The Emerging Cricket Podcast

As Associates learn of their T20WC draw, has Italy’s campaign already taken a blow? Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner discuss all the action plus Emerging Women’s Trophy, Mark Watt’s hundred and the NPL + Asia Cup Rising Stars

The final line-up for T20 World Cup is set with Nepal, Oman and UAE claiming the last three spots, though Nepal and UAE went on to struggle in League 2 action. There's a new ICC Women's event (Emerging Nations Trophy) on the horizon and the boys wrap up the world of news as well. Hosts: Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick.

A hectic period in the Emerging game and history made! Nepal claim T20I series win as we catch up with Andrew Leonard, Namibia and Zimbabwe qualify for Men's T20 World Cup 2026 plus USA shenanigans with Aaman Patel after USAC's suspension and pathway events on the women's side. Hosts: Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick.

Special guests Martin Barrett and Sam Dukes join Nate Hays to discuss their Emerging Cricket article on the potential future of college cricket in the USA. Is the NCAA a possible path, or can cricket help pave the way for new avenues for college sport? 

Forza Italy, and four in the EC Pod house this week! Nick Skinner and Tom Grunshaw meet up in the UK, with Daniel Beswick and Tim Cutler in the southern hemisphere wrapping Europe T20 World Cup Qualifying, the ICC Conference and Development Awards (of which Tim was part of both), plus more action on the field around the world!

Aaman and Nate are joined by Peter Della Penna, Zee Zaidi and Brian Walters to discuss USA's potential 2026 T20 World Cup squads. Each panel member picks a 15 man squad with two traveling reserves. 

Treated to more incredible cricket! Tim, Nick and Bes discuss news and events from all five ICC regions, from a triple Super Over tussle and League 2 magnificence, to pay disputes, Canadian T20WC qualification and Tim's run for a spot on the ICC Chief Executives Committee!  

Aaman Patel is joined by San Francisco Unicorns domestic star Sanjay Krishnamurthi. The hometown hero talks about the debut of a Bay Area venue, playing in front of friends for the first time, and his recent performances for USA. 

Bes back, cricket everywhere, and good cricket too! Karan KC proves again he is the Chuck Norris of cricket, Ahmed Raza turns heads though Nepal and Thailand prevail in Asia Women's T20WC Qualifying, an in-depth look at League 2 at the halfway mark and much, MUCH(!) more in this 90 minute special!

In this episode of Big Innings, we break down Pubudu Dassanayake's return as head coach of the USA Men's team ahead of the crucial CWCL2 matches in Florida. We also review the USA Women's showing vs Zimbabwe. Plus, a sneak peek at what's coming in Major League Cricket

Nick is joined by Shounak to discuss the Women's World Cup Qualifier, where Pakistan and Bangladesh qualified ahead of a spirited Scotland and Ireland. Bes sends a review of the men's EAP U19s qualifier, plus there's a roundup of several recent series around the globe.

Emerging Cricket's own Rod Lyall has published a book! It's called The Club: Empire, Power and the Governance of World Cricket. So this week, Rod joins Nick to discuss the ICC's history of administration and take a look at some of the issues facing the future of the game. It's a fascinating chat, and patrons get a bonus half-hour extra over on Patreon!

In a bumper episode, Nick is joined by not one but three guests to discuss cricket all over the world! In the first segment he chats with Aaman Patel about the women's T20WC qualifier in Argentina, where the USA progressed comfortably ahead of the hosts, Canada and Brazil. Then Shounak Sarker joins to chat about Namibia hosting Canada and Netherlands for their rain-affected League 2 series. Finally, Vanuatu coach Chris Laffen shares his thoughts about the women's trip to New Caledonia, where they took on the hosts (playing as France), Fiji and Samoa.

Aaman and Nate preview the USA squad in the Americas World Cup Qualifiers, assess the performances of the Mens team after 16 games in the CWCL2, and discuss news across North America. We encourage donations to the USA umpires trip to CWI gofundme at www.gofundme.com/f/back-umpires-selffunded-journey-on-exchange-to-west-indies

EC's Indonesia contributor Adit Sutresna joins from Jakarta to discuss the League 2 tri-series in Oman, Challenge League B leg hosted in Hong Kong, and the Bali Bash men's series where Indonesia pinched a victory against Bahrain, ranked 42 places above them! There's also a review of the Nepal-hosted women's tri-series won by Thailand and featuring Netherlands. 

Note: due to technical issues the audio quality is lower than usual during most of the conversation, we apologise for any inconvenience to listeners!

Aaman and Nate are joined by Z from 1709 Cricket and CricExec to break down the 2025 MLC Domestic Draft. We discuss highlights, surprises, and players who missed out!

Aaman and Nate break down the 2025 MLC retentions and conduct a mock draft ahead of Thursday's MLC domestic draft. Willow CEO Todd Myers joins Nate to discuss how Willow Sports is hoping to create new cricket fans in North America. 

After a longer-than-planned break over the holiday season, the team is back with an update from Tim on Vanuatu's challenging summer and upcoming year of women's events. Then, Nick and Bes dissect the Associate performances at the recently-concluded women's U19s World Cup.

A real global feel to this week's show with action in the Americas, to Africa, the Gulf and the raging success of the Nepal Premier League. Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner with you as we send our best to Tim and everyone in Vanuatu!

Aaman and Nate are joined by former England captain and all time great Charlotte Edwards to discuss the newly launched Charlotte Edwards Foundation, the future of women's cricket in North America and more. You can visit charlotteedwardsfoundation.org for more information on this new project. 

What did Greg Barclay have to say after walking out the ICC door? We break that down plus action all around the world as Tim Cutler joins Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner

Remember #StatsGate? We got it again. After a brief cleanup of Challenge League results a focus back on the shorter format, with Asia and Africa Sub-Regionals for T20WC 2026 done and Americas on the horizon.

Where's this Oman been! Men in red throw League 2 race wide open, while Nepal's U19 Women celebrate World Cup qualification. Uganda make the early Challenge League B running as Hong Kong win Belt and Road honours albeit with a scare. Daniel Beswick back on deck with Nick Skinner.

Nick Skinner is joined by Tom Grunshaw to discuss the League 2 series in the USA and the UAE, as well as the Challenge League series in Uganda. Also, the Hong Kong Sixes are back, and Rwanda's women beat Kenya at the Gahanga.

With USA head coach Stuart Law being sacked over the weekend, as the American team turns in a dismal performance against Scotland at League 2 in Texas, Nick Skinner is joined by Emerging Cricket's USA correspondent Nate Hays to discuss the latest off-field turmoil. They also look to some more encouraging news from the women's side, who are currently touring Zimbabwe.

Back this week to wrap Scotland's debut Women's T20 World Cup campaign, Jersey and Papua New Guinea doing the early Challenge League running, plus women's series around the world including Japan recovering from 8/6 to win against Japan! Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner this week's hosts.

Cricket everywhere we looked this week! Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner on multiple T20I tri-series, Sub-Regionals, Scotland at T20WC, Nigeria at another U19 World Cup, Challenge League Returning, new Nepal Premier League and more!

Don't know how we squashed all this in!

Ahead of Scotland's historic T20 World Cup debut, Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner preview their campaign in UAE.

This is part of the full EC Pod episode out later this week!

Tim Cutler, Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick back to deliver all the news and opinion from this week in the emerging game. Is it time to hit the panic button for Nepal in League 2 and have USA and Canada found their groove plus Zimbabwe U19 Women knocked over again and much more!

Tim Cutler returns to chat to Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner after to shed light on recent opponents taking part in Asia Sub-Regionals, where Malaysia and Kuwait prevailed to keep 2026 dreams alive. The boys look at Scotland's underwhelming home series + action in Namibia, including some multi-day cricket!

Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick wrap the last fortnight of action in the emerging game, with Bes returning from Sub-Regionals in Samoa and Nick perched at home in Europe!

A huge thanks to all of you for your questions! Daniel Beswick, Nick Skinner and Tim Cutler go through the submissions, starting with how Tim's body holds up after playing international cricket, fittingly in the build up to Pacific Sub-Regionals!

Nick Skinner (home from Iceland), Tim Cutler (commuting to Vanuatu via Sydney from Sri Lanka) and Daniel Beswick (just chilling) all manage to be at the same place at the same time, so why not record bulk Emerging Cricket content! Part 1 of our mailbag/catch-up episode made possible by all of you!

Nick Skinner joins (in person!) Daniel Beswick to wrap the week of cricket! Get your mailbag questions in for our next episode with Tim!

Aaman and Nate discuss the takeaways from the 2024 MLC regular season. USA Cricket have been put on notice by the ICC. Three USAC directors allege corruption and conflicts of interest within board. USA U15 women conclude their national championship, and US U19 are 1-1 vs West Indies with three games to go. 

Daniel Beswick returns in the host chair to join Nick Skinner to discuss the (very) late changes in European subregional scheduling in Germany plus the region's format, League 2's resumption where Scotland meet Oman and Namibia in ODI cricket just weeks after being in the same T20 World Cup group, plus a look to the extensive action in Africa!

Aaman and Nate discuss the first several days of the 2024 Cognizant Major League Cricket season. Topics include Steve Smith's perfect batting for the USA, domestic standouts so far in 2024, MLC''s production approach to cater to new fans, and an update about the state of Minor League Cricket. Has the league put a cap on what domestic players can make in MiLC? 

Nick is joined by Netherlands correspondent Rod Lyall and US correspondent Nate Hays to review the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, looking at both the onfield action and some of the broader questions around the future of the tournament and the game.

Washington Freedom star Saurabh Netravalkar talks to Nate Hays about USA's success in the World Cup, the upcoming second season of MLC, becoming a meme sensation, and MLC host communities Morrisville and Grand Prairie/Dallas. 

Nate is joined by World Cup Champion Liam Plunkett to chat about his San Francisco Unicorns ahead of the 2024 MLC season. Topics include his take on the 2024 T20 Men's World Cup, Minor League Cricket, the growth of cricket in the USA and more.  

Aaman and Nate discuss USA's loss to England, and take a moment to look at the big picture of what a Super Eight finish means for the future of cricket in the USA. 

Aaman and Nate are joined by MiLC commentator and World Cup ground announcer Joe Hickey to discuss USA's loss to Windies in the Super Eight stage. 

Aaman and Nate discuss USA's exciting chase against South Africa in St Lucia. USA start the Super Eight falling just 18 runs shy in their chase of South Africa in a nail biter. Listen to what the guys have to say about USA's upcoming matchup against West Indies. 

This week Nick is again joined by Bes and Bertus de Jong from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss the ongoing T20 World Cup - a strong showing from Associates gives everyone cause for optimism!

Aaman and Nate discuss USA's narrow loss to India, key moments, thoughts, and hopes for the future. 

Aaman and Nate discuss the USA victory over Pakistan, what this means to them as fans, and what this means for the future cricket in the USA. What a great day to be a fan of USA Cricket! 

Aatif Nawaz joins Aaman and Nate to preview the June 6 matchup of USA vs Pakistan at Grand Prairie Stadium. How can USA upset Pakistan? Could Aaron Jones find new franchise opportunities following his huge game vs Canada? 

USA and Canada kick off the ICC 2024 T20 Men's World Cup with a bang! Aaron Jones and Andries Gous lead USA to their biggest chase in T20i history! 

For the biggest T20 World Cup ever, it'd only make sense to produce the biggest T20 World Cup preview possible. Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner jump in with Bertus de Jong to preview all the emerging teams in an extended special.

Dane Piedt joins Aaman and Nate to discuss his journey back into the South Africa Test team, after three years playing domestically in the USA. This was taken from a Big Innings live show on Wednesday. 

After paying tribute to Scotland's Women's T20 World Cup Qualification (full episode with commentator Peter Della Penna), Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner take a look at teams in Asia Associate teams heading towards the T20 World Cup, as we look into Nepal's series with West Indies A

New Zealand legend Ross Taylor joins Nate Hays to discuss the Seattle Orcas latest activity, including a training camp in Houston, Seattle's prospects for 2024, and a special day with the World Cup at the top of the Space Needle. Topics include the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, American professional sports leagues, the beauty of Church Street Park and more. 

After commentating at the Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier, Peter Della Penna joins Nick to discuss Scotland's historic qualification, and assesses the other challengers at the tournament.

Aaman and Nate start with a look at the newly released 2024 MLC schedule, USA Womens performance in the qualifier, Jomboy's Ball In Play League cricket appeal, and they say goodbye to Burt Cockley. Finally, they break down PDP's Nisarg Patel post and add their own thoughts and suggestions. Don't miss this one! 

Jimmy O'Brien, aka Jomboy, joins Nate Hays to discuss season two of the Ball In Play League, a hybrid sport which teaches fans about cricket. Jomboy also announces plans to be included in the ICC T20 World Cup broadcast, as well as anticipation for the upcoming MLC season. 

The sun seemingly never sets on cricket in continental Europe, and to help us catch up on all the action, ECN presenter and commentator + Spanish men's national coach Corey Rutgers joins Nick Skinner! 

Aaman and Nate discuss new selection rumors for Canada and USA mens teams ahead of the World Cup. Has Cricket Canada removed Pubudu as a selector? Will USA Cricket really submit a team that excludes the County Championship and Sheffield Shield wicket leaders? Plus, USA women in the WCQ, Seattle Orcas news and more. 

An emotional Vanuatu CEO (and EC co-founder) Tim Cutler reflects on Vanuatu's incredible victory over Full Members Zimbabwe at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.

Over 80 minutes of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier goodness! Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner go through the 10-team tournament with two T20 World Cup spots on the line plus we catch up with Tim Cutler having just landed in Abu Dhabi and the GoFundMe drive that sent Twitter abuzz! 

Smit Patel from CricBuzz joins Aaman and Nate to review USA's T20 series sweep of Canada, USA Women ODI, and to talk about the stories and people that make cricket in the USA so unique. 

Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick keep you up to date on this week's action, first farewelling Kaia Arua. her PNG teammates win in her honour on the road, while Nepal host Ireland Wolves, Namibia travel to Oman and USA host Canada.

The crew reviews the first two USA vs Canada Men's T20i matches at PVCC. USA Cricket veteran Uzma Iftikhar joins Aaman and Nate to discuss USA women in their first ever ODI against PNG. 

Nate is joined by FICA CEO Tom Moffat to discuss the US Cricketers Association. Formed in October at the Major League Baseball Players Union headquarters, the USCA was recently confirmed by an overwhelming majority vote as the official labor union for MLC cricketers. How can the union help professional cricketers in the USA have a voice at the table in all domestic leagues? 

Aaman and Nate discuss recent revelations that USA Cricket is out of favor with the ICC and USOPC, and the resignation of Julie Abbott and Jamie Lloyd. Canada have wrapped their prep with MiLC's Dallas Mustangs at PVCC ahead of the five game T20 series with USA. USA Women prepare to ship out to Dubai for their first ODI. MLC cricketers vote for collective representation. 

First, we send our condolences to PNG's Kaia Arua, her family and Cricket PNG. This week Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner look at #StatusGate blowing the African Games apart, the fake news from ICC's visit to Nepal, Challenge League Groups and Ireland's financial woes.

USA Cricket have named their 15 man squad and three reserves for their upcoming five game T20i series with Canada, and Peter Della Penna joins Aaman and Nate to break down a team that clearly lacks balance. 

USA Cricket veteran and brand new San Francisco Unicorn, Karima Gore joins Nate Hays to talk MLC Domestic Draft, his evolution as a cricketer, the importance of elite fielding, USA Cricket selection process and more. Plus, USA Cricket news. 

As Nick Skinner fistpumps Canada's early League 2 success talking to co-host Daniel Beswick, the pair get stuck into the African Games and confusion on its status, while PNG prep for T20 World Cup glory in an Asian swing!

Aaman and Nate dissect USA Cricket's Men's T20 World Cup training squad following an abbreviated Men's T20 National Championship in Houston. Find out who was snubbed and who has earned a chance to shine. The guys then briefly preview the upcoming 2024 MLC Domestic Draft. 

Fresh off commentating at the tournament, Daniel Beswick is joined by Nick Skinner to review the Challenge League Play-off, a destiny-defining competition for both the four progressing and four bottom teams in polarising ways.

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Peter Della Penna returns to talk overseas snubs from Men's Nationals with Aaman and Nate. Where is new coach Stuart Law? Has USA Cricket blown a golden opportunity? 

Nick sits down with fellow Emerging Cricket contributor and author Tim Brooks to talk about his upcoming book The Batmaker of Copenhagen. The wartime novel is based on a true story about the Gestapo’s pursuit of a man trying to source materials across Denmark to make cricket bats and ensure the game continues to run. Nick and Tim also discuss issues in the emerging game, with a focus on Europe.

As always make sure to give us a five star review wherever you are listening and to follow us across the social medias, and as always yo...

Fresh off his first sojourn to Nepal, Bertus de Jong joins Nick Skinner to discuss Nepal's home tri-series with Namibia and the Netherlands.

Peter Della Penna joins Nate Hays to discuss the USA Men's zonal team selection controversy. Newly applied yo-yo test requirements have created concern among many USA fans regarding the fairness of application of this test across existing national team players and challengers. Plus, MLC domestic retained players have been announced. What does all of this mean for USA's World Cup selection? 

Machel St Patrick Hewitt joins Aaman and Nate to talk about the unique challenges of Cricket West Indies & USA Cricket. Topics include ICC revenue distribution, Caribbean cricketers in Minor League Cricket, the future of CPL and MLC, and how on earth Mash finds time to do everything. 

Never short of drama in Associate cricket. Daniel Beswick talks you through the action at the Challenge League Play-off in Malaysia, where the hosts and Saudi Arabia bow out on head-to-head tiebreaks.

Quick record and publish as Daniel Beswick and Tim Cutler chat Challenge League Play-off action from the hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Tim speaks of his potential debut in Vanuatu colours as we try and preview the teams within 25 mins!

Aaman and Nate discuss Dane Piedt's remarkable return to the South Africa test side, the MLC overseas retained players announcement, Americans in the ILT20, the ICC T20 World Cup ticket mystery and more. Plenty of MLC speculation in this one!  

A DENSE show this week as Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner take a look at a new League 2 cycle, Canada's tour of Asia and the spate of ACC and other cricket in the region. Definitely one accompanied by scorecards and Wikipedia pages!

USA Cricket U19 Men's batter Prannav Chettipalayam joins Nate Hays to discuss the 2024 U19 Men's World Cup, New Jersey Cricket, his domestic heroes, and more.

USA T20 WC warmup games are revealed in the CWCL2 schedule release, Dane Piedt dominates NZ, and more USA news. 

Ricky Ponting is coming to the USA with the Washington Freedom! Aaman and Nate sum up the strengths and weaknesses of USA in the U19 World Cup, discuss Jomboy's Ball In Play Captains League and how it helps teach Americans about cricket, report the sad news of Emily Reynolds' departure from MLC, and discuss Dane Piedt's exclusion from the first SA test in NZ. 

Nepal make the Super Six stage as other Associate individuals flourish in South Africa, while the ACC Challenger Cup gets underway in Thailand, with new ACC members Japan and Indonesia included. Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner then ask new Vanuatu international (and VCA CEO) Tim Cutler all the big questions before his upcoming debut.

Aaman and Nate discuss the USA U19 performances in the group stage of the U19 Men's World Cup, USA Cricket's lack of prep for the T20 World Cup, West Indies and the ICC revenue distribution model failures, and USA Cricket's constitution amendments review. 

The band back together! Tim Cutler, Nick Skinner and Daniel Beswick all in one Zoom call to discuss the two Associate winners for the ICC Awards, Pacific Cup and Vanuatu's Qualifier Prep, PLUS an early look at the U19 Cricket World Cup!

Andries Gous chats with Nate on the MLC Network. Topics include Andries' 95 run ILT20 debut, Washington Freedom in NSW, Ali Khan, Nosh Kenjige, Ali Sheikh, desire to play for USA, and more. 

Aaman and Nate discuss the 95* run innings by Andries Gous in the ILT20, USA's struggles against Ireland in the U19 World Cup, and talk Men's World Cup team selection rumors and Men's National Championship speculation. 

A lot packed into this week's EC Podcast with Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner discussing the U19 World Cup in South Africa, Women's European Cricket Championship, prospective ICC Award winners for 2023 among other big topics! 

Aaman and Nate discuss their winners for various awards in 2023, including Men's and Women's American International Player of the Year, domestic awards, youth standouts, and highlights of a landmark year for cricket in the USA. 

Nick Skinner joins Aaman and Nate to discuss the newly announced World Cup schedule, new details on the failures of the "American Premiere League", Washington Freedom's trip to New South Wales (minus Mukhtar Ahmed and Saad Ali), and more. 

Daniel Beswick and Nick Skinner race to break down the 20-team T20 World Cup schedule and groups!

American Umpire Bryan Caine joins the show again, this time to discuss the disastrous APL in Houston. Umpires execute a work stoppage when league organizers don't pay them as agreed. League organizer, Jay Mir, accuses umpires of "blackmail" and calls the police. A long list of suspect activities bring the wrong kind of attention to the league, in its second year. 

Aaman and Nate also discuss Dane Piedt's promotion to the South African test team, Jomboy getting the attention of Adam Gilchrist, and USA's U19 Men's selection ahead of the World Cup. 

A podcast return for Daniel Beswick who joins Nick to look at the Africa Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier and Africa Cup action on the men's side, before Nick catches up with Paul Radley in UAE to discuss ACC U19 Asia Cup!

Lenny talks with Aaman and Nate about his personal cricket journey, his special relationship with Nepal, the underserved coverage of Associate Cricket, and ICC's protectionist approach to copyright in the age of digital media. 

Nick catches up with Tim Cutler about a busy time for Vanuatu cricket, and they discuss the ongoing U19s Asia Cup where UAE's progress continues, as well as the exciting finale coming up at the women's T20 World Cup Africa qualifiers.

Aaman and Nate are joined by "Cricket Badger" Andrew Leonard to discuss Associate Cricket struggles, the groundbreaking upcoming T20 World Cup, the many World Cup Qualifiers, and Lenny's special relationship with Nepal. Part 1 of 2. 

Tom Grunshaw joins Nick Skinner this week for a debrief on the recently-completed Men's T20 World Cup Africa finals, where Namibia cruised into the main event next year, and Uganda shocked Zimbabwe to clinch the second qualification slot. Then the boys discuss the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup Africa qualifier, hosted in Uganda, and round out with a chat about strong Associate representation at the U19s Asia Cup to be held in the UAE - including Japan's first appearance.

An extended version of this episode is available on Patreon!

December 5, 2023 - Rumours are circulating that USA Cricket plans to exclude "ACE players" (players brought over by ACE who are soon to become eligible for USAC) from World Cup selection. Aaman and Nate discuss if these rumours hold any water. Topics also include MLC's SF Unicorns trip to the MCG, Dane Piedt's 11 wicket player of the match performance, Kamau Leverock's shocking lack of opportunity in T20 tournaments, and USA Cricket's T20 World Cup preparation (or lack thereof). 

Aaman and Nate are joined by US umpire Bryan Caine to discuss how the USPL has raised the standard for domestic cricket in the USA, why the USA Umpires are boycotting the US Open, the ICC MTF trans ban, and the BCCI influence over the Champions Trophy leaving Pakistan. 

Nick is joined by first-time co-host Ira Gorawara to discuss the recent women's quadrangular series in her home city of Hong Kong, as well as the men's Africa finals for next year's T20 World Cup.

Aaman and Nate continue their summary of the USA Cricket AGM with special guest Peter Della Penna. Topics include: Low spending on development, women's participation, redrawn men's zones, Fairbreak, Nationals and more.