In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Labour’s Kieran McAnulty and National’s Chris Bishop join the show to talk about the Parliamentary World Cup, and attempt to prove their cricket fanatic credentials.
To coincide with the business end of the Cricket World Cup, MPs from all over the world will be flying to England to play some games of their own – and maybe catch a playoff match or two.
It sounds like the ultimate junket, but the NZ Parliamentary cricket team co-captains Kieran McAnulty and Chris Bishop insist they’ll be paying their own way. The pair are part of the New Zealand squad travelling to take part in an eight-team Parliamentary World Cup next month in England. The former schoolboy 1st XI reps are set to compete against the likes of Pakistan’s President Imran Khan, and recently retired Indian MP, Sachin Tendulkar, if rumours are true.
Somehow, McAnulty and Bishop will have to wrangle a cross-party team, which will include the likes of Kiritapu Allan and Greg O’Connor from Labour, Ian McKelvie from National and Mark Patterson from NZ First.
But are they really true cricket nuffies? Can they prove it by sharing some of their more brutal moments on the cricket field? What would a Black Caps win mean for the wider political landscape of New Zealand? And if they had to choose a winner who wasn’t New Zealand, who would it be? All that and more on this bonus episode of The Offspin.
Download this episode (right click and save), listen on the player below, subscribe on iTunes or via Spotify.
For the six weeks of the Cricket World Cup, join hosts Simon Day, Alex Braae and a rotating squad of sloggers, change bowlers and outfielders on The Offspin after each of the New Zealand team’s games. With the Black Caps playing all their games at wildly inconvenient overnight times, Simon and Alex will be swapping sleep for cricket, then rolling into the studio to drink Coffee Supreme (proud sponsors of The Offspin) and offer their expert analysis of the World Cup.
Like, share and subscribe to The Offspin, and drink Coffee Supreme to keep you alive after long nights of cricket this World Cup.