0:00:00 > 0:00:05Stay with BBC World News.
0:00:05 > 0:00:15Now on BBC News it's time for Extra Time.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Welcome to Extra Time. Last month, Australia's vice-captain, David
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Warner, likened the fort coming Ashes series against England to war,
0:00:24 > 0:00:33saying that he was looking for hatred to motivate his team-mates.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Hyperbolic language, of course, but it gets under way in a few days from
0:00:37 > 0:00:43now. Our guest Graeme Swann knows all about pommie bashing. 18 of his
0:00:43 > 0:00:46matches were against the Aussies, eight of them in Australia. When he
0:00:46 > 0:00:51says the Ashes are all in the mind, does he believe England are prepared
0:00:51 > 0:01:23for the mental challenge coming their way? Welcome to Extra Time.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27First test at Brisbane's The Gabba. They don't call it The Gabba for
0:01:27 > 0:01:30nothing. It's like being in boundary control in front of the hostile
0:01:30 > 0:01:34fines?I wouldn't know, I was always sensible enough to be in the slips
0:01:34 > 0:01:38so I wouldn't know it. But it's true, the noise can be incredible.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42The whole stadium, it's like a cake tin sort of thing. It enveloped the
0:01:42 > 0:01:47grounds and it's all as one.Wasn't designed for the acoustic in a way?
0:01:47 > 0:01:54Maybe. I remember going out to bad there in 2010. I was the ball after
0:01:54 > 0:02:03Stuart Broad had become Peter Siddle's hat-trick. The noise was
0:02:03 > 0:02:08the most ferocious.Can you pick out the insults?No.If you were on the
0:02:08 > 0:02:11boundary, you probably could?We always used to laugh about them,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14because they're not particularly witty. The Australian crowds, in
0:02:14 > 0:02:19fact, world crowds, haven't got the self-depricating wit that an English
0:02:19 > 0:02:24crowd has. If you've been to a football game and hear some of more
0:02:24 > 0:02:28intelligent things that are said, not saying that everything said at a
0:02:28 > 0:02:33football game is intelligent, but it's not in the same league. As an
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Englishman, you're able to sit back and laugh at how much further we
0:02:38 > 0:02:42are. Let's face it, if you've gone to a game of sport just to shout
0:02:42 > 0:02:45abuse to the men in the middle, there's something missing in your
0:02:45 > 0:02:49life.Almost half of the 16-man England squad have never experienced
0:02:49 > 0:02:53an ash ashes test before. How are they likely to cope with this new
0:02:53 > 0:02:59experience?You never know, it's sink or swim. One thing that I hope
0:02:59 > 0:03:02that they remember and that I hope the psychology team have been
0:03:02 > 0:03:07drumming in is that it really doesn't matter. Everything going on,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10all the and voices and press intrusion, it doesn't matter at all.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15At the end of the day, when you stand there and the ball comes down
0:03:15 > 0:03:19there, it doesn't affect the ball in any way.Easy to say that in the
0:03:19 > 0:03:22atmosphere of a studio.It is, but once you're playing international
0:03:22 > 0:03:25sport, these are the things you should be able to control and the
0:03:25 > 0:03:29best players in the world should be able to control that and shut off
0:03:29 > 0:03:32all the exterior noise because once you've found a mechanism to cope
0:03:32 > 0:03:36with it, it's not that hard to do. We'll talk about psychology in a
0:03:36 > 0:03:39moment, but thinking about captain Joe Root. He's only played in four
0:03:39 > 0:03:43tests in Australia. He hasn't got much experience with with to inform
0:03:43 > 0:03:46the younger members of his squad, has he?He's not. And I think every
0:03:46 > 0:03:49captain needs to use whatever his particular strengths are.Which
0:03:49 > 0:03:53would be what, for Joe?For Joe, it's his body language, the way he
0:03:53 > 0:03:56plays the game. He's a naturally aggressive batsman when he's at the
0:03:56 > 0:04:00crease. If he goes out and bats like that, puffs his chest out, takes on
0:04:00 > 0:04:04the Aussie bowlers, the Australians don't like people taking them on.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08The reason they sledge as a nation, the nation's psych is to belittle
0:04:08 > 0:04:13and they want you to be a rabbit in the head lights and be a shrinking
0:04:13 > 0:04:18violet. They hate people to stand up to them and take them on in their
0:04:18 > 0:04:21own game. Joe does that, not with words, but with his actions. You saw
0:04:21 > 0:04:26that in the way he batted in the last Ashes in England, in the first
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Test Match in Cardiff. He was dropped and then he played a
0:04:30 > 0:04:32brilliant counterattacking, aggressive innings and scored 100.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36And the whole team feeds off that. They watch him play. So, all right,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40if Joe's doing it, he's our leader, we will follow. That's what he needs
0:04:40 > 0:04:44to do in Australia.It's almost like you're describing right now the
0:04:44 > 0:04:48strategy to counter a bully?It's exactly that. It is easy to say. If
0:04:48 > 0:04:53you've been bullied as a child, you go home and your mum and dad will
0:04:53 > 0:04:57say, sticks and bones may break your bones. But if there's a bully in the
0:04:57 > 0:05:00play ground, there's a real possibility that you'll be
0:05:00 > 0:05:03physically hurt. You can't get physically hurt about a crowd
0:05:03 > 0:05:07shouting at you and your parentage, especially when most it is
0:05:07 > 0:05:10unfounded. You need to found a mechanism to get through it. Every
0:05:10 > 0:05:14sportsman at some stage has had horrific things shouted at them from
0:05:14 > 0:05:17the crowd. I think we're actually getting towards a stage where the
0:05:17 > 0:05:21tolerance levels of those around the people accusing the crowd is raised
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and they're not going to put up with that any more. Sorry, it's fallen.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28They're not going to come up with physical and mental abuse thrown
0:05:28 > 0:05:30towards someone's family members. I'm glad you mentioned that, because
0:05:30 > 0:05:34I was going to ask you where the line gets crossed?There's a huge
0:05:34 > 0:05:38thing that's put up before every international cricket game on the
0:05:38 > 0:05:43board saying the ICC will not tolerate any sort of abuse or
0:05:43 > 0:05:47aggression that discriminates because of skin colour, because of
0:05:47 > 0:05:50gender, sexual orientation. Basically, everything that you
0:05:50 > 0:05:54shouldn't, and rightly so. But of course... But every insult is one of
0:05:54 > 0:05:58those things. And it's lip service. It's put up on the board, but it's
0:05:58 > 0:06:02not adhered to. It's to tick a box, as we all know in this world, a lot
0:06:02 > 0:06:06of people do that. They cover their own backs. It would be interesting
0:06:06 > 0:06:11if they actually followed through because a couple of crowds, there
0:06:11 > 0:06:15were 300 people left in the park on the first day!There are a few
0:06:15 > 0:06:18things to counter that with. The threat of physical violence also, is
0:06:18 > 0:06:22pretty borderline. There was a famous occasion when Michael Clarke,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Australian batsman, who was captain at the time, said to your mate,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Jimmy Anderson, get red for a broken, expletive, deleted, arm.If
0:06:31 > 0:06:39any Australian is going to threaten you on the feel, little Michael
0:06:39 > 0:06:47Clarke, bless him. And Jimmy didn't remember that. He doesn't stoop to
0:06:47 > 0:06:51threats like that. But it was only because it was picked up by the
0:06:51 > 0:06:54cameras, picked up by the stump line. And to be honest, the
0:06:54 > 0:06:58intrusion into the middle of the stump mics and cameras, Michael
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Clarke got a lot of criticism for that. That's been happening for 35,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05even longer, even a book that I wrote about it, it's been happening
0:07:05 > 0:07:09for 100 years. And as media, if you're then putting it out to the
0:07:09 > 0:07:12crowd but then blaming the players, it's actually your responsibility.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The director had the choice when he heard that to not put it out on air,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20but he chose to.He's a producer and he has to be quick with the
0:07:20 > 0:07:23microphone, that's the point. There's no need for the microphone
0:07:23 > 0:07:27there if you ask me. Because things do get said. Stupid things, in
0:07:27 > 0:07:33jokes. Remember when England played India a few years ago and they were
0:07:33 > 0:07:36joking about cars, about Porsches and someone in the media said that
0:07:36 > 0:07:40England players are trying to degrade their Indian counterparts
0:07:40 > 0:07:45and being elitist, saying, we drive Porsches. What they didn't realise
0:07:45 > 0:07:48is that all the Indian players were multimillionaires and the English
0:07:48 > 0:07:53players were not. What the English players were doing was trying to get
0:07:53 > 0:07:57free product sent to them because somebody mentioned that a champagne
0:07:57 > 0:08:00bottle was sent to them in the change room. And they said, I
0:08:00 > 0:08:08wouldn't mind getting a Porsche or a Lambert! There's always -- or a or a
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Porsche.You've given it and you've obviously taken it as well. In terms
0:08:13 > 0:08:17of your hip trade of sledging remarks, I suppose, the point is,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21they've got to be funny?Well, the thing is with sledging, a huge thing
0:08:21 > 0:08:25is made of it. It happens so few and far between on the field, funny
0:08:25 > 0:08:28things. And they're brilliant for afternoon speeches and all the ones
0:08:28 > 0:08:36I've got, I can't say any of them on the TV. I very rarely said anything
0:08:36 > 0:08:39as a spin bowler. If I swore at someone, I couldn't bowl the next
0:08:39 > 0:08:44one. I kept my mouth shut. But you do get a few things said to you. But
0:08:44 > 0:08:48none of them are funny. Some of the old stories are funny. This is the
0:08:48 > 0:08:52media hyping things up. We live in a day of 24-7 news and something has
0:08:52 > 0:08:56to be interesting and you said at the top of the programme about David
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Warner saying that he wants war and hatred. That is just a player who's
0:09:00 > 0:09:03buying into this pathetic hyperbole that's been built around the Ashes,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06especially around the time of November 11, to come around with
0:09:06 > 0:09:12comments like that is mind-blowingly naive and stupid. I sincerely hope
0:09:12 > 0:09:15he regrets it all because it's mind-blowingly out of order. It's
0:09:15 > 0:09:19not war, it's not hatred. If you hate someone because they're from
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Australia, or an Australian hates someone because they're from
0:09:21 > 0:09:25England, you really do have to have a strong look at yourself in the
0:09:25 > 0:09:29mirror.Anyway, it goes on to a lesser or greater degree, and in a
0:09:29 > 0:09:32sense, it's all about preparing yourself, mentally, for that kind of
0:09:32 > 0:09:37atmosphere. You've been fairly outspoken on how England set up, has
0:09:37 > 0:09:42failed to properly address this aspect of test cricket. You said you
0:09:42 > 0:09:47believe that English cricket has too long gone away from the
0:09:47 > 0:09:50strengthening, it won't make a difference if the player's mind is
0:09:50 > 0:09:54not clear and positive.I think this is cricket on the whole. Once you
0:09:54 > 0:09:59get to the level of test cricket, that top level, that superlative
0:09:59 > 0:10:02level, technically you're able to do that. Physically you're strong
0:10:02 > 0:10:06enough to play it. 90% of test cricket is in you are why head and
0:10:06 > 0:10:11you've got to find ways of working out exactly coping mechanisms for
0:10:11 > 0:10:14so-called pressure.Would you say England are behind the other nations
0:10:14 > 0:10:21in this?I don't know any nation who's ahead or behind. Mental
0:10:21 > 0:10:26illness, let's face it, until very recently, has had a real stigma
0:10:26 > 0:10:31attached to it. Someone was like the village idiot, stay away from him.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35But now people are realising, it's not your fault if you're mentally
0:10:35 > 0:10:39ill, how can we aggress that? And because of mental illness having a
0:10:39 > 0:10:42stigma, in this country especially, and America is very different. You
0:10:42 > 0:10:46know over there, they see shrinks, psychologists, not for bad things.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50They see them anyway for good things, for positive reasons. That's
0:10:50 > 0:10:53what sport should do. I truly believe that's what cricket should
0:10:53 > 0:10:57do. If you've got someone good enough to get to that top level, all
0:10:57 > 0:11:02you can say is technically, we have batting, bowling, fielding, massage
0:11:02 > 0:11:07therapists, bus drivers, security. I think there should be a team of
0:11:07 > 0:11:11psychologists, tip no Torres Strait Islanders -- hypnotists. They will
0:11:11 > 0:11:15get out there and succeed.So you're speaking up here for the benefits of
0:11:15 > 0:11:19psychology. What about you? Have you understaken it? And if so, how
0:11:19 > 0:11:25useful was it?I never thought I did. I mean, we had psychologists,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Mark Boden. But I never found anything with him that worked
0:11:28 > 0:11:32especially well for me. I always found myself fairly blessed that I
0:11:32 > 0:11:36didn't need it, or so I thought.But others did?I used to go around the
0:11:36 > 0:11:40change room and see people visibly nervous before the day's play and I
0:11:40 > 0:11:43tended to gravitate towards the people who weren't nervous. So
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson were my closest in the dressing room
0:11:47 > 0:11:51because they didn't seem bothered at all. I liked that. It was good for
0:11:51 > 0:11:55the soul. That's me as well. It was only the first day I walked into the
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Oval in London as a journalist for BBC, rather than a player, as I
0:12:00 > 0:12:03walked through the gate, the physical difference. I mean, it was
0:12:03 > 0:12:07like there was no weight on my shoulder. I breezed into the ground.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10And at that point, realised why I'd done well throughout my career
0:12:10 > 0:12:16because I'd convinced myself that it didn't matter, that I wasn't
0:12:16 > 0:12:20bothered. Of course it does, it did. It's a big deal, you're on TV:
0:12:20 > 0:12:23And nerves are natural and can sometimes propel you to a good
0:12:23 > 0:12:27performance?The people who use nerves to propel them to a good
0:12:27 > 0:12:30performance are the people who have got it cracked. Nerves or pressure,
0:12:30 > 0:12:37it's the same thing. A feeling of uneasiness. You're not settled,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39you're not in your comfort zone. But it can all be channelled in a
0:12:39 > 0:12:42positive way. I was quite lucky. I managed to do it by convincing
0:12:42 > 0:12:46myself that I couldn't give a monkeys. This is fine. A walk in the
0:12:46 > 0:12:49park. The sun will come up tomorrow. But I surrounded myself with people
0:12:49 > 0:12:55who inflated my tyres, who talked exactly the same way. My spin
0:12:55 > 0:12:57bowling coach, the greatest man I've ever met. Greatest coach. Never
0:12:57 > 0:13:01spoke technically. We never talked about spin bowling, ever. All he'd
0:13:01 > 0:13:06say is, we'd stand there and say, Mr Swann, at the end of the day, if you
0:13:06 > 0:13:09don't get any wickets, who cares, you've got a beautiful wife and
0:13:09 > 0:13:12children and the sun will come up tomorrow, and he's absolutely right.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Let's try to get a field for the balance of power on the field, in
0:13:16 > 0:13:19terms of batting and bowling in the forthcoming series. Australia are
0:13:19 > 0:13:22the favourites, they've been pretty much so from the start. Then a
0:13:22 > 0:13:27number of injuries, of course, both pre-tour and during the tour to the
0:13:27 > 0:13:29England squad. And that's why the former Australian captain saying,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33this tour is shaping up as a replica of the disastrous 2002-2003
0:13:33 > 0:13:38campaign. It has all the hallmarks of a familiar English horror story.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43There you go. That's the Australian psych I was talking about earlier.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Build it up, get the English players to to believe that.There's no truth
0:13:48 > 0:13:50in that?Put it this way. If this Australian team came to England now,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53England would be firm favourites because the ball will swing in
0:13:53 > 0:13:58England. The Australian batsmen are very poor against the swinging ball,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01hence the last English Ashes, the ball swung in three Test Matches.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04England entrepeneursed Australia in those game. The two games where it
0:14:04 > 0:14:07didn't swing, where the conditions were similar to Australia, Australia
0:14:07 > 0:14:10won those two games. Hence, Australia are favourites in
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Australia because the ball won't swing. Their batsmen are clueless
0:14:13 > 0:14:17when the ball swings through the air. They're very good players when
0:14:17 > 0:14:20it's up and down. Steve Smith, especially. The best player in the
0:14:20 > 0:14:24world against a ball. Not even in the top 20 there.There's a view and
0:14:24 > 0:14:28maybe you expressed it yourself. Smith and David Warner really are
0:14:28 > 0:14:32all that they've got to rely on, but then of course, England only have
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Alastair Cook and Joe Root.You could argue that the top fives are
0:14:35 > 0:14:41similar. They've got two world class players in both top fives. The
0:14:41 > 0:14:43captain and a left-handed opener. Obviously Cook and Warner are
0:14:43 > 0:14:46different players but they bring the same sort of thing to a team -
0:14:46 > 0:14:51experience, runs in the bank. Both teams have got three positions. They
0:14:51 > 0:14:54haven't fully been nailed down. Fairly young, inexperienced players.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Players who need a big Ashes to
0:14:59 > 0:15:00prove themselves, to concrete themselves a place in the team.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Where England are very much stronger than Australia, in my view, is
0:15:03 > 0:15:09batting from 6, 7, 8, 99, with Stokes, Wokes, Ali.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Australia can't even match England in that department for runs, so that
0:15:13 > 0:15:18could be an area where England look to exploit Australia.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20What
0:15:20 > 0:15:26What about Ben Stokes who is obviously facing an allegation? How
0:15:26 > 0:15:31much will he be missed?A great deal. He is genuinely the best
0:15:31 > 0:15:35cricketer in the world at the moment, as it stands, with the bat
0:15:35 > 0:15:40and ball. You could add -- you could argue he is the best batter and the
0:15:40 > 0:15:47best bowler. Australia try and beat you down, hyperbole, statements
0:15:47 > 0:15:51everywhere, peacocks sticking their tails out. Ben Stokes is based by
0:15:51 > 0:16:02that at all. Without any thing, he would inspire others.You describe
0:16:02 > 0:16:06for me are happy, productive dressing room.It is one doesn't
0:16:06 > 0:16:14feel it can lose any situation. We had that in 2010-11. We were bowled
0:16:14 > 0:16:20out for 230 one the first day. Australia batted well and got a big
0:16:20 > 0:16:32lead of 200. We then got 517-1. We were buoyed by it. They can't get us
0:16:32 > 0:16:39out. They are shattered out there. They are clueless, out of ideas. The
0:16:39 > 0:16:44crowd have deserted them and they have turned on their own boulders.
0:16:44 > 0:16:50That permeates through a dressing room. -- bowlers. They are cheering
0:16:50 > 0:17:03for us now. OS liken it to the crowd in rocky for that start screaming.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08-- -- Rocky IV.What about Kevin Pietersen's relationship with you
0:17:08 > 0:17:13and some of its team. It has been in the public domain for some time.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18Water under the bridge but the fact is you will be sharing a media
0:17:18 > 0:17:25facilities in Australia. You are both working the TV... He is
0:17:25 > 0:17:30certainly going to be there. How is it going to go?We have never been
0:17:30 > 0:17:34friends. We had a professional relationship when we played because
0:17:34 > 0:17:38he was a world-class player to have in the team. Oil was wanted him in
0:17:38 > 0:17:42the team. Especially when he was tried to write some of the roles.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48--I always wanted him. We do play any more. I don't see the point in
0:17:48 > 0:17:55holding grudges.You refer to him in your book via a compliment about
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Australia's Matthew Hayden. You say that a ten Pitt Myatt is everything
0:17:59 > 0:18:10that kept was not. -- epitomised.It is taken a bit out of context.A lot
0:18:10 > 0:18:15of the context was praise for Peterson.The whole fallout, I
0:18:15 > 0:18:20wasn't a part of it. I had left. I can't honestly talk. The two things
0:18:20 > 0:18:26I have had, very one-sided opinions, everywhere a member of the teen talk
0:18:26 > 0:18:30about the situation. I've not heard Kevin's side of it. He might be
0:18:30 > 0:18:34completely in the right and everybody else in the wrong.It is
0:18:34 > 0:18:38how you create a productive dressing room. We have been a little bit down
0:18:38 > 0:18:43this path already. A management team, a captain, hast to kind of
0:18:43 > 0:18:48lend, I suppose, all of the different types in the dressing room
0:18:48 > 0:18:53-- lend.It is your responsibility. He can't go in there and demand that
0:18:53 > 0:19:00your ego is catered for. That is a huge area where things take... It is
0:19:00 > 0:19:05your responsibility as well to mould yourself into the team. The team is
0:19:05 > 0:19:11more important than the individual. I can't remember which coach it was,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15show me a genius, I will show you how to play with the team and I will
0:19:15 > 0:19:19show you how the team plays with you. You learn to play with that
0:19:19 > 0:19:24team first and then you allow the brilliance to shake the team up, not
0:19:24 > 0:19:28the other way around.You are somebody who likes to speak his mind
0:19:28 > 0:19:35and in fairness, you might rub some people up the wrong way. Former
0:19:35 > 0:19:42coach Duncan Fletcher plus the former captain who you said would
0:19:42 > 0:19:47have used that last couple of bullets in his gun on you.I said it
0:19:47 > 0:19:52tongue-in-cheek. I don't blame him. When I was first on the England
0:19:52 > 0:19:55tour, I epitomised everything that Duncan Fletcher hated, I wasn't
0:19:55 > 0:20:01serious and flat -- sensible. From that point of view, we clashed
0:20:01 > 0:20:06dramatically. My main problem was my men talk. I didn't really have a
0:20:06 > 0:20:11chance. -- mental. --
0:20:13 > 0:20:21you are a big fan, Andrew Strauss once called you a buffoon.
0:20:25 > 0:20:32I stamped my feet and demanded a review. I was very petulant.Did you
0:20:32 > 0:20:40need to be to be on form?No, you don't need to be petulant. It was my
0:20:40 > 0:20:44release when I old. If people miss fielded in purpose, I would always
0:20:44 > 0:20:49say it was a lack of professionalism if they were too busy looking at the
0:20:49 > 0:20:54crowd and they were in the wrong place to catch, I would scream and
0:20:54 > 0:21:00shout. It's very different. A lot of bowlers do it but a lot of batsmen
0:21:00 > 0:21:05can't do it, they are precious and need a cuddle.There was a lot of
0:21:05 > 0:21:09attention from the media when you left the Ashes tour. Once England
0:21:09 > 0:21:13had gone 3-0 down in the series and was therefore about to lose. The
0:21:13 > 0:21:19allegation was that you were a quitter. Four years on, how do you
0:21:19 > 0:21:24see that?If I had stayed in that trip, I would have done anything to
0:21:24 > 0:21:29stay on that trip. Had nerve damage. The nerve damage is there for life.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34I couldn't feel the cricket ball. I wasn't fit to play and I was told in
0:21:34 > 0:21:37no uncertain terms that I had to leave the tour immediately and that
0:21:37 > 0:21:45is what happens.It followed two operations five. Five?Far bigger
0:21:45 > 0:21:58things were happening behind the scenes. I hate get asked a lot. At
0:21:58 > 0:22:03the time, I couldn't bowl. He was the one who told me that I had to go
0:22:03 > 0:22:07home. I had a lot going on behind the scenes with Kevin that was
0:22:07 > 0:22:15occupying their minds.I just wonder, you think about the Ashes
0:22:15 > 0:22:19series and maybe this does sound a little bit complacent, but it is
0:22:19 > 0:22:22hard to imagine international cricket without the Ashes, isn't it?
0:22:22 > 0:22:27Are you concerned that while that may stay and be the centrepiece of
0:22:27 > 0:22:33international cricket, TUC and the rest might fall away?There is
0:22:33 > 0:22:39certainly movement at the moment. -- do you sense the rest might fall
0:22:39 > 0:22:44away. That cricket is focused on the doom and gloom. Some things need to
0:22:44 > 0:22:48be done in parts of the world because not enough people watch it.
0:22:48 > 0:22:57If money is the sole reason for changing it, it I disagree.Some
0:22:57 > 0:23:02test matches finish inside four days.The rate wouldn't increase
0:23:02 > 0:23:07like they wanted to. That county cricket, how many wickets have to be
0:23:07 > 0:23:12docked to get a result? The very fact there is an extra day at the
0:23:12 > 0:23:18end, mentally, means games get to finish so we have to completely
0:23:18 > 0:23:23forget that idea. Four-day cricket is first-class cricket. Five day is
0:23:23 > 0:23:29special. I know that it used to be six-day but in my lifetime, I have
0:23:29 > 0:23:32known it has five-day cricket. I absolutely adore five-day cricket
0:23:32 > 0:23:37and I don't know many players I play against around the world who don't
0:23:37 > 0:23:45love it. Just because the crowds are not so big, if we box it up, in 15
0:23:45 > 0:23:49years time, we will lament it and this is incredible game and it will
0:23:49 > 0:23:59go to rack and ruin. I'm going to be there if I do.That is a very strong
0:23:59 > 0:24:04statement for five-day cricket. Over 25 days, potentially, down under.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10Give me your prediction.I don't know how, or when. I just have a
0:24:10 > 0:24:18feeling that we are going to win a day and I am going for 2-1.