05 November 2026
Why haven’t England closed the gap to Australia? A new era at the ECB & the WBBL starts with a bang
Wisden Cricket Weekly
About
Once Lauren and Katya round up the latest from the WBBL, they are joined by former ECB Women's Cricket Performance Director Jonathan Finch.
With Finch, Katya and Lauren look back on the vast array of changes that have happened in the women's game over the past 20 years, as well as getting an insight into what it's like to deliver bad news to players, his reflections on leaving the ECB and why now is the time for change at the ECB.
0:00 Intro / 1:26 Metro Bank / 1:48 WBBL round-up / 13:50 Reflection on leaving ECB / 15:38 How ECB governance used to look / 21:35 Changing attitudes towards women’s cricket / 25:10 Scrutinising the domestic game / 35:35 Should England players play more county cricket? / 44:15 Delivering bad news to players / 46:50 Toughest moments in the job / 50:40 Why is now the time for change? / 52:50 Lack of world-class batters in English cricket / 55:50 Closing the gap to Australia / 1:02:00 Changing landscape / 1:08:15 Being from a non-playing background / 01:12:22 Metro Bank Outro
METRO BANK
https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/
👀 PATREON
For bonus podcasts and daily episodes after every England game, sign up to our Patreon!
http://patreon.com/WisdenCricket
📔 WISDEN CRICKET MONTHLY:
Print: https://bit.ly/WCMPrint
Digital: https://bit.ly/WCMDigital
#Cricket #ECB #JonathanFinch #WBBL
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With Finch, Katya and Lauren look back on the vast array of changes that have happened in the women's game over the past 20 years, as well as getting an insight into what it's like to deliver bad news to players, his reflections on leaving the ECB and why now is the time for change at the ECB.
0:00 Intro / 1:26 Metro Bank / 1:48 WBBL round-up / 13:50 Reflection on leaving ECB / 15:38 How ECB governance used to look / 21:35 Changing attitudes towards women’s cricket / 25:10 Scrutinising the domestic game / 35:35 Should England players play more county cricket? / 44:15 Delivering bad news to players / 46:50 Toughest moments in the job / 50:40 Why is now the time for change? / 52:50 Lack of world-class batters in English cricket / 55:50 Closing the gap to Australia / 1:02:00 Changing landscape / 1:08:15 Being from a non-playing background / 01:12:22 Metro Bank Outro
METRO BANK
https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/
👀 PATREON
For bonus podcasts and daily episodes after every England game, sign up to our Patreon!
http://patreon.com/WisdenCricket
📔 WISDEN CRICKET MONTHLY:
Print: https://bit.ly/WCMPrint
Digital: https://bit.ly/WCMDigital
#Cricket #ECB #JonathanFinch #WBBL
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices