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CRICKET ROADSHOWS

Week 9 Preview - 7 Jul, Edgbaston Captains under Roadshow microscope

The Ashes series will be two days old by the time Channel 4's Cricket Roadshow is broadcast live from Edgbaston on Saturday morning.

All the hype and build up will matter little as the sport's most enduring international rivalry gets down to business, with Birmingham providing the now traditional 1st Test backdrop.

Unsurprisingly, the battle at hand will dominate the weekend roadshow with a special feature focusing on the various strengths and weaknesses of the two captains – Steve Waugh and Nasser Hussain.

England's preparation for the match could hardly have gone any worse with their atrocious one-day form followed by a most untimely bout of injuries, but Hussain will be looking to his senior players to help steady a rocking ship as they face up to the Waugh's world-beaters.

Both captains are agreed the opening new ball skirmishes could prove decisive to the outcome, with England's Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick pairing up against Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in the battle for superiority.

Gough is the universally loved clown prince of the England set-up – 'Dazzler' to his mates – but Caddick's stock has also been on an upward spiral for the past 18 months and the Richard Hadlee clone speaks in depth on Saturday morning about his hopes for the series and his exceptional new ball partnership with Gough.

Elsewhere, roving reporter Adam Darke gets his dancing shoes on as he slips down to the south coast for a spot of cricket-raving on Brighton beach. Confused? Tune in to see how Fat Boy Slim and Groove Armada coped with a beachful of supporters fresh from watching the day's play on a jumbo television screen.

If it's high brow culture you're after we've got that as well as we explore the extraordinary life and family history of Derbyshire's Chris Bassano.

South African born but Australian raised, Bassano crashed onto the first-class scene last month by becoming the first player to score two centuries on his county debut. Reason enough to check him out you would have thought, but Bassano's family lineage is equally worthy of a closer inspection – apparently his forefathers were 'in' with William Shakespeare more than 400 years ago, prompting the part of Bassanio in the Merchant of Venice.

On a less erudite tip, though equally fascinating, three former greats give their views on the summer ahead with Australia's Ian Healy and Mark Taylor – both Channel 4 commentators during the Ashes – being joined by the Caribbean king, Viv 'Master Blaster' Richards.

In addition there will be the usual regular features, including the email Q&A section, with one topic bound to provoke discussion – England's team selection.

Mark Ramprakash's initial inclusion prompted predictably disparate views but were England right to turn to Usman Afzaal ahead of Owais Shah, and is the return of Mark Butcher a positive or negative step?

Send Mark and Sybil your views and opinions on any cricket topic. [Email the roadshow]

Mail the Cricket Show team at cricketshow@cricket4.com

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