Bat, ball and all: Best of sports podcasts

A new season of football has started after a short break. The Indian Premier League, for the first time, will be played from the third week of September. French Open, a usual June fixture, is slated to begin in a week. With on-field action aplenty, is there a better time than now to discuss sports Podcasts?

Cricket

Hosted by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan — a fine writer, formerly of ESPN Cricinfo — 81 All Out invites guests including journalists, players and commentators. The mix of series reviews, glorious nostalgia trips and granular discussions makes it attractive for every kind of audience. Sky Sports Cricket podcast gets players like Ben Stokes, former stars like Nasser Hussain and Shane Warne to dissect the game. Sky, being the official broadcaster of English cricket, is a little too focussed on the home team. But don’t miss out on some top-class cricket punditry. Acast’s World Cricket Show and BBC’s Test Match Special are also among the must-listen cricket podcasts.

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more

Football

Hosted by ace presenter James Richardson, regulars on The Totally Football Show include popular tactics guru Michael Cox, German football expert Raphael Honigstein among others. The ESPN FC podcast gets some of the best analysts. If you are into Fantasy Football big time, then, the UK Fantasy Football Show is for you. British-American duo Roger Bennett and Michael Davies’s Men in Blazers adds a dash of humour to the discussions on Premier League and international football.

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more

Tennis

Ben Rothenberg and Courtney Nguyen won’t be unfamiliar if you are a keen follower of tennis writing. In No Challenges Remaining, you don’t feel like you are listening to experts; it’s like overhearing two friends. Another equally entertaining and podcast is Jon Wertheim’s Beyond the Baseline, which brings brilliant like Paul Annacone.

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more

Other sports

National Public Radio’s Only a Game is more American sport-focussed. But offers a mix of compelling insight and deeply told narratives. From the history of the sports bra to two baseball rivals meeting in the Second World War, the stories the podcast covers are highly engaging. In The Real Science of Sport, sports scientist Ross Tucker and journalist Mike Finchdoes break down complex issues like the world of drugs and doping and the ethical questions around the use of technology in sport.

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more

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