliciously pure exercise, and it’s one he seems to enjoy just as much as his lucky interviewer.

Cross-seam, angles, wide yorkers, bowler-protection, enforcement – all talked about with great enthusiasm and yet this was the last of a day of interviews Broad was doing as he launches Bowled Over: my side of the story, his autobiography. You walk out the room feeling that this guy relishes the multiple skills of his sport, and that nothing will shake his focus from them. Read the rest of this entry »

Trinidad and Tobago captain Daren Ganga has led his team brilliantly in the Champions League so far. Last night, the team pulled off an astonishing win as Kieron Pollard made 54 not out from 18 balls when the West Indians looked buried. Afterwards, Ganga talked Stanford, Twenty20 and West Indies …

Could you give the full West Indies side a game – could you be a national side on your own?
We have played them in the past. But we are not thinking of taking on the West Indies. West Indies cricket is so much more valuable to all the West Indies people. It is the only thing in the Caribbean that unifies. The Champions League can be seen as a positive so that West Indies cricket in the end benefits. We have all seen the results of Sir Allen Stanford and his investment in the Caribbean and in young cricketers. What we are doing here will go and inspire so that West Indies cricket can be improved and enhanced.

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In March this year, Australia picked a debutant legspinner at Cape Town against South Africa. This was Warne’s replacement, the answer to Australian spin troubles – Bryce McGain had had a number of solid seasons for Victoria and, despite being a week short of his 37th birthday and Australia’s oldest debutant, he had forced his way into the side. That was as good as it got. Kallis battered him, de Villiers cashed in, Australia lost by an innings and McGain took home figures of 18-2-149-0. It was a brutal introduction and swift ending to his international experience. Now, in the glamorous surrounds of the Champions League in Delhi, where he fights even to find a starting spot for the Victoria Bushrangers, he’s had a chance to digest the toughest and briefest of Test careers:

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Adil Rashid plays for Yorkshire, and was part of England’s squad for the recent World Twenty20. He was speaking at the ASDA Kwik Cricket National Final at Headingley. The ASDA Kwik Cricket competition is driving 130,000 boys and girls from 12,000 Primary Schools across the UK to get healthy and active through cricket.

How have you enjoyed being part of the England set-up over the last year or so?

Going to India and West Indies with England has been a great experience for me, and being involved in the World Twenty20 as well.  Playing with the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and the others has been great fun.

How difficult was it being on tour and not playing much?

It was quite difficult but you have to work through it. A lot of players have been through the same thing. Even though I wasn’t playing being part of the team for nets and the fitness was an amazing experience. If I needed any advice or tips I would ask the more senior players and they were very helpful. I worked with quite a few players but mainly Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara on my batting and other little technical things. You learn something every time you play with England.

What have you learned working with Mushtaq Ahmed?

It’s been a big help. I’ve been working with Mushy quite a bit, and I spent a lot of time working with him in the West Indies. He’s been teaching me how to work on batsman and about my body language.

How do you see yourself at the moment, as an all rounder or a legspinner who bowls?

I think my main aim at the moment is bowling ahead of the batting.

Does Andrew Flintoff’s retirement create a hole in this England team for you?

It’s disappointing for Fred to have had to announce his retirement, but no, I wouldn’t say that it creates a hole for me.

Does the anticipation and hype around you faze you at all?

No not really. I just want to concentrate on my cricket whether it’s playing for Yorkshire or England. It doesn’t make a difference to me what’s in the newspapers. I try to take that out of my mind and focus on my cricket one day at a time.

What can Twenty20 cricket teach you as a legspinner?

With the batsmen coming at you in search of boundaries, as a bowler you have got to know what to bowl, when to bowl and what fields to set.  It teaches you how to come back the next ball after being hit.

How did you feel when Paul Collingwood gave you the ball against West Indies in the T20 World Cup even though they were chasing a reduced target?

It gave me a lot of confidence when he threw me the ball and told me to just bowl, and it came out well. It was a real boost that he had confidence in me to get a wicket and that’s what I did.

How important is it for a young legspinner to have a captain who understands your game?

It’s really important for the captain to know what sort of bowler I am and what kind of fields I need and what I am thinking. That is crucial.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

I’ve been working with my dad since I was a youngster. I‘ve also worked with people like Terry Jenner, Dave Parsons and Steve Oldham but my dad has had the most influence on me. My father taught me how to bowl legspin, but as I get older I have developed my own style and visited different coaches. That’s what happened?

Why is it that so many young legspinners fall by the wayside?

Some people just give up and don’t fight on through the difficult times. Being a legspinner is hard – I think you have more bad days than good days in general. It just depends on the individual.

So is being mentally strong a key part of succeeding as a spinner?

Definitely. I think you have to be mentally strong – even if you get hit for four sixes you can’t be weak, you can’t be thinking negatively.

Are you an attacking legspinner?

Definitely. A legspinner is an attacking option who is going to go for a few runs but has a lot more chance of getting a wicket than a finger-spinner. As a legspinner you are always going to get hit, but you are more likely to take a wicket than an offspinner because of your variations – your googly, your slider and so on.

Terry Jenner said that he doesn’t believe legspinners mature until they are around 23. Is he right?

Terry’s worked with Shane Warne, the best legspinner the world has ever, throughout his career so I think you can believe what he says.

Have you had any advice from Shane Warne when you’ve played against him?

I’ve played against him a couple of times for Yorkshire against Hampshire and I made sure I spoke to him and got a few tips off him.  He was a great help and it would be nice to work with him again in the future. I would love to have a proper session with him and pick his brain about what he thinks when he bowls and how he responds to different situations.

Sam Collins is website editor of thewisdencricketer.com

Alec Stewart is England’s most capped Test cricketer, with 133 appearances to his name. Initially a dashing opening batsman, he became a wicketkeeper of some repute, and now works as a summariser on Test Match Special. He was speaking to Sam Collins at the Ladbrokes Ashes launch.

Did you feel at all sorry for James Foster going back to county cricket after the World Twenty20?

I thought he kept very well. I’m a big fan of Fozzie. I know Fozzie, I’ve toured with Fozzie. I think he’s the best gloveman in the world. But if you asked him he would say for the balance of the Test side then there are other people who should play. Matt Prior is a good performer. He’s got a record behind him. So do I feel sorry for him? It’s just the way the modern game has gone. You’ve now got to be a top batsman and a top keeper. I can’t say I’m his biggest fan because – that’s Graham Gooch down at Essex – but I know how good Foster is. But how you get him in the side?

Does Foster know where he stands in the England set-up?

Well he knows he’s not in the Test side. The days of an out-and-out keeper are not there. Bob Taylor, for example. Wonderful, wonderful keeper but a No.9 bat. He wouldn’t play in the England side now because of the balance of the side, which is sad because it’s an art. So Fozzie has just got to keep churning out runs for Essex to say, ‘right, not only am I a world-class keeper but I also can bat at No.7 in the Test side’. And that’s what he needs to do.

Would you play Steve Harmison this summer?

I’m a Harmison fan. I reckon I’m his biggest fan in the country. Would I pick him now? I’d definitely have him in the squad. I’d have definitely picked him in that 16. Because he can turn a game.

Do you see Ravi Bopara as a No.3?

When I first saw him at Essex and he was picked to bat at No.3 for England, I had my reservations. I thought he may have been a No.5. Having now seen him first-hand against the West Indies, I’ve been converted. There aren’t many cricketers that have the x-factor – but I think he’s got it.

Is Shane Warne just trying to get under Ravi’s skin?

Warney loves a headline doesn’t he? I don’t know why we go to the Australians and ask them for their opinions on our cricketers. The Australians don’t do that with us. We’re never asked by an Australian newspaper what do we think of Phil Hughes or Brad Haddin. Of course you’re going to knock the opposition, try and dent their confidence. Ravi Bopara to me is a talent and someone who will have a very, very big international career.

So what would your plans be to Phil Hughes?

Whatever the plans are, you’ve got to see them through, you’ve got to deliver them. Andrew Flintoff around the wicket bowling a tight line over off stump with an off-side field, like the Gilchrist field. Two gullies, a cover just behind and cover just in front. He looks a big off-side, square-of-the-wicket player. Flower and Strauss will have examined him. Strauss has seen him at first-hand for Middlesex. But you can have all the plans in the world but you’ve then got to go and execute them.

Do you feel sorry for Michael Vaughan regarding the manner in which his career has ended?

I’d just like to thank him for everything he did. He was a wonderful leader. He took English cricket forward, not just over the Ashes but when he took over from Nasser, straight away. Having played under him for three or four Test matches he looked a natural leader, a good man-manager, good with people, good with players. He offered English cricket so much with his captaincy. In 2002-03 he was the best player in the world when he took on Australia. He got runs against India as well.

Were you always a keeper?

No. I always batted. I started keeping at the age of 16. And I signed at Surrey as a batsman who could keep. And that’s how my career went. I always started off in the sides that I played for as an opening batsman or No.3 – but then the balance of the side … Graham Gooch wants Foster in the England side now – he was the one who dropped Jack Russell and said right you’re batting at No.3 or opening, you’re also going to keep wicket because the balance of the side enables us to get another batter or bowler in.

How did you deal with it?

I always worked on my keeping. As a cricketer you need two strings to your bow. My biggest problem was one series I was a batter, then they’d want me to keep for the last Test match of a series, then I’d go back to opening the batting. So there was no continuity until ’97. And that’s when David Lloyd and Athers said, ‘right, you are the keeper’. I thought, right, I’m now a batsman, I’m also a keeper and I focused on those two jobs with equal amounts of practice and preparation. You’ve got to know what your roles are. You want clarity from the people up above.

Who’s got better banter behind the stumps, you or Prior?

The banter’s over-rated. Everyone should be encouraging his team-mates. I’m not a fan of the stump mic. For a neutral or a punter it’s good. But I just believe what goes on the field stays on the field. And your job is to catch the ball and make sure your team-mates are geed up. But that goes for anyone whether it’s the keeper, fine-leg, first slip, mid-off or whatever.

Did you find it difficult hearing yourself on the stump mic?

Oh I used to turn the mute button on. Because it’s dull. To me it’s dull. At the time you’re saying what you believe should be said to gee up your team-mates and to encourage your team-mates. But the number of times I’ve sat there watching highlights and I hear ‘bowled Crofty’ or ‘bowled Gilo’, things like that. It’s not the most exciting thing to have to listen to.

Who’s the most difficult bowler you remember keeping to?

Saqlain Mushtaq when he first arrived at Surrey, not being able to pick his doosra. For the first two months that was hard work. And anyone who makes the ball wobble past the stumps. The ball doesn’t rotate and it does all kind of things. Harmison can be hard, Gladstone Small used to make the ball wobble about. So they’re the hard ones where you think you’re catching the ball and just as it gets to you, it can hit you on the shoulder. What the ball does between the stumps until it reaches the keeper when you’re stood back isn’t always picked up by the TV or by the watching public.

Sam Collins is website editor of The Wisden Cricketer

Darren Gough led England’s attack for close to a decade. He took 229 wickets in 58 Tests and 235 in 159 ODIs and captained Yorkshire before his retirement in 2008. Since then he has appeared on the cult BBC show Hole in the Wall, while doing media work for Setanta and TalkSport. He was talking to Sam Collins

Were you faster than Fred Trueman?
Without a doubt. I think everyone gets faster as days go on. But, it’s not all about pace. Fred Trueman was a tremendous bowler.

How did you teach yourself reverse swing?
By watching Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and practising hard. I was still trying to master it at my peak, but you never do. You always think you’ve got it, but then the batsman learns a new technique to face it so you have to learn something else.

Is the Yorker underused in the modern game?
You have to be good to do it. There are three bowlers who use it a lot now – Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar – and they all take wickets with it. Flintoff doesn’t do so badly with it either. He doesn’t take so many wickets because he moves the ball in, and batsmen can get across their stumps to him. He’s a quality bowler, and when he doesn’t play England miss him big time, but the angle he bowls from he’s going to find it very hard to take it away from the bat. Most of his wickets are bowled or LBW and there aren’t many seaming away and caught at slip, apart from to left-handers. That’s one thing in his game he could develop and if he could just learn to hold the ball up a bit, he’d be so much better. But he’s not a natural bowler is he; we all consider him a batsman who bowls a bit.

Are conditions now too far in favour of the batsmen in international cricket?
I honestly believe that the pitches now are the same as when I played but there are not as many good bowlers around as in the past. There are lots more decent batsmen but if you are a good bowler in this day and age then you still take wickets. Take Dale Steyn, he keeps it simple, he runs in and bowls it as fast as he can and keeps the seam upright and he averages about 20 or something silly. If you are a good bowler you take wickets on any pitch.

Why are there so few top-quality bowlers around today?
No idea. I think it goes in spells, in another two or three years you might get a few youngsters coming on to the scene, there are so many of them, who become world-class performers. It can just happen, it might just be a bad year. Each team now has one good bowler. Australia have Mitchell Johnson, South Africa have Steyn, India have Zaheer Khan, so each country have one good bowler and not four like they used to.

Where is England’s next strike bowler coming from?
I would like to think Steve Harmison still has a lot to offer England. He’s had a disappointing time, but when he’s confident and bowling well he’s their best bowler after Flintoff. The one guy who’s had potential but tended to spray it a bit is Saj Mahmood. I really hope he gets it right, because if he does he can be a handful.

Which country had the best opening bowling attack when you were playing?
South Africa. They had everything. Shaun Pollock had bounce, variation of pace, a good bouncer and a deceptive slower ball. Allan Donald was just a pure athlete, who had amazing speed, and could go on forever. A great performer.

Why has the North traditionally produced so many good quick bowlers?
The league pitches probably suit the bowlers better, although Headingley is now very, very flat. It cost us so many times last year. This year I think you’ll find Yorkshire will try and produce result pitches, because it’s the only way a side can win the Championship now. Yorkshire’s problem in the last two years is that they didn’t get enough results at Headingley, and teams that have won the County Championship have always got results at home.

Can England win the Ashes?
Absolutely. I think they’ll do it. I can’t see where Australia are going to get 20 wickets from.

Have England got it right with Andy Flower?
Of the candidates that went for the job, I’m pleased Andy Flower got it. All I’m concerned about is the discipline side. Andy is a great guy, I played with him at Essex, a very good coach, a great talker and I don’t think that was going to be an issue. The issue is how he handles the big-time players, and those with strong personalities. If he can handle them, he will be the right man for the job, but I’d like to see him as a coach rather than a manager.

What are your memories of Duncan Fletcher’s arrival as coach?
You didn’t really see anything for the first four months. He just watched and observed, worked out the characters of the individuals and how to approach them. His approach worked for a long time.

Will you be doing another series of the BBC’s Hole in the Wall?
I don’t know. I think the first series went really well. It’s one of those shows that, when you first watch it you think “what is this”, how long can watching people fall in the water make me laugh for? But as you found it became more and more popular and they ended up having to repeat it. When I watched it I wasn’t at my fittest, sometimes I squirm at it a bit but it was good fun. I’d have another go at it if I was asked, but I haven’t heard anything.

Darren Gough is representing the MARS Balls Get Britain Playing 200,000 ball giveaway. As part of the campaign Darren will be playing against sporting greats Pat Cash, John Barnes and Austin Healey in the Bounce Off – a tournament where he’ll captain a team that takes on these other legends in their respective sports. See www.marsballsgetbritainplaying.com for details on how to win a ball and get involved.

Sam Collins is website editor of thewisdencricketer.com

Jamie Dalrymple has been appointed captain of Glamorgan for the 2009 season. He has made 27 ODI appearances for England, the last coming in England’s defeat to the West Indies at the World Cup in 2007. He began his career at Middlesex before moving to Glamorgan at the beginning of the 2008 season. He was talking to Sam Collins.

How was your winter?

The squad went on a pre-season trip to Cape Town for two weeks. We played against a few of the academies out there and the Holland national side who were warming up for the World Cup qualifiers – varied opposition but it was great to be outside playing on grass, which makes you more ready to go when you get back.

Was captaincy on your mind when you decided to move from Middlesex?

No. I left because I wanted to get my cricket back in my own hands in a positive environment and just get back to batting, bowling and fielding. It’s something that developed and I’m very excited to be given the opportunity. I’m blessed with a very good bunch of guys and a lot of talented young players down here.

Why do England suddenly have so much depth in the spin department?

There’s been an England spin coach (ECB performance director David Parsons) in place for a couple of years now and that is indicative of this focus on spin. Spinners in county cricket have been seen to do well, spinners have also contributed hugely in T20 cricket which is a big part of the game now. When there is a focus on something you suddenly find that it starts developing.

Have you personally benefited from David Parsons’ regime?

I had a very good time when I was up at the Academy two or three winters ago. That was useful for me. I have not bowled as many overs as I would have liked in the last couple of seasons. I am very much at the stage now where I just want to get overs under my belt again and get back on the right road.

How much of a fillip is it for Glamorgan hosting an Ashes Test?

It’s fantastic that the cricket is coming down to Glamorgan, and that we’ve got an excellent stadium as well to generate the interest. From the county perspective we are hoping that the increased attention is going to help drag the crowds down to us again. If we drive our performance levels up, then no doubt the support will come in. The atmosphere down here is fantastic. People are going to get quite a surprise when England get up and running. If they play well down here they will find themselves in a great atmosphere.

How have the Welsh accepted you?

They’ve been very good to me. They left me alone after the Six Nations last year, and this year England finished second while they finished fourth which has made it even more bearable.

Who is your best friend in cricket?

Ed Joyce – formerly of Middlesex and now of Sussex. I hope he can get back into the England set-up. Ed is an absolutely top-class player when he is playing well, and it will be good to see him with a smile on his face batting long periods of time again.

Sam Collins is web-editor of thewisdencricketer.com