No Balls: Crossy’s back to County Cricket after The Hundred
16 Sept 2025 · 37 min
Kate Cross and Alex Hartley discuss women's cricket after The Hundred, covering recent matches, player injuries, and scheduling challenges. They read listener emails and share stories from the county circuit.
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Cross comes in round the wicket. Oh, that's Boulder. Boulder laboring a ball alone. Litchfield.
I think it's the wobble ball. And it just nips back. It jagged back. It's the nip backer. That is a beauty. From Kate Cross. An absolute seed. That is beautiful.
Cross.
Good morning. Hello. Welcome back to no Balls to cricket.
No, I don't like that.
That was weird, wasn't it?
Good morning, then, hello and welcome back.
To no Balls to create your podcast with me, Alex, Harley, and you, Kate Cross. I tried to mix it up, but it didn't work.
Every time we try and mix it up, we don't like it. So let's just never try and mix it up.
No, no, no. I started off saying good morning, but it sounded. You just went, no.
Yeah. No, I think everyone will have heard that.
No, I was hoping Jack could cut that out.
No, I think that's probably gonna stay in, let's be honest.
Okay. Okay.
The reason you said good morning, though, is because it is the morning and we don't ever do podcasts in the morning because we're typically not very awake before 11am Night owls, we're not good in the mornings.
No. How are you tired?
Because we're just woken up. What about you?
Well, I don't know what in the Armageddon is going on outside, but I am absolutely exhausted. I didn't sleep last night.
We went and had lunch yesterday, didn't we? And we both, without talking to each other, had had the idea that we'd meet halfway between where we live and then both of us either run or walk home because exercise is good for you. And then the weather forecast was so shocking that the second you sat down actually you couldn't see the window. But the second you sat down, it started raining. Didn't stop till you. Till now. I think.
I know. And then I text you when I got home and I was like, imagine us actually having to run our walk home.
We wouldn't have done it. We'd have Ubered it.
No, we absolutely would have. We also had the idea that we'd both bring each other presents as well. Which is really sweet. I got mine in an actual present bag. You got yours in Waitrose bag.
It's a good bag that I didn't really acknowledge how good a bag it was until I got in the car. So thank you.
Isn't it? It's such a good shopping bag because you can put it in its own case.
That was a bag within a present within a present. Really. Because, you know, those bag for lifes are great.
I know. I did. I did pick out the best bag for you.
Thank you. I actually did spend a bit of time picking out the best bag for you.
Thanks. I can't wait to eat all my crisps.
Yeah. So I got you some crisps that someone who actually stayed in my flat about a month ago left behind. Because I don't really eat crisps and they're the worst type of crisps. They're like. They're really cheap, crappy. Chris. And you were like, they're my best flavors of Chris, so bring them to me. So I did.
Yeah. Perfect. Happy birthday. What have you been up to? We've not podcasted since you won the final of the hundred.
I know. We've been up. Well, it's. It's the big fat 100 come down, isn't it? You just don't want to do anything. And what I have been doing is playing 50 over cricket. So that's been a shock to the system.
Has the body been sore?
Yes. More so than it's been all season actually. And I didn't have any soreness at all through the hundred. I think obviously you only bowled 20 balls. It's an hour in the field. It's pretty chilled. The only. The only actual day that had any sort of stiffness was going into the final, naturally. Because we played the Eliminator the day before. So 50 over cricket hit hard. But we. Something happened in the first game back where we didn't feel 50 oh, who.
Did we pull them out then?
Old Trafford reigned, so it became a like 30, the 40 over game. So it was like, oh, this is quite a nice transition back into 50 over cricket. But since then it has been long.
Yeah, you actually had. Yeah, I was about to say the weather's turned, hasn't it? Like completely turned. It's now like winter coat weather.
Yeah, it's not. I think we've skipped autumn, haven't we? It's just. It's just literally flown into winter straight away.
Yeah. 12 degrees. It's gone from 30 degrees to 12 degrees, like overnight. Literally. End of August.
Done.
You had a really, really shocking road trip this weekend as well.
Oh, my God. It was the biggest shambles I have ever been involved in, ever.
That's a big statement.
Yeah. Because I do this podcast weekly.
Right.
So we set off to go down to Arundel. That's where we're playing against Hampshire. Doesn't make sense because Arundel's in Sussex. But if you think back to last year with the regionalized setup, teams used to play in various counties around where they're from. So that's why Arundel is still associated with Hampshire. We don't know.
I didn't know.
We don't stay there though. We stay in Guildford. So we're staying in Surrey, playing against Hampshire in Sussex. So that was our weekend. So we get to Guildford. That took us probably about six hours on Friday afternoon. And then we've got a further hour to travel to Arendel the next morning. And it's a 10:30 start. So it's an early get up and an early get on the coach and everyone's a bit sleepy and a bit tired and it's absolutely throwing it down. It's like Armageddon weather, like you just said. We get to the ground about maybe 9ish. The game starts at half 10. It got called off at quarter past 10. Cancel completely called off before the game was even due to start. That was how wet the ground was. Water had got under the covers. Which begs the question why we're playing professional cricket on a ground that can't cope with a good amount of rain. It wasn't like floody weather, it was just a good amount of rain. And we got on the coach at half past 10 to come home and we got back at 6pm yeah, yeah.
You were like, oh, games off before I'd even woken up because it was a Saturday. And I was like, well, just because I wake up late, actually. Not because it was a Saturday, just because I didn't have anything on, so I slept. And then you were like, but it's fine because I'll be home by half four or five. And I was like, you know what, that's not that bad. That's quite good. See you later. And then I'd done. I'd had a massive lie in. I'd watched two T20 games, I'd been to the supermarket, I put four washes on. I'd had a whole day of pottery around the house, cleaning and tidying before you'd even made it back to Manchester.
It made me laugh in that voice note you sent me telling me what you'd done in that entire seven hour coach trip that I've been on, that one of the things that you put down was that you'd made yourself some lunch because that's quite a big deal for you to have done that just. I was like, no, that should just be a given. That shouldn't be part of your day to day. But are you being productive as you feeding yourself?
Yeah, I was. I've been so productive today. I didn't get a meal deal. I made lunch.
Speaking of two T20s, it was finals day.
It was, it was on Saturday.
It's actually my favorite day in the cricketing calendar.
That is a good one. It is a good one. The crickets on all day.
I think I, I said this to you on the day and you were like, nah. Well, you don't like working on it, do you find it a long day?
It is a long day, yeah.
Yeah. But I was like, nah, it's actually as a fan. It is class.
Yeah.
Finals day is so good.
Well, it's because you get there at half past nine in the morning. I remember getting there last year and like people were drinking pints at half nine in the morning.
It is amazing that more people don't get kicked out of the Hollies.
Yeah, true, true, true. But cricket fans are like nice fans.
Yeah, that's true, that is true. But congratulations to Somerset. They, I mean, they hammered Lancashire in the first game in the first semis. And then I always think that if your team gets beaten in the semi, you kind of want that the person that beats you to go on and win it.
Yeah.
So then you're like, oh, well, we lost to the losers. Yeah, Lost to the winners. We're the losers. Yeah, we're the losers. Yeah.
Lost to the wounds. But there was the big debate about that game, wasn't there? Crossing umpire sue and whether she made the right decision or not. And there was a bit of a howler. But I want to, like, just talk about it because the abuse she's got online is not acceptable.
Oh, my God. So I purposely stayed off Twitter because I could just see exactly what was happening. And this just probably sums up where cricket's at and how far we still have to go. Even though we think we've made so many strides. Everyone immediately jumped on the fact that she made that mistake because she was a woman.
I know.
And it's just the most sexist, misogynistic people that are saying these comments and everyone just needs to go and get in the bin because she. She did make a mistake. It was pretty obvious.
Yeah.
But it's not female.
As a woman.
Yeah.
Wound me up. And honestly, I felt so bad for her because she was getting abused left, right and center. And she made a mistake. Right. And it happens. And she made a mistake because she's human, not because she's female. There was a mistake in the final. No, there's a mistake where Chris Lynn was going for six sixes, got given out LBW on field that didn't even get spoken about. No one's abusing the umpire. No one's saying that was a shocker because it was a shocking, shocking decision to give Crystalline out lbw. And he was so far outside the line of off stump. But not once did you see that on social media. You saw on social media Susan umpiring decision because she was a woman.
But whoever it was, I don't even know who this on field umpire was that made that mistake, but say it was Michael Goff's the first name that comes to my head. Say Michael Gough made a mistake like that. No one says a male umpire has made that decision. No one. Like that comment is never made. It is always just the umpire when it's a male umpire. But because Sue's female, everyone jumped on the fact. And it's so easy, it's pathetically easy that people are able to be sexist in that moment. So get in the bin, everyone. It happens.
Yeah. And don't abuse people online. People make mistakes. I really appreciated everybody who was standing up for it, to be honest with you.
Well, there was a lot, wasn't there? There was a lot of people saying, like, you can comment on an umpiring decision without having to mention the sex of the umpire.
Yeah. Which is what we want.
So if you listen to this podcast and you have made a comment like that over the weekend, whether it's been to someone's face or Online to sue. Go and have a look at yourself, because you need to have a look at yourself. Pathetic.
Yeah, don't apologize. I just want you to feel bad within yourself. Know that you are one of those humans.
It'd be nice to apologize, I think.
Written. I want a written apology.
Written apology with tag, no balls in it so we can see it.
Yeah. I want you to write on a piece of paper like you're doing lines at school.
Yeah, Send it in.
Did you? I bet you never asked to do lines at school, did you?
I don't think we did that at school in general. Not that I was too good, that I didn't get in trouble, but I didn't. But I don't think we did that.
Oh, we did. I did.
We just had detention.
Yeah, detention used to be lines at school for me.
What did you have to write?
I will not misbehave again a million times or something like that. It was like torture.
You don't know how to spell the word misbehave.
Well, that's true. I will be good tomorrow.
I've got one thing on a sticky note. I want to talk to you. How are you?
Thank you, thank you. I am good. I am done for the summer and I. I can't believe the summer's over, like, genuinely half of the summer. But, yeah, two weeks I fly to India, so I don't have a passport. Can't go on holiday, so I'm stuck in the house.
Good, good, good. Yeah, you had your. What do you call it, your visa appointment, didn't you, where you have to go? It's always a bit. It's always a bit stressful when you go to India because you have to go and get your visa stamped in your passport. You give them your passport and you don't think you're ever going to see your passport again. But notoriously, the place in Manchester that does this doesn't have anywhere to park. No, it got you. You got your parking ticket.
I've actually had a shocking week, couple of weeks when it comes to things like that. And you were like, are you okay? What's wrong with you? So I got a parking ticket, getting my visa because I couldn't find anywhere to park. And I. I was drove around twice and I. It's a big loop. And I was like, I don't understand. And there's loads of cars on the road, so I was like, well, I'll just park with all these other cars over here was the only one to get a ticket. So I don't know. Don't know what I'd done wrong. I got a speeding fine going through Nottingham, which is my fault because I was doing 35, so I'm in the wrong. I thought, must have thought it was a 40 because I don't speed.
You don't speed. This is why I was like, are you okay? Because you don't speed. Why have you got speed? Because you had to do a speed awareness course which was.
Do you know what I learned the outcome of the speed awareness course was just go slower.
I actually, I think speed awareness courses are really beneficial. I think everyone should have to do one.
You reckon?
Well, because I remember I did one not too long after I passed my test and I remember thinking that it kind of changed how I drove because yeah, they said something around it was like, if you do, it's like the.
One mile an hour difference. Kill somewhere.
Or if you do like a two hour journey and you do it at 70 at. Yeah, 70 instead of 60, you get there like eight minutes faster.
Yeah, it's not.
Yeah, it's not work. It's not like you can save all that. So anyway. But yeah, yeah.
And then I got a. Another parking fine for not paying the airport drop off. So should. It's been a shocker of a week.
And someone has cut us at the minute. Al, you need to, you need to slow down, take a breath.
I do. I need the two weeks and abide.
By the rules because otherwise you'll be doing lines.
I know. You know what? You are so right. But other than that, I'm grand.
Good. Well, the other reason I wanted to check you're okay, because the one thing I do have on my sticky note is about you and it's about a decision that you've made recently that I had to severely question.
Oh no, what have I done?
So about 12 weeks ago.
12 weeks?
I think it was about 12 weeks. So you can give people a timeline. You hurt your calf when you went running.
Oh, yeah. It was the 21st of July. I tore my. I must have torn my calf because it's still not right.
So you did it. It felt quite bad. I remember on your Instagram story you had Emily Windsor looking at it. So. And you weren't. You were in a lot of pain, you couldn't do any exercise and it was quite stressful. How many weeks later was it that you decided to give it a go to run on your calf again?
Five and a half.
Okay. So you left it five and a half weeks without doing anything on it.
Yeah.
And do you want to tell everyone what you decided to go and do?
10K?
You decided you're gonna do a 10k. So the first run to do the 10k was a 7k run. You don't run for 7k. Even in your fittest time of your life. You did not run 7k continuously and you did it checking out your calf.
Yeah, yeah, I did. And lo and behold, I fell down a bit of pavement and felt like I'd been shot. Turns out I didn't fall down a bit of pavement. My calf went again. Who'd have thought it?
I am mind blown. So this is something. If I was talking to someone who'd never played professional sport, who'd never spoke to physios before in their life, who'd never had to nurse injuries, I'd understand it. But you, you were all those things and you still went out and tested your calf by doing a 7k run.
Yeah, yeah, I did do that. I did do that. So that was two and a half weeks ago. So I went out yesterday and you were like, for the love of God.
Just walk, just walk, just do some walking. Just build it up.
Just, just walk, Alex. Fine. So I went out for a walk and I got like a kilometer in. I was like, I'm bored. So I ran. But then I was like, be sensible. In the back of my head, you were going, just walk. So I was like, okay, be sensible, be sensible. So I did two songs off, one song on, and that is my return to fitness and I ran four songs, so I only ran for 12 minutes out of my 50 minute walk.
Right, that's good. Also forgot to tell everyone, in between the five and a half weeks of the injury happening, you didn't see a physio, you didn't want to do any rehab on your calf. You probably drank every single day of the hundred and didn't eat very nutritious food. So there was not one bit of that run that was going to be a success.
Do you know what? I've never been injured. Genuinely. I thought I was injured plenty of times, but never injured. And I just thought it'd be all right. And it turns out when you actually tear something, it is not all right. And I understand when people do a calf now why they keep doing them. That's it. I've got an old lady injury.
Yeah, you, yeah. Might get you some physio for your birthday.
No, I don't need it now. I ran yesterday.
No, but that. See, now you can't just go and do a 7K. You've got to build it up again.
No, no. My return to fitness. I think I'll have to do one song on, one song off and then two songs on, one song off.
Right, okay. Just. Yeah, good.
But not today. In a couple of days. Do you know what it was? I'm so sick of doing nothing. And I was like, oh my God. And then you were like, why don't you go to the gym? I was like, because that's £15 every time I want to go sit on a bike.
But you're going to be spending 30 pound on your physio appointment.
Yeah, true.
And also, what about all these times that you've been able bodied and you've just not wanted to run or go to the gym ever and now you're injured, you want to go running? What's that about?
I know. Well, I really got into it before I popped my calf, didn't I?
Yeah. Really is a strong word.
Yeah. I was going to ice cream.
You got running again.
Basically my cars didn't fit, so I started moving.
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Before we move on to our emails, we are in a semi final.
Yes. Tomorrow. What a season the red rose is having. Really?
Yeah, we've done well. Obviously won the FA cup, came fourth in the Vitality Blast. So we just missed out on a day at Finals day there because only three in the women's team go into finals day and we're sat third. That was the other thing about this Arendelle trip. It wasn't a must win game for us. It wasn't even necessarily a must play game because we knew he'd qualified. But it did still affect who finished first, second, third, because those, those we could have. Blaze needed to win. We needed to win and we could have overtaken Hampshire. And there was a world where if Blaze had won even better than they had done, Hampshire would have finished second with the home semi final, which would have meant that we were now then traveling back to Hampshire for our semi final. So it all was even more of a shambles. But imagine if that was a must win game for us and we turned up and it was called off at quarter past 10.
Yeah. He'd have been fuming.
Oh, my God. Just, just. Probably not good enough.
So you are in Nottingham.
We're in Trent Bridge tomorrow, Tuesday. So that's our semi final, which is good because Wednesday's forecast looks shocking again. But tomorrow looks okay. Then if we win that, we go to Hampshire for the final on Sunday. So that's at the Utilita, regardless of who gets through.
Yes. Okay. Okay.
So good luck. Thanks. Let's win.
Yeah. Come on, the girls.
Right, we've got a massive bold letters at the top of this document. You can email us on noblespodcastbc.co.uk.
I can't get that wrong. It's there.
Noblespodcast.BBC.co.uk. it's so good.
It's so good. They've said it twice.
They've said it twice. You can also WhatsApp us on O 0301-231-826 and you can text us on 8111.
Start your message or text with no.
Balls or one word. And remember, please put your name and your email on the message too.
Come on then, who are we going upstairs with? I think we should just go upstairs with sue and give her a bit of love.
I think we should. I was going to suggest Sue.
Yeah. Come on, sue, we're going for a ride.
Hello, Kate and Alex. I'm a one time listener but first time emailer. I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on the scheduling of the women's T20 Blast finals day next year. It's being held on Friday 17th July 2026 at the Kia Oval. I attended the event this year on Sunday 27th July and I enjoyed it. And was looking forward to going again next year, especially with the new arrangement of two semi finals and a final to mirror the men's event. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend because I work in a state primary school and our summer holidays don't start till the following week. We were told last year that the attendance, which was over 5,000, was a record for domestic T20 women's fixtures in England. There were a lot of children, including lots of girls at the Kieroval, which can only be a good thing. So I can't understand why this event has been scheduled for a weekday next year and not a weekend. I'd be interested to know your thoughts. Regards, Sarah Taylor. Not the Sarah Taylor, but I do play cricket.
Sarah Taylor also works in a school, so she does.
So she won't be able to attend.
It's, yeah, a little bit disappointing actually, isn't it? If we're gonna be. I'm gonna be completely. Well, I can't be completely honest. I think it's a bit disappointing because if it was in the school holidays, you sort of understand and you can be like, okay, that's fine. Look, last year was such a success. Why. Why is it not on Sunday again? If the men's semi finals day. If the men's finals day has to be on Saturday at Edgbaston, which is fine. It's always been like that. That can stay there. Why can it not just be Sunday then?
Or the week before or the week after? Yeah, it can't be the week before because we run the tournament alongside each other. I'm also really disappointed with this. I think it's a bit of a step backwards, to be honest. And I just think the people that make these decisions, when they sit around the room and make them, ask yourself the question, would we do this for the men's game? And the answer is always, always no. They would never, ever, ever put the men's finals day on a Friday. So why do they do it?
For the women, a working week. The only way they're going to get a record crowd now is giving free tickets to schools.
You've got the chance of the final being a sellout, but that first semi final, whoever's made it there, it just, it. It's just a bit disrespectful, I think. Yeah, you've worked hard in a great tournament to get to that final and you want it to be an occasion. And sadly it's not going to be.
No, no. That first game is going to be like Covid. Unfortunately, Hi, Alex and Kate. I just started a new job where I'm allowed to wear my headphones while carrying out my duties. So today I randomly scrolled through the no Buzz list and randomly. It was the podcast. Just before the ODI series started in South Africa last year and Seren Smale had been called into the squad. You mentioned she had to reschedule her driving test. I was just wondering if she ever got her license. All the best. You're both awesome. Molly from Australia.
Yes. So, little update. Seren passed her test probably about a month ago. So congratulations, Seren. Yes, finally. Also, so did Mahika Gore. So it's really quite worrying that those two are on the road now. So everyone around Manchester area, just be careful, be vigilant.
Thereabout the thought of Meeks being crumpled into a car.
Yeah. With her knees up to her ears.
I can just imagine her driving like a Fiat 500, being like 6 foot 4. No, actually, she's not driving a Fiat 500. It's Mejika Gore. She's probably got some whip.
No, I don't think. I think she wanted a Golf Polo. Yeah, Polo. Volkswagen Polo to start with.
Cute. Cute.
I don't know what they got. I'll ask them. Sarah was like, I need to go car shopping. I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. All these little kids are growing up.
Oh, my God. Go on, Crossy.
Right. Priya has emailed and she only wants to speak to Kate on this one. So sorry. Alex, take a back seat. Hi, Kate. I've been following Freddie Flintoff's cricket program since it started a few years ago. And it was. It looks like such a great opportunity. What was it like being part of it? I saw that for this series there are multiple locations and the one that you are participating in runs in Manchester. I was wondering if you and the team have any plans to expand the locations where you will be filming and maybe perhaps consider Leeds in the future. Leeds is much closer for me and it would mean a lot to be able to join and improve my cricket under your coaching. It would be exciting since the Northern Superchargers are based there too. Thank you so much for your time and I really appreciate everything you're doing to grow the game. Best regards, Priya.
Okay, Crossy, first and foremost, I have to sincerely apologise. I forgot it had been. It started.
It's been on. We've had two episodes. The second episode came on yesterday.
Have you been watching?
Yeah, no, I watched them all on the. Where did we. We came back from Beckenham, and me and Phoebe G watched basically the whole series on the Coach on the way home.
Oh, my God. How good is it?
It's been really good, actually. Do you know what I've loved about it? Obviously, I was with the girls in Blackpool, so I was very, quite heavily involved in that. And I did a few episodes in the Manchester location, but there was so much that I just didn't know had happened because I'm not part of the interviews that happen outside the cricket and I don't see the girls going to the schools and do the coaching. So there's loads that I kind of missed out on. So I'm still watching it as a fan as well. So it's been really, really, really nice seeing how they've pieced it all together. And there's ob so much that got filmed that has missed out as well. Like, so many amazing moments that they probably could make another series with the out the outtakes if you want. So it was great. It was fun to be a part of. But everyone asked me, like, is Fred the same? Or is it like his TV personality comes out because he's doing tv? But I genuinely, hand on heart, can say that everything that you see is exactly what he's like.
Well, yeah, he's just Fred.
He's just Fred. He's just brilliant with the kids. Like, the difference when he's there versus when he's not there is polar. So, like, the kids just behave so much more when he's around.
And I reckon the girls behaved more when you were there because it's like, oh, my God, Kate Cross is here.
And it's like, no, they had no idea who I was because they'd not seen cricket. They didn't know. There was a few of the girls who have played cricket that knew that I was playing because they were talking about it kind of overlapped with the island series when I went over. So I remember turning up one day and they were all stood around and they were like, congratulations, you're going to be England captain. It was so sweet. So, so sweet. But then, yeah, the other girls just didn't really know. I was trying to get them to go to a Superchargers game, actually, because I thought if they could see visually what it looks like and what you could aspire to, that'd be pretty cool. But, yeah, Hoggy did used to say that, like, when Fred was there, it made such a difference because they just. All the kids behaved so much more.
The best bit is, like, I can see why my Mum fancies Freddie Flint off.
Yeah. One of the girls. Like why?
Yeah, why? Why? Really?
Yeah. So Priya, in answer to your questions, I. I have no say in anything that happens on this show. It's not my show. Freddie loves a challenge. Maybe he will want to expand it. I think he probably realized he bit off a bit more than he could chew in this series doing three teams. But maybe Leeds will be on his agenda. I don't know. It's a rubbish way of answering that question really.
We shall see.
Yeah.
Hello, Alex and Crossy, I suppose I have to say, longtime listener, first time emailer as it seems to be a thing. It is a thing, isn't it?
It is a thing, yeah.
I wanted to email to say I really appreciate Crossy's openness in the selection podcast. The emotion really came through and you had me crying in the car on the way home. I was missed on an international selection for a four yearly event, not the Olympics, the other one where the policy was top five were eligible for five places on the plane. I was mathematically third and realistically second in the country. It hurts to this day, but I have recovered both mentally and financially. Amateur sport. I think it's really inspiring to hear someone talk about the sad times as well as the good times. The first time I have heard someone talk about non selection since mine over 10 years ago and I think I would have recovered much faster if the emotions around it were normalized as you did. Say thanks for your podcast as always, is another Alex.
Oh, thank you. Another Alex. That's a really lovely email. And that sounds again just savage, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Like how are you mathematically third and second in your country and still miss out? Don't miss out. And the Winter Olympics, that's the. I think that's again like when I'll get really sad about this still because obviously I'm still working through what's going on. But it's a work. It's like I've played every one day game between the last World cup and this World cup and I've missed out on like almost on the. The bonus that you do to get the team qualified. So that's like. It must be so much worse for the Olympic athletes as well. And I always think if an Olympic athlete was to get an injury just before that, it must be absolutely devastating. Like I don't know how you recover from that, but it is. It's just, it's. It's the price you pay. It's the price you pay to be involved in professional sport, but it doesn't make it any easier. Well, sorry, Alex, to hear what you went through. I'm glad you're feeling recovered from it now and maybe in 10 years time I'll have recovered from this. So we'll do another episode.
You're not recovering from this in 10 years. Yeah, there'll be another episode. The comeback episode.
Yeah, we'll do an episode then. We've also had an email from someone who didn't put their name and it just. Oh, no, it was a text because it starts with no balls. Please, please, please do the Sprite Burp Challenge. I think it's very. Nobles love the pods so much.
Do you know why it. Is it very nobles the Sprite Burp Challenge or the Fizzy Pop Challenge? We did it on a team bus once on the way back from somewhere. It was when I was captain and I got two of the youngsters to do it and they were in a lot of pain with their bellies, so it would be funny, though I do kind of want to do it.
We'll see. We'll. We'll chat it through.
Yeah.
And for the first time, it's us too, that are a bit like, oh, I'm not sure. And our producer's like, you should definitely do this.
Yeah. We're like, oh, may have to be embarrassing. And it should do big burp on the Internet.
Yeah. What's been making a noise this entire time? Sounds like someone's banging on a bin or something.
Oh, grossy. That's my. That's my pigeon protectors.
Oh, is that what that is? That's a horrible noise.
I know, right? I can't even turn you around to show you. Remember the pigeon protectors? They have been banging all night because of the wind. And I reckon my neighbors must hate me. And if I never, ever, ever sleep again, I'll have slept better than I did last night because I've been up all night because they've just been going, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Oh, at least you've got no pigeons in there. They'd make no more noise. That. What's that?
Just don't queue. Just don't queue. The wind blows and they hit the awful. All night, Crossy. All night.
You need some headphones, Al. You need some ear protectors.
My neighbours are going to be putting letters through my letter box. At least they look good.
Nat, what do pigeons do in the winter? Are they busy? Because if not, you could take them down for the winter.
I think that's when they come and hibernate, isn't it? Do they hibernate?
Pigeons hibernate, do they?
I could take them down for the winter. I'm gonna have to do something because I can't have them keep chiming. I have got those, like, spikes. I maybe put them up when I'm away in winter.
Pigeons seek shelter. They fluff up their feathers to insulate themselves and they change their foraging habits to focus on high calorie food sources like seeds and berries.
So it's like avenue.
Oh, they also took their heads and feet for warmth. That's cute.
It was not cute. I've got bird poo everywhere.
They seek shelter.
Yeah, that's my balcony.
Right, well, good luck with that. Oh, that's a bad noise, that elf.
Why has I been doing it the whole time?
Whole time, I say.
It's like, you know like when people like. Oh, you don't even hear the traffic once. You live here a while.
Yeah, no, I can hear that.
Yeah, well, annoying, is it?
Right, everyone, see you soon. Bye.
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