No Balls: A guide to The Hundred (kind of)

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The best B2B marketing gets wasted on the wrong people. So when you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals, including 130 million decision makers. And that's where it stands apart from other ad buyers. You can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills, company revenue, so you can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience. It's why LinkedIn Ads generates the highest B2B return on ad spend of major ad networks. Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn Ads and get $250 credit for the next one. Just go to LinkedIn.com Broadcast. That's LinkedIn.com Broadcast. Terms and conditions apply.

If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why, hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant glo need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

Al, we've got to issue a swear warning because you are an absolute potty mouth.

Not another one.

And you need to remember that your grandma listens to this.

Does she? Also abuses me on social media.

But don't worry, we beep it out.

So your kids can listen.

And Grandma Jean.

First ball castled. Now I'm celebrating for Crossy. That one was for Crossy. That was a beautiful delivery. The wobble ball again from Kate Cross. And that is such an important wicket. Kate crossing for the hat trick ball oh so wide.

Hello and welcome back to no Balls, the cricket podcast with me, Kate Cross and you, Alex Hartley.

We're in the povo studio.

We're in our OG studio which has given me throwback.

It's properly given me throwback. I thought we were going to be sat there with a brew and a coffee, looking all chic and TikTok esque. We've got a blue screen but we're back.

They've covered up the dreary sulphur keys behind you with a massive tv. It's got five live on it.

The dreary sulphur keys is behind you though, Crofton.

You can see that.

And look, we're both back in the country. It's misely, it's grey and it's dark.

It's January.

Yeah.

You can't expect anything else in January.

Well, I'm so surprised at home, like, I just don't know what I was expecting to be home. Like, it's just cold and horrible. I've booked a flight to go to Sri Lanka six days early.

Nice.

I thought, I can't do this anymore.

Get out. So you're home for what, two weeks?

Two weeks, yeah. Leave on Saturday evening?

Yeah. Nice.

Yeah, yeah. How are you?

Yeah, I'm good. But other than the mizliness. Yeah, but I've been in India obviously, so I feel like I've got away from the mizzle for a little while and then come back and it's not bothering me just yet. But February is a tough month, I have to say.

Lovely eyebrows today.

Thank you. Because let me show everyone said to al, bring me an eyebrow pencil, please.

Because I don't have an eye. Look at my eyebrows. So I look like I need an eyebrow pencil. They are like. They're like Basil Brush's tail.

I said, I'm feeling a bit washed out. You can't even see that this is an eyebrow pencil. Cause it's that worn out and this.

Is what it looks like, that eyebrow pencil. I'm not even joking. I probably got in 2007 and then.

You gave me some mascara and you said, oh, you can keep that, it's dried out. I'm not gonna keep it.

I don't wear makeup anyway.

If my eyebrows are looking good, it's. Cause Alex has taken me back to 2007. Mac. Nice.

Oh, is it? No, it can't be. Is it? Mum must have bought me that for Christmas as a teenager.

Deep dark brunette.

That is.

Yeah, that is me. Deep dope. Bruno.

Anyway, how.

I'm good.

How was the wpl?

Yeah, it was good, actually, I. It was quick. I was there for about 10 days. I felt like I did a lot of cricket, but it was a really good experience.

I felt like I worked at that work trip. I went on cricket.

Getting in the way of my cricket tours again. No, it was good, love. Working with daggers. I get on really well with Daggers. So, yeah, it was nice and the cricket was good. A lot of high scoring games. A lot of quite close games, actually, which you obviously want in a tournament when it first kicks off. So. Yeah. Except the one time that I did any training, I saw a snake.

Huh. I know that you were worried about getting attacked by the dogs.

Yeah, there was a few dogs in the nets and then there was a Snake one time and I was like, I'm just gonna pretend I've not seen that.

Okay.

Put it out my mind. And it did slither off. I didn't like bowl with it there, but yeah, okay.

Welcome to India.

Yeah.

A couple of rats flying around.

No rats, just two stray dogs and a snake.

I also want to shake your hand and congratulate you for going to India, not getting a parasite, not coming back, extremely unwell.

Thank you. It does take two weeks for parasites to incubate, so let's just keep our fingers crossed, everybody. Speaking from experience, how are you?

I'm good. I'm actually really good. I know I was moaning about the weather and I'm off again, but actually, it's really nice to be back.

It's been good to know that you're back for a while. And yeah, we. It was quite funny. We saw each other on Monday, our first opportunity to see each other. And then I was like, oh, I'm not going to see you now till Friday. And then on Wednesday I was like, are you free?

I messaged you didn't. I said, are you around?

Yeah.

Cancelled on one mate to see you.

But it does feel weird to know you're in the country and not see you for like, five days when I know you're clearing off again soon.

I know. Can we tell everyone what might be happening?

Yeah.

Guys, Crossy might have to move into my house.

Oh, the tables have turned.

Oh, my God.

It's unlikely. Possibility.

Oh, I was thinking, I think it might happen.

You are gonna give me a key to your flat today. Today. Just in case. Well. Cause you're busy, aren't you? You might not be home till like 8.

I don't even know when I'm home. Yeah.

So, yeah, there was the possibility. I was like, can you just leave me a key just in case? But I've sold my flat, so that's why.

Congratulations. I love the fact I was telling the girls from home yester said, can you bring a key for your flat tomorrow? And they were like, the confidence that woman has to say, can you just give me a key? Knowing that I'll be like, yeah, move in.

You suggested it first. You were like, you can move into mine. And I hadn't thought. I thought about having to rent somewhere for like a couple of months maybe. And then you were like, just move into mine. I was like, oh, yeah, you owe me like a year.

Yeah, I know.

So I've got a year to play with.

I actually kind of want you to move in, but I know if you move in, I won't be there. So it's like, what's the point?

Someone. I was telling someone at cricket, it might have been Clarkie. I was talking to Fee and Clarkie was there and I was like, I might have to move in with Al and I'll be at Al through the summer. And then obviously with cricket, it's going to be less likely that I'll find somewhere and I'll be busy and the house, views, etc. And so I was like, I'll probably end up being there for the summer. And someone was like, do you think you can cope with the hundred for a whole summer? As in the vibe of the hundred living with you? I was like, oh, my God. Yeah, I'm really gonna have to think about that.

I'm not there in the hundred. It's fine.

As in, your lifestyle is very hundred esque.

Oh. Oh.

And so it would be a whole summer of hundred esque.

Yes, yes, it would be very fun.

But I'd have to think a lot about it.

Tor Alex and Home Alex are two quite different people.

But Home Alex, with Kate Cross living in your spare room would be a very different Alex as well.

I'd be like, shall we go to the alchemistry for a while?

Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, maybe.

So, guys, very, very exciting. Yeah. I know you were gonna say no to this, but have you got anything on your sticky note which is a proper throwback?

I do have one thing, but it's not for now.

Okay.

Do you know when someone says to you, if you could change a rule in cricket, what would that rule be? I thought of one the other day randomly. So I wrote it down so that when someone asks us that question, I'll be ready to answer it.

What rule would you change in cricket given the opportunity?

Oh, no, I was gonna wait for the opportunity. I was gonna wait for someone to ask it. Cause I feel like we get that every third podcast.

Oh, okay. You're gonna wait. Questions, questions.

Yeah, I could. I could. Could do it.

Go on, do it. We'll get asked then just do it again.

Right, so I think there's going to be a game happen where I need to get this right in my head. I wasn't prepared. When someone gets hit on the pad and it's given out.

Yeah.

It becomes a dead ball.

You and Dan Norcross need to talk about this.

If that ball is reviewed and then it's an inside edge and it could have been a run, the team obviously lose the opportunity to get that run because it's been given out on field. There will be a game where on the last ball, that happens and a team loses because they haven't had the opportunity to score that. So I think the rule needs to change that it either becomes the ball gets replayed.

Okay.

Or you can't have the run because obviously the game's.

Now, the ball's not dead until it's dead.

No, but if it's given out. It's not.

Yeah, but if it's given, not out, and the team.

But that's not the rule I'm trying to change.

But then the team can review it so then you still don't get the run. So it can become quite tactical.

Yeah, but the rule I want to change is that it could stop someone scoring because of a mistake given by an on field umpire. So that has. There has to be some. And it will happen. That will happen in a game and then the rule will change because of it. So I'm foreseeing it.

It will only change when it happens to India.

Yeah. Okay.

That's when we'll see it.

So that's random, but it's on. There we go. So have you got anything on your sticky note?

I've got loads on my sticky note.

Well, we just wasted two minutes on that then, haven't we?

Mine's a bit.

Sorry, my trousers are very.

They are, aren't they?

They're noisy.

You've got bin bags on.

Sorry about that. Right, I'll be.

We're gonna talk about the hundreds. There's no need to go into that. Just now. I actually wanted us to talk about. I know we. We spoke to Grace Harris about it, but I want me and you to talk about Alyssa Healy's retirement very briefly.

Can we just say how good Grace Harris was?

Yes.

What a hero.

Very, very good.

We had a lot of comments on Instagram saying, please, can we get a run every week? And my social battery wouldn't be able to.

Mine would. You'd be okay.

You weren't even on it.

Yeah.

It's nice of you to be here.

By the way, someone said to produce the chat. It's the easiest money Alex has ever earned. Yeah, I was on the call, but for just like seven minutes. The technical difficulties. Anyway, no, I want us to talk about Alyssa Healey because I don't think we quite did. Me and you didn't do her justice. Okay. Because she's been such. Like we said, she's that annoyingly likable, isn't she? Yeah. And everybody, when she first Came on the scene, was like, oh, Alyssa Healey, she's a brilliant player, a brilliant person, and it is actually a bit of a shame she's not going to be here at the World Cup.

Yeah, I'm a bit sad about the World cup because it feels like a nice surrender for her. Yeah, obviously. She spoke quite a lot about the home series being against India being a good series to go in, but it kind of, in my head, feels like this is my opinion, that bit might not be her decision. I wonder if they're going elsewhere for the World cup because you would want to try and finish on a World Cup, I think.

Well, she said, didn't she, that the last World cup would have been perfect.

Yeah.

They didn't obviously win, but then she gets to retire at home, so there is that as well. But I think her trophy cabinet is just so full and deservingly full as well.

My mum rang me. She sometimes rings me to just talk about cricket. Mum. Which is. Yeah, it's so annoying sometimes because, you know, when you. Cricket is your job.

She doesn't listen to this podcast.

She doesn't. No, it's fine. I can slag her off. Cricket's my job. My hobby's cricket. A lot of my life is cricket. And then your mum rings you and you just don't want to talk about cricket. But she's so sweet about it because she doesn't actually. She follows it. But she'll be like, oh, so Alyssa Healy's retired. What does. What is she going to do now? And I was like, mum, she's not going to need to work another day in her life.

I made a joke to her when I was in Australia. I was like, oh, how's your 20 acre house in Sydney? She just, like, snapped back and basically said, bigger than that. It's not obvious.

She did invite us, didn't she, on the pod? But to actually be serious about her. Yeah, she's been a huge part of the Australian team, hasn't she? And I think she probably went not unnoticed, because that's not the right word. But when Meg was captain and they were winning everything, she was just such a big part of the team. But obviously the focus probably goes a lot to Meg being the successful part of that. But I do wonder what Australia will be like without Alyssa Healey, because it's all I've known, really.

And she is like the one like the old school, where she'll have a beer after a game. She, like, relaxes. She'll want to go play golf, like she's like, she's this old school style Australian greeter that wasn't a robot. And she's never. I think it's credit to her. She's never become a robot either. And she still managed to stay at the top of her game.

Grace said that, didn't she? She said that's one of the biggest things that she's noticed is that she's never changed throughout her career. I wonder if that is influenced by Mitch, because I feel like it's almost like a very male way of approaching being a professional cricketer.

He didn't drink at all during the Ashes, though. I didn't have his foot. Didn't have a drink.

I don't mean like drinking, but just the fact that he has to have. I think male cricketers in general have had to have a better balance because they've had more cricket in the calendar longer than females have.

Also the balance.

Yeah. I wonder if that has probably been influenced by him in a way. I don't mean getting lashed after every game.

Let's not get into that.

And we're looking at you, Harry Rook. If you want to come on the pod, Harry, you're welcome.

I know what I say. I'm not going on that podcast.

Yeah, stop asking me.

Stop asking me. I'm not going on your podcast anyway.

But yeah, Australia will miss her. Who do you think is going to captain?

Well, I would have thought if you'd asked me a year ago, Talia McGraw. She ain't scoring any runs.

I don't think she'll be in the squad.

I don't think she. I don't think she will either. So therefore I kind of look at Ash Gardiner, Phoebe Litchfield. She might be a bit too young.

Yeah. I thought Ash. Ash was my instinct. And she's obviously doing more captaincy now. She got the Sixers and she's doing the Gujarat team in the wpl. I. I think with Talia, I think it probably goes to show how strong that Australian lineup is, that one of your all rounders seeming all rounders. So, like, I know they have a lot of them, but it's generally there's less seeming all rounders in teams. The fact that she cannot get her role in that team as vice captain goes to show how strong it is.

I know, I know. Scary. Anyway, Alyssa Healey, congratulations on a lovely career.

Congratulations. I also just want to say I think we're going to see a few retirements after that T20 World Cup.

Oh, yeah.

It feels like the end of an era. Doesn't it.

Oh, yeah. England as well.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

And I'll announce mine. My international retirement.

I'm thinking about announcing my international retirement.

Can we do it at the same time? Should we have an international retirement party? Okay, Pete, Alyssa can come.

We were never dropped. We just retired. We just weren't picked again.

What else you got on your sticky note?

Right, you know, I'm gonna talk about this. I did my cooking vlog. Obviously, Jack didn't watch it. I spoke to him about it the other day. You didn't watch it, but it sent the Internet absolutely west. Like, properly. People absolutely loved it. They were like, you are wild. And me not using oven gloves, but using my jumper.

Yeah, you do that a lot.

Also sent people west. And it brought me back to the bread knife thing of, you know, we.

Can I just ask what people found interesting about the Yorkshire pudding story?

Yeah, I don't know. I think it's. Cause it's chaotic. I don't know. Someone said not only do you talk like us, you behave like us. You're so relatable.

I don't know if that's a cut through. Is that a compliment?

I don't know.

I love a backhanded compliment.

All I was doing was cooking in my kitchen. I thought it'd be funny to record it because I'd never made a Yorkshire pudding before. So it brought me back to the bread knife thing of. Do you wash it? Do you not? Surely there are other people in the world that just use the jumper that they're wearing to get things out the oven.

I've never heard of it. I've only ever seen you do it. But you're someone who I only see do things. It's quite common for me to look at you and your behavior and go, that's not normal. And then not question.

Yeah, true. Unwell. That's my friend.

Yeah. But I support you.

Yeah. So I use the oven gloves to get it out the oven, because that would be psychotic. But then if I'm transferring it from one kitchen counter to the next, I just use my jumper.

You might be unrelatable there because not many people have two kitchen counters. Oh, you've just become unrelatable.

Oh, no.

You've got a kitchen island. It doesn't work for everyone.

I've got a dishwasher as well. So that was that. So I would like to know if people do what I do.

So on that video, I thought. I don't know why, but I thought that you didn't have a baking tray. So you had upturned a, you know, one that you make cupcakes in.

It's got the.

So I thought you'd upturn that and that's what you poured it on and that's why it looked the way it did.

No, it just.

Again, I didn't question it. Speak to you about this. Didn't question it. Just thought that sweet.

So I'd use self raising flour instead of normal flower which went off in 2023 like that eyebrow pencil. Yeah. Another story went through all my cupboards the other day. And you know when you're like, I just don't live at home anymore. 22 that went out a day. 23 that went out. I just have emptied the covers. I'll show you later. It's well impressive. Anyway, so I use self raising flour and I used oat milk because I don't want to use dairy milk. So it was a bit of a guess making this Yorkshire pudding.

It really. I found it funny as well because the photo that you put up as in like the Ta da was the worst thing I've ever seen.

It tasted okay. Yeah.

But that's not what people can see on Instagram. It's a visual thing.

I know Hen two fingers text me and said, do you want some drinking game?

Get drinking.

Said, do you want some feedback? I said, of course I would always want. Because they love their cooking. Yeah. So I always want feedback. They just said, it looks like a cat's been sick on your plate. I was like, that's not feedback.

That's great feeders to the point. Great feedback.

Yeah. So that was my next sticky note. Okay, nice next one.

Are we going to see any more cooking videos?

I think so. But then I did stab myself and hurt myself. Oh, yeah. How is that sore? You know? Yeah. For everybody else listening, she's not put it on Instagram.

So no one.

I didn't put it on Instagram because I thought I might get told off for the violent image. You know, you can't put like blood and stuff on. I know. It's only a cup.

Got a paper cut. And you're gonna get kicked off Instagram.

So I'm emptying the dishwasher, being the chef that I am and not eating out every day, which is unrelatable. I know people eat at home. So I'm emptying the dishwasher and I've learned a valuable lesson. Always do your knives and forks first in the. In the box that they go in. So all that's left is my knives and forks and the Bowl. The mixing bowl that I'd mixed the Yorkshire pudding stuff in.

Yeah.

And I go to grab the mixing bowl, and I stab my thumb onto the knives and forks, and somehow a fork goes straight between my nail and my finger. Do you know, like.

Yeah.

And I went, like, stuck my hand away. And I knew it wasn't that bad because it. Blood straight away. Do you know when you really hurt yourself, it doesn't bleed.

Yeah. And you're waiting for it.

Yeah.

No, show me the pain.

Yeah, but I looked at it, and it was, like, squirting blood out the end of my finger, so I was like, actually, it's fine.

Okay.

Yeah, but it's so.

Yeah, but why would it matter if you took the knife? You could do that anyway with the knives and forks.

Well, I only caught my thumb because I was going for the ball if I was going for the handle of the knives and forks.

Oh, I see. I see.

Yeah, but. And then you made a valuable point. You said, what if it was a knife?

Oh, yeah. You'd have lost your thumb.

I said you'd have had to come pick me up because I don't have a car. I've sold my car. I'm on the shoelace express.

God, you've. You've sold your car. I've sold my flat. It's all changing, guys. We're in the bad studio again. I mean, the old studio.

And speaking of, it's all changing, I've had a real thought, right?

And I want your reaction to this, Okay?

I might find.

Oh, don't talk about tuk tuk.

I might try foot finder.

What's that?

Where you sell pictures.

No, we're not talking about that on this podcast. Why?

People don't need to know who you are.

I'll recognize your feet.

Anyway, I think I want to see how much money I'd earn by people just buying pictures on my feet.

If you don't tell me about it. If you're gonna do it, don't talk to me about your feet. Don't bring the feet up again on the podcast. Don't show me your feet. Put them away. Anything else on your sticker note before we actually go into that?

This is cricket. Proper cricket.

Okay, well, let's slide into some cricket now, because this was meant to be a very crickety episode.

I got giddy because I'm with my friend.

I know. We're in the studio.

I know. England men are in Sri Lanka.

Crossie. They are. Feels like a minute ago they were in the Ashes.

Yeah, and they have just lost to Sri Lanka.

Yep.

In their first game by a smaller.

Margin than they should have lost by. Let's just say, yes, nearly a good game.

There is one thing that every cricket fan, England fan, needs to sort of keep an eye out for is the 2027 World cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. England might have to go to the qualifiers.

Do you remember when you used to think it was called Nambia?

Yep.

That wasn't that long ago.

No. Another thing you never questioned, just assumed.

That you knew that you were saying it wrong. But that's. That's not good, is it? So they. When did the last World cup happen? 23. Yep, 27. So they've had such a poor run of form. I think I saw that they've lost 11 out of the last 14 ODIs. Something like that. So they really need to win some games.

Yeah. So there's. They're playing Sri Lanka and then Bangladesh and West Indies are behind them, basically. And Namibia, Zimbabwe, sorry. Qualify automatically because it's split. So West Indies and Bangladesh, if they win a few more games and England lose, then England will slip down. It'll be the first ever time they've got to qualify for a World Cup.

It's during the Ashes, isn't it?

It's in the lead up to Ash's prep. Yeah.

Well, at least they'll be playing some cricket then in the Ashes prep.

True. The golf courses are going to take a hit, aren't they?

Well, no, because they'll actually have some cricket.

Yeah. But Bangladesh, England are better obviously than Bangladesh and West Indies. But Bangladesh have got a home series which will obviously suit them because they can play on spinning pitches. So there's actually this. This context to this three match series in Sri Lanka is actually quite big.

Yeah, it's a worry, isn't it, actually? And it's crazy to think in the grand scheme of like, big picture of England and white ball cricket is they were the ones who changed what white ball cricket looked like under Owen Morgan and now they don't know how to play it.

It's actually a bit mad.

It's whiplash to the extreme.

Yeah, it is. So that was my concern.

It is a concern. Big concern.

If you're an H VAC technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat with Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

Did you know you can save up to 70% on the best brands just by shopping at from rebel.com we're talking about strollers, car seats, high chairs, espresso machines, cookware, everything you need for way less. Here's how it works. Every single day, REBBL drops thousands of new products on the site for up to 70% off. It is a constant stream of endless deals from top brands like Uppababy, Nuna, Baby bjorn, Breville, Nespresso, KitchenAid, Le Creuset and more. But you have to act fast because every deal is one of a kind. So if you see something you love, make sure you add to cart fast. So stop paying full price when you don't have to. Whether it's baby gear, kitchen upgrades or a treasure for your home you didn't know you needed, Rebel has it for way less. Up to 70% less. Shop from rebel.com and save big.

Right. We mentioned it briefly. The whole premise of this episode was that we were going to do a guide to the hundred because a lot of information feels like it's come out in the last couple of weeks, hasn't it?

Yes, and it has. And so much so. It's really aged you actually.

Yeah. What's happened there? Let me get that up.

Congratulations on being signed for the Sunrises.

Thank you.

They're not Sunrises leads.

Sunrises leads.

You have been retained, signed, direct signing, whatever it may be. Whatever image that one of the people have used to say that it was.

Some random company, it wasn't official one.

You look. You look haggard. You look 65. It's like you've put an old filter on you.

Do you know what I don't understand about these things? There is photos of me on the Internet. There's photos of me and Kit. They've used this. Can we do a Side on, side to side. Do I look like that? I know I've got a few grays, but. Oh, my God, what's that? It gets.

It gets better every time I see it.

For everyone that can't see that it's me. If I sat in the sun every day for the next 12 days with no sun cream on.

No, no, no.

12 years.

Yeah.

My eyebrows probably look a bit better in that, actually, though. Not use your gammy pencil.

Yeah.

So neither my mouth.

No, you.

They've given me jowls.

It's Zach Crawley's mouth, I think.

Is it?

You look like. You look like you, Zach Crawley, Harry, Brooke and Wolf.

That's not even my earrings. What is this? AI needs to sort itself out.

No, they're not your earrings. You wear hoops.

I've worn the same hoops since you got that pencil. If you've got photos of us, don't go and use AI then.

Yeah. So Sunrise's leads have the oldest signing in the hundred.

Well, until Jimmy signs again, I'm probably gonna be it. Right, let me get back onto my detailed list of what we're gonna talk about.

It's exciting, though, Crossy.

It's really interested me how people have moved outside of the auction because I was under the impression, which is wrong, but I was under the impression you could only retain or get picked up in the auction. But I didn't realize that there's a direct signing thing. So then there was all the. Oh, Danny White Hodge has gone to Mumbai. Oh, someone else has gone there. So it's been quite interesting to see the women's movement in particular. I'm less surprised by the men because I feel like the men move around a lot more than the women have historically. And you've done loads of research today, Al. You've even sent over, like, how much people have got left in their purse to spend.

I know because I wanted to see how much people have gone for, because I'm nosy like that. I really actually want to talk about how horrific Manchester's new badge is.

It's the worst thing I've ever seen.

Aren't you glad you're not playing for them?

Not only is it really bad, they've used an African elephant, they've not even used the Indian elephant as the logo for a team that's based in India. Look.

Now, have you seen Joss Butler's reaction to it?

I can't watch it.

He goes. He goes. Yep, that's nice.

Oh, no, he's not a good liar. That's tough to get put on the spot like that. A few things about the Manchester thing, actually. Did you see the CEO? I think it was the CEO's video.

Yeah.

And he got every female player's name wrong.

Yep.

Meg Canning. Don't know who she plays for or where they found her. And I love the fact that he just said, and Sophie Ecclestone is a good bowler. Yeah.

Yeah. Not the world's best.

The best that we've ever probably produced. She's a good bowler.

Yeah. We'll keep Sophie Ecclestone because she knows Manchester well.

I enjoyed, actually. We've had our complaints with social media, but one of the things I love about social media is how quickly the Internet moves when something happens. And when that Manchester logo came out, it was spot. It was so good. Was it?

It made me think we should be on the Internet more because it could.

Have been so good.

It was. I just don't know what they're thinking. And look, I love the people that work at Manchester. We know them really well. Obviously don't know the new owners. But what. What is that like? What is that?

Yeah.

It's got to go on a shirt. It's got to be plastered everywhere. That badge is going to be around the city center.

And it's not even like you think about. Look now, super giants and the logo they have. It's nothing to do with that either. It's not even relatable to know that those two teams are.

Because I really like the look now, one that they've got in the ipl.

Yeah.

And then I really like wings. Yeah. And then I really like when they've done the team in South Africa, it's got the South African colors. So I thought, oh, well, the Manchester one could be like black and white or something.

Do you think they've maybe chosen eleph? It's quite gray here.

If that's what the reason, then. Glitch.

Loose, isn't it? It's very loose. It wouldn't be me without a little moan. But it's not a moan. It's a ironic, laughable offense.

Oh, what have you done?

No, no, no. It's other people. Every single person, I believe, that opposed the 100 and moaned about the 100 and said it's ruining county cricket. And every cricket in the UK now wants it all to go back to how it was last year. They're all now moaning that it's changed again. Those same people. Yeah. And it just made me laugh so much that.

Take it back to its original.

Yeah. Why have they changed it again? It was.

Yeah, it was a good thing.

But the crown and the elephant crest is not a good thing.

It's not right. Sunrises, our new favorite team. Lovely logo.

Do you like that one?

It's not the best, but it'll do.

Orange. We're going from purple to orange, which.

Will be purple to orange.

Fine. Absolutely fine.

Annabelle Sutherland, Phoebe Litchfield and 65 year old Kate Cross.

Oh, good. Orange and purple are two words that you can't rhyme anything with as well.

Okay. Not sure they were going for that, but.

No, it's nothing to do with it. It just came to my head. So yeah, we've got Belzy Lich and me. I got my offer. When did I get it? It was before Christmas and I wanted to stay at Leeds, obviously not sure about cricket next year and was all a bit there, but felt like I've got a retention officer. That's a good place to start. I then got offered a out of draft auction sign in by Mumbai Indians and that really the two places I would want to bowl in the hall of the Hundred would be Lords.

Yeah.

I quite like bowling at Heavenly. And the other one would be the Oval.

Mumbai Indians is the new Oval. Invincibles. Which in itself is confusing because there's two Londons.

Yeah, there is, isn't there?

So there's London Spirit, which is the O. That's Lords. So you wouldn't have been at Lords, you'd have been at the Oval.

Yeah, but I was saying that the two places I would be happy to move to would be Lords.

Ah.

Or Oval.

Right.

Other than that I'm very happy to stay. So then I saw Sense. And the reason that I retained, stayed and retained was because I don't want to have to bowl at Phoebe Litchfield or Annabelle Sutherland in 100. And I thought, very good. If you can't beat him, you gotta join them.

Yeah. Mi London Oval, Invincibles. You'll be bowling at Danny Wyatt Hodge. Merely Kerr and Hayley Matthews. That makes more sense. All of them are a bit Mumbai Indians. Linked.

Linked, yeah. Except for Danny Wyatt Hodge, which was a surprise for me. I thought she would probably have stayed at Southern Brave, but she's not. So other moves, everyone's kind of. There was maybe three or four that I was surprised about. They were capsie.

Where's she gone?

She was at the Oval and she's now gone to Birmingham Phoenix.

Yes.

Lauren File has also gone to Birmingham Phoenix.

Siva Brunt for me not going to mi.

Yes. Although I'm not Surprised about that because she will want to be at home and obviously she lives local to Trent Bridge, so I'm not. I am surprised, but not surprised. I thought she might have been forced a bit more. Or not forced. That's the wrong word. Encouraged by Mumbai Indians, but she obviously hasn't been. Mahika Gore going to Spirit. I think that's a great signing.

Yeah.

Heather Knight obviously now doing the signings. She's DOC at London Spirit.

Yeah, they've. They've done well there. I think when I'm looking at the teams. Where is London Spirit on this list that I've got here? It is, yeah. Mara Zan, Kat Mexico. Charlie Dean, Grace Harris. Decent.

The other signing that really caught my attention was Smriti Mandano, because that surprised me. Manchester was not on my radar for her.

No. I heard a rumor she just decided like the day before she was going to play.

Yeah, I heard that.

Yeah.

She's like, oh, fine, I'll play Manchester Super Giants now.

Yeah.

Or Super Elephants.

The bad logos. Phil Salt going to Welsh Fire and Captain. Him and Captain must be big money, that.

Yeah, I think that would be big.

I've. I've heard massive.

And Chris Woakes. Good on you, Chris Woakes.

I'm looking forward to seeing Wilkes. He play.

Everything else has been relatively not as you would expect because it obviously looks a bit different with the fact that they've done out of auction signings. But the auction I'm fascinated by because it's the first time that we've done it in the hundred where there's not a. A certain money that you can sign. A certain amount of money you sign someone for. Yeah, you can bid.

Yeah. Because someone said to me the other day, they were like, oh, so, like, what's the. The brackets? And I was like, oh, well, Crossy signed, so I guess she's on the third bracket. And then I was like, oh, no, it's not. It's not. There's no bracket.

So each team's got a purse. So that's the way they've done it this year. So you were saying that the men. What's the men?

Just over 2 million. £2.05 million. Great. British pounds.

And you split that between 16?

Yes.

That's new this year. 16 in your squad.

Yeah. Not 15.

You can play four overseas this year.

Yes.

Yeah, that's new.

I don't know how I feel about the men being 2 million or over 2 million and the women being under a million. 880,000 is a lot of Money. I know that you know the likes of the best players in the world, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Ecclestone will be earning over £100,000 a year for a tournament. Amazing. It's still not an equal tournament, is it?

I think I get what you're saying. I think, again, what we're doing is comparing the men's and the women's, which we've actually always said we shouldn't do.

No, I'm not. Yeah, I know that. I'm just.

Comparatively, it looks bad.

That's what I'm trying to say. What.

So this is conversations that I've had quite a lot with because I. I was quite disappointed that it was as different as it was. And actually, I think the gender pay gap has widened again, which. It happened last year and the ECB said it ideally wouldn't happen again, but it has happened again.

And I do understand that to attract the best men's players in the world, you have to pay them a good amount of money. So do get that. That's why that's gone up so much.

The women's has doubled.

Yeah.

So if you look at it in isolation, it's amazing.

Yeah.

And people will be earning doubly what they did last year. My worry is that with the salary, with the purses, sorry, teams can bid for the best players and the best players, monies always go up. That's always. Even in the women's game, the best players earn the most money. What I would have loved to have seen was the. That the lowest amount that you can enter the draft in the auction in be lifted so that then the players who possibly like the difference of five grand, ten grand is big to them because it's the difference between maybe not having to work that second job or you can move out your mum and dad's. This is the women's game. Sorry.

Yeah. What is the lowest 15k?

I would have loved to have seen that be matched to the men's, which is 31K. I think so. I would have loved to have seen that. And for me, where the hundred now needs to change its perception, if that's the right word, is that you cannot say that this is the tournament of parity, which is what it was originally very outspoken about, that everything was on a level playing field. Obviously the money never has been, but I don't think now you can talk about this tournament being equal. Equal. It's not.

No, no. It's just the hundred, men's and women's.

Yeah. So that'd be Matty, I get what you're saying. I think when you look at it in isolation and you don't try and race with the guys, I'm not.

Yeah, it's gone up. It's amazing. I just think, I think it looks bad.

It always looked bad on paper though. I think, I think when you look at the numbers, it always looked bad. And I'll be interesting to see how they do the auction because obviously there'll be a big numbers flying around in the men's versus smaller numbers in the women's. So are they gonna keep them separate and not make it as obvious that there's differences in the page?

But. And also, all the best female players have already been signed. So what. What are teams willing to spend? Yeah, that's what I'm interested in. Because, you know, someone I don't know, I can't even think of a player. I'm just gonna throw myself. You know, you're. You're a better player. You've already been signed for X amount. I go in the auction and everyone goes, oh, I really need a left arm spinner. We've not got one. Oh, I'll bid her. We end up. I could end up getting the same amount of money as you and I'm nowhere near the player that you are. You know what I'm trying to say?

Yeah, but that did happen in with the brackets as well.

Yeah, it did.

Because people had to spend that much money on a player because that was the only money they had available. So it has happened in the past. But just looking down the list, all the women's team. Sorry, this is probably more focused on the women's stuff, but generally they've either spent 310 grand or 360 grand.

Well, the men have all spent 950 grand. Every single team spent 950.

So that would leave the women. 880 minus 360 is around.

I'll tell you.

428.

880 minus 360 equals 525 divided by 14. So you can spend about 37 grand per player if you wanted to split it equally. So there's still going to be some big money flying around.

Yeah, yeah, there will be. And there's still people to sign because they're not. Not everyone's got all their overseas allocation. So there is, there is players to be had.

Has every England woman got a team? I don't even know.

No. A lot of people are going into the auction.

I've not even looked. Oh, yeah, I suppose like someone like Sarah Glenn and. Yeah, yeah, players like that. Yeah.

It will be interesting. Obviously, the fixtures are coming out on the 27th, so we'll know that soon. But it's just all change, isn't it?

Yeah, it's exciting.

It is good and it should be good and it will be good. It will be good.

The men's will be better because they're going to have better players. Yep.

We always said the hundred is the 100, isn't it? It's going to be the same format. They've not changed that. It's not changed into anything else. So you would expect it to be the same. It'll just be that Leeds isn't purple anymore.

Yeah. And anyone that plays for Manchester now, you know why.

Yeah. Little intel. That was kind of meant to be a dummy's guide to the 100, but I think we made it more complicated for everybody.

Yeah, well, it was always going to happen.

It was going to happen, wasn't it?

Right, Crossing ours. I think we should go and get some tea.

Let's do it. If you want to get in touch with us, you can email us on noballspodcastbc.co.uk. noballspodcastbc.co.uk. it's so good.

They said it twice. You can text us on 811-double-1 and you can phone us on 0301-231-1826 and.

Get in touch with us about your thoughts on the 100, because we'd be quite keen to know about it. And also, any funny tweets that you saw about the Manchester logo, please send them to me because it's really become a hobby of mine.

Yeah, and mine. And mine. Well, good. And also, how do you take your things out the oven?

Yeah, I don't think there'll be anyone that says anything other than with another one.

So I'm going out using my shoes. Yeah.

What's the weirdest thing you've used to take something out of the oven?

Yeah, there you go. See?

Jumper's not that weird in the context of things.

No, it's not. What could you.

What about those people? They have this specific grabber things that you can, like, you clip on.

They. They feel more hassle than they're worth.

I think I'd panic and if it, like fell, I'd catch and then. And then I'd be a hazard.

Yeah, you are a hazard.

You're a hazard. Right, everyone, Bye.

Five live sports.

Let's get this show on the road on Rod Laver Arena.

Good Morning. Good evening from Melbourne, the Australian Open. I mean, how are they both feeling? The nerves, the tension? What's at stake? Unbelievable. What a rally. Between now and the end of the tournament, we will bring you a daily pod recapping the biggest stories and the best of the action on the All About Australian Open feed the Australian Open 2026 and join us for our live coverage on tennis breakfast every morning from 7am on Five, Sports Extra and BBC Sounds.

If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy, easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.