BUY ISSUE 67 

In our widest-ranging issue yet, out on May 5, Isa speaks to Buttler about the pressures of following in Eoin Morgan’s footsteps, his interest in psychology, and the challenges he faced in transferring his outstanding white-ball record into the Test arena. “I never had quite the same level of trust in my own game,” says Buttler of his time in England’s Test side.

Elsewhere, star columnist Mark Ramprakash argues Stokes and McCullum are challenging our understanding of how a cricket team should be picked, Lawrence Booth says nothing will divert England’s Test captain from his mission, and Andrew Miller anticipates English cricket’s day of reckoning in the form of the impending ICEC report.

We have exclusive interviews with Charlotte Edwards, Ebony Rainford-Brent and the brilliant Enid Bakewell, in-depth coverage of how all 18 counties have started the new campaign, and a nine-page guide to the new women’s domestic season.

Elsewhere, Phil Walker picks out the greatest lines from the history of cricket commentary, Jo Harman tells the story of Australian wicketkeeping royalty, Ben Bloom takes the temperature of county supporters, Katya Witney delivers an eye-opening piece on the plight of Afghanistan’s female cricketers, and Luke Alfred hails the resilience of Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s first black African captain. We also have coaching tips from Keaton Jennings, Liam Plunkett and Toby Radford to help you tune up for the new season.

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10 standout quotes from the new issue:

“It was an honour to be asked to slip into the editor’s chair this month. To be honest I didn’t really know what to expect, but I strongly felt that with the game confronting some hard truths about itself and with the ICEC report imminent, I wanted this publication to be a part of the debate.”
Isa Guha on why she took on the role of guest editor

“The success that had been built under Eoin was fantastic and I probably felt the pressure of stepping into his shoes, him being not just a great captain, but a transformational captain. It’s an amazing story of English cricket, so that’s quite a lot to live up to!”
Jos Buttler on filling the sizeable shoes of Eoin Morgan as England’s white-ball captain

“Right now, you have to wonder whether a young Alastair Cook or Jonathan Trott would make the England side. I don’t think they’d be looked at. They’d be asked to change. The impression is that they want a whole batting order of people who come in and play aggressively.”
Mark Ramprakash on England’s selection policy under Stokes and McCullum

“They started to understand what my emojis were for different things. I’d say we’ve got to be like tigers in the field. I’d put a tiger emoji and it was just so funny. The girls loved it. They used to come up to me and [Edwards curls her fingers into claws and growls] at me all the time.”
Charlotte Edwards on using emojis to communicate with her players at Mumbai Indians in the WPL

“English cricket urgently needs to reframe the conversation, to move away from the ‘who and what?’ and drill down at long last into the ‘how and why?’ Because, if this ongoing reckoning is to reach a resolution that is of any lasting benefit, it’s going to require a soul-deep examination of this nebulous ‘institution’ that has failed the game so badly.”
Andrew Miller on the impending ICEC report 

“I’m still in shock seven years later! People ask Mitch that question and he says he can remember me when we were eight or nine down at Cheltenham Oval. And I say, ‘Yeah, you can remember me because I was the only girl there but you were one of 15 boys. How was I supposed to remember you?’ I didn’t see it coming. It’s just the way the world works. We kept bumping into each other in our teenage years and we were going through similar things, trying to break into the Aussie side and playing for New South Wales. Then, lo and behold, we’re married a few years later!”
Alyssa Healy on whether she ever imagined her wicketkeeping rival from colts cricket would become her life partner

“On the Australian side, it’s one last chance for their man to finally win a series in England. For the other side it’s another binge-watch of Davey, the long-running Aussie soap opera beloved of a loyal UK audience. Even Mrs Warner took to the screen to advocate for her man, looking down the camera lens of an Aussie talk show to challenge any other opener to get as many runs as him.”
Phil Walker on the prospect of David Warner’s last stand

“We don’t want the men’s team ever to be banned or not play. But we want them to support us and stand with us because it’s our right to play cricket. I think they’re feeling what we’re feeling for the first time.”
Feroza Afghan, one of 25 women and girls award a professional contract by Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2020

“Like Morgan, the transformation Stokes is trying to effect is so radical as to require apparently outlandish pronouncements. And if that means scaring the daylights out of England fans by suggesting he will allow Australia a sniff on the last day at The Oval, so be it.”
Lawrence Booth says Ben Stokes won’t be diverting from his carefully-curated script

“I had to raise £600 when I first went to Australia and New Zealand. I put my decorating table at the top of my drive and dug potatoes out of the garden and sold them. We sold paperback books, too.”
Enid Bakewell on funding her 1968/69 tour to Australia and New Zealand with the England women’s team

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