The World Cup’s “luckiest overdogs”
A fun review of the WC, Pandya’s rebounding brand, & Barbados’ poverty-beating Empire Club.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb1c21bee-2f7c-455a-8145-019db5970096_1920x1080.png)
🚨 I’m running an audience survey this week to understand what works in this newsletter. Please fill it out if you five minutes! 🚨
Will India travel to Lahore?
The Champions Trophy schedule is out, AUS want to host an IND-PAK series, & ENG-W beat NZ.
The PCB have submitted their initial schedule for the Champions Trophy, including India matches in country. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia’s chief executive wants to see India & Pakistan play a bilateral series in Australia.
One team who won’t be playing Australia are Afghanistan. Cricket Australia have doubled down on their stance of avoiding the country until there are material changes to their treatment of their female athletes.
England Women beat New Zealand by 5 wickets to secure a series win. Lauren Bell, the fifer-taking star of the game, talked about how re-working her bowling action over the years is paying off.
An uncredited Cricket.com post previews the Tamil Nadu Premier League, which kicks off tomorrow night.
The World Cup’s “luckiest overdogs”
A fun review of the WC, Pandya’s rebounding brand, & Barbados’ poverty-beating Empire Club.
Everyone’s got their own teams of the tournament, but only ESPNcricinfo’s Alan Gardner has a funny piece on the real winners of the World Cup. Oh, and Emerging Cricket’s Shounak Sarkar actually has an interesting Associate XI.
BBC’s Eshlin Vedan talks to a couple of players and coaches in America to see if the World Cup actually made a difference to them.
Hindustan Times’ Rasesh Mandani has an interesting piece on how Hardik Pandya’s ‘brand value’ has rebounded overnight after a tough IPL.
Deccan Herald’s Roshan Thyagarajan writes about the Empire Club; the cricketing club in Barbados that was built by and for the poor citizens of its neighbourhood, and has consistently churned out international cricketers including 20 Test players.
Sky Sports’ Evie Ashton talked to Southern Vipers captain & English international Georgia Adams about being a LGBT+ icon in cricket.
Afghanistan’s excellence brings scrutiny
Should AFG be treated like Apartheid-era SA, & Sophie Ecclestone on 8 years at the top.
talkSPORT’s Jon Norman hosts Jarrod Kimber & Steve Harmison to discuss whether countries should give Afghanistan the Apartheid South Africa treatment.
Powerplay’s Firdose Moonda & Valkerie Baynes talk to Sophie Ecclestone about being the best bowler in the world, as we approach the 8-year anniversary of her international debut. [Apple Podcasts]
Editor’s Note
If you would like to receive this newsletter to you on WhatsApp when it is published, please message me here (or, on WhatsApp at +91 9972009893, if that link isn’t working).
If you have friends, colleagues, or anyone else that would like to receive this roundup every day, please share this Substack with them! Every extra reader matters.