107. Relentless YoY Growth, with Michael Vaughan

This week, Ben Stokes is in trouble for firing back at an Ed Sheeran sledge from a South Africa fan at the Wanderers. Are we happy with his response, or is it a bit stock standard? Moreover, is it possible for anyone to go to this country and not get into some kind form of aggressive altercation/controversy? Either way, huge fears are held for Australia's upcoming ODI tour.   Back home, it's the Australia Day long weekend, but there’s no home international one day cricket on, and naturally we are indignant as consumers. Where are the canary yellow kits that have defined our summers since childhood? The BBL marches on – yes, technically there’s more cricket on than ever before – but do we care that the Melbourne Stars are fucking their chances of playing in the “big dance”? Once again, we show ourselves to be utterly consumed by nostalgia and probably out of touch with modern society. Meanwhile, Stars coach David Hussey gets fined for some tongue in cheek comments about pitches: harsh overreaction by cricket authorities, or wholly deserved sanction for deeply shit chat?   Michael Paul Vaughan OBE joins the show for some honest reflections on English cricket, including criticisms over Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, and Joe Root's inability to get to three figures. We also touch on Stokes’ reaction to getting sledged at the Wanderers, plus the glorious 2005 Ashes triumph, before Vaughan walks us through his strategy for dealing with anonymous fuckwits on Twitter.   Finally, #AskTGC provides advice to a father who deliberately ‘barbecued’ his slow-scoring teammate (and son) in a lower grade fixture, facilitates a birthday shoutout on behalf of a young lady trapped in a relationship with a massive cricket nuffie, and attempts to define the origins of the word ‘salad’ once and for all.   As always, big thanks for the @BudgySmuggler crew for their long-standing support of The Grade Cricketer Podcast.   ***   We do events, too. If you have sporting entertainment needs and prefer material sourced after 1975, please talk to us. We’ve performed across Australia and the UK, and love telling stories from clubland, or interviewing those who tell them even better. Contact [email protected] for more details.   ***   We have merch, namely Stubby Holders, and Smugglers. Head to https://gradecricketer.club/shop for the specifics   ***   Big thanks to Jarryd Biviano @thefifthcreative and Julia Dowe for our podcast art, Toby Shain for the voiceovers + fake ad production, and Adrian Leung for our intro tune.   ***   Email the show at [email protected]   ***   We’re able to do all of this thanks to the fit, intelligent, enterprising people at Budgy Smuggler. It either is, or is nearly, summer somewhere in the world. For the entirety of your colourful swimwear needs, head to budgysmuggler.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.