The Indian Premier League is almost halfway through as Simon Hughes and Deep Dasgupta assess the successes and failures of the tournament so far. With 24 totals over 200, batsmen capable of hitting the ball more than 100 metres, and Jofra Archer whizzing them down at 93mph it is certainly no place for the faint-hearted. But the 15 year old sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanchi is still strutting his stuff even as the 44 year old MS Dhoni is about to make his belated re-entry. This podcast is also viewable on The Analyst YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks to Tom Abell's nerveless 100, Somerset get home against Hampshire to extend their lead at the top of the County Championship. The match featured impressive performances by England hopefuls James Rew and Sonny Baker. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann review the weekend;'s action and answer listeners questions including could Rew open for England, will England consider Sam Cook again and can you pick England players from division 2? This podcast is available to view (with match action) on YouTube. Click the link here - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hampshire’s Nick Gubbins, 70 not out overnight, joins the podcast to explain how Hampshire took control of the championship match against leaders Somerset. It was a day when Hampshire's impressive seam attack pressurized Somerset into mistakes. Also in this episode, Sonny Baker's promise assessed, James Rew’s prodigious talent admired, the lunacy of the new substitute rule and the most eccentric quick bowler in county cricket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Middlesex, one of England's strongest and oldest counties, has been brought virtually to its knees financially and performance-wise over the last five years. It is the only county that doesn't own its ground. Simon Hughes listens at the club AGM to rescue plans and the proposal to develop a new venue that it can call 'home.' Also in the episode Ben Stokes recent comments on the Ashes reactions back home, and we discuss the fiasco of the new substitutes rule in county cricket. #cricket #middlesex #england #lords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simon Hughes spends the day at Hove watching Sussex overcome Warwickshire in a battle of Little and Large to become the only club in the country to have won both their opening championship games. A 140 run partnership between Sussex new boys Jack Leaning and Tom Price see them home. Head coach and former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace explains how passion and focus allied to smart acquisition enable Sussex to perform beyond their financial means. Also discussed: who should open the batting for England, how captaincy has helped Ollie Robinson, and are coaches too soft? A video version of this interview is on The Analyst YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sunday's big IPL clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, featiring some of the biggest names in Indian cricket - notably Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah was instead dominated by an Englishman, Phil Salt, who walloped 78 off 36 balls in an opening stand of 120 with Kohli. RCB captain Rajat Patidar continued his outstanding tournament with a blistering fifty, and 240 was too much for Mumbai Indians. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann review another run spree at the batting friendly Wankhede Stadum. #cricket #ipl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamie Smith adds a second authoritative hundred to his season's output in partnership with a rehabilitated Ollie Pope against a modest Leicester attack at the Oval. Simon Hughes and Simon Mann report on another Surrey run spree and assess the failures of some of the other batting contenders for Zak Crawley's England opening spot, with one outstanding exception - Ben McKinney's unbeaten 214 for Durham v hapless Gloucester. #countychampionship For more on Zak Crawley and other cricket comment follow the Cricverse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first round of County Championship matches featured two totals over 500, five draws and a number of batsmen filling their early-season boots. Jamie Smith was one, promoted to number three by Surrey. What do we read into that and what else did we learn from those first matches? Simon Hughes and Simon Mann consider the entrails ad celebrate the continued excellence of the 43 year old Jimmy Anderson as he passes the 1150 first class wicket mark. Later on we chat to Sam Morshead, the founder of CounterPress, a platform offering daily, dedicated online coverage of individual counties with news, opinion and reports. The individual sites can be found by clicking on these links below - Cider Press (Somerset) http://ciderpress.news Hove & Away (Sussex) http://hoveandaway.news Lanky Lanky (Lancashire) http://lankylanky.news King Pears (Worcestershire) http://kingpears.news Taff & Daff (Glamorgan) http://taffanddaff.news The Bear (Warwickshire) http://the-bear.news The Chester (Durham) http://thechester.news The Fox (Leicestershire) http://the-fox.news The Hawk (Hampshire) http://thehawk.news The Peakite (Derbyshire) http://thepeakite.news The Rey (Surrey) http://therey.news The Spitfire (Kent) http://thespitfire.news The Steeler (Northants) http://thesteeler.news The Trent (Notts) http://thetrent.news Up The Middle (Middlesex) http://upthemiddle.news White Rose Files (Yorkshire) http://whiterosefiles.news The Glorious Gazette (Glos) https://www.thegloriousgazette.news #cricket #countychampionship #englandcricket Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A preview of the (Rothesay) County Championship title race, for 136 years the hardest-earned trophy in cricket. The season lasts 178 days at the end of which we will know if anyne can topple Nottinghamshire from their pedestal. Simon Hughes, who won 4 championship titles with Middlesex, is joined by Simon Mann and Surrey all-rounder and columnist CAMERON STEEL, to discuss: - the runners and riders, stinging April catches, the new substitute rule, whether Dom Sibley can oust Zak Crawley's from the England opening spot and some yound (and older) thrusters to follow. #cricket #england #countychampionship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some brilliant slower balls from Lungi Ngidi helps lure Lucknow Super Giants to 141 all out in the IPL. Delhi Capitals revive from 26-4 to take an excellent win in our first live watchalong of the tournament. Simon Mann and Simon Hughes commentate on the last five overs and recap the first five matches of the competition, highlighting the early dominance of the batsmen, the remarkable 15 ball 50 of the 15 year old Vaibhav Suryavanchi and the bowlers finding some much needed help more recently. #ipl #cricket # Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices