Wild World of Sport

1996 UAE Cricket - Sultan of Swing

In the lead up to the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the Emirates Cricket Board decided they wanted to compete on the world stage. The country had been competed for a chance to make the world cup for years, but decided now was the time to strike. But instead of building from grassroots, and working to produce home grown talent, they decided to - essentially - hire mercenaries to play. But the real story really begins after the World Cup, when the fallout that the UAE's inclusion hits international cricket, and the UAE Captain Sultan Zarawani is banned for life from ever competing again. So leave the helmet behind, hire a group of mercenaries, and prepare to learn about teams that play cricket but probably shouldn't as we continue our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_ICC_Trophy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_ICC_Trophy] https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/wills-world-cup-1995-96-60981 [https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/wills-world-cup-1995-96-60981] https://youtu.be/DyIpGkH9SvQ?si=K9_wIlpdBgq55OYd [https://youtu.be/DyIpGkH9SvQ?si=K9_wIlpdBgq55OYd] https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/abn-amro-icc-trophy-1993-94-61176/denmark-vs- [https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/abn-amro-icc-trophy-1993-94-61176/denmark-vs-namibia-plate-final-66708/full-scorecard] namibia-plate-final-66708/full-scorecard [https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/abn-amro-icc-trophy-1993-94-61176/denmark-vs-namibia-plate-final-66708/full-scorecard] https://www.cricinfo.com/story/uae-uae- [https://www.cricinfo.com/story/uae-uae-board-bans-skipper-sultan-zarawani-for-life-28-jun-1996-72500] board-bans-skipper-sultan-zarawani-for-life-28-jun-1996-72500 [https://www.cricinfo.com/story/uae-uae-board-bans-skipper-sultan-zarawani-for-life-28-jun-1996-72500] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhanraj_Singh_(cricketer) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhanraj_Singh_(cricketer)] Presenters: James Whybrow Ben Whybrow Carlin Sheaves Music and Cover art: Zoe Behrendt

1930 FIFA World Cup - Wild World of Cups

The Men's FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event in the world. Happening every four years, the beautiful game brings the globe together to compete for sports greatest prize. But the early days of this tournament are some of the wildest in the history of sport. Hosted in Uruguay, the first edition of the World Cup had it all; monarchs selecting teams, players banned for owning cafe's, and referees wearing suits, and all that before a ball was even kicked. Once the games began the whole thing got even weirder, and is a story that has to be studied to be believed. So put on a beret, dig a moat, and smash a bottle of chloroform as we dive deep almost 100 years ago to uncover the story of the first World Cup on our quest to find the wildest story from the world of sport. Sources: https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/quirky-funny-stories-from-fifa-world-cup-finals-varela-tostao-brown-brehme [https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/quirky-funny-stories-from-fifa-world-cup-finals-varela-tostao-brown-brehme] https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/09/04/the-story-of-the-1930-world-cup/ [https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/09/04/the-story-of-the-1930-world-cup/] https://inside.fifa.com/news/romania-football-crazy-king-2052077 [https://inside.fifa.com/news/romania-football-crazy-king-2052077] https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/13/world-cup-stunning-moments-25-conte-verde-uruguay [https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/13/world-cup-stunning-moments-25-conte-verde-uruguay] https://www.olympics.com/en/news/first-fifa-world-cup-football-1930-uruguay-champion-records [https://www.olympics.com/en/news/first-fifa-world-cup-football-1930-uruguay-champion-records] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7215235/2026/06/03/story-of-first-world-cup-1930/ [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7215235/2026/06/03/story-of-first-world-cup-1930/] Presenters: James Whybrow Ben Whybrow Carlin Sheaves Music and cover art; Zoe Behrendt

Little League Lawsuits - Lil League, Big Scandal

In 2014, baseball witnessed one of it's most heart warming stories when Little League team Jackie Robinson West became the first all black team to win the World Series The kids, aged between 11 and 13, were treated as heroes - they met Barack Obama, attended the MLB World Series, and featured on cereal boxes - and remained humble and down to earth children. However, all of their hard-work and good will was undone in one of sports biggest cheating scandals. The kids were stripped of their title, lost their endorsements, and their reputation was tarnished forever. But they had no idea they had done anything wrong, and for a long time, neither did Little League, who defended the team time after time. And all of it was because of a map. So take the mound, get out a compass, and age yourself down to 12 years old, as we tell you the story of sports wildest cheating scandal on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport. Sources: https://youtu.be/EqauFgkYUtU [https://youtu.be/EqauFgkYUtU] https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/2014_Little_League_World_Series [https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/2014_Little_League_World_Series] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/16/jackie-robinson-west-chicago-little-league-critics-rahm-emanuel [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/16/jackie-robinson-west-chicago-little-league-critics-rahm-emanuel] https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/the-whistleblower-who-reported-little-league-teams-blatant-cheating/ [https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/the-whistleblower-who-reported-little-league-teams-blatant-cheating/] https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/06/president-obama-welcomes-jackie-robinson-west-all-stars-white-house/ [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/06/president-obama-welcomes-jackie-robinson-west-all-stars-white-house/] https://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/25/8840153/jackie-robinson-west-whistleblower-chicago-little-league-world-series [https://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/25/8840153/jackie-robinson-west-whistleblower-chicago-little-league-world-series] https://amp.foxsports.com/stories/other/coach-who-claimed-chicago-team-cheated-sues-little-league [https://amp.foxsports.com/stories/other/coach-who-claimed-chicago-team-cheated-sues-little-league] Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org2014 Little League World Series https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2014/08/2014-little-league-tv-ratings-espn-abc-chicago-philadelphia/ [https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2014/08/2014-little-league-tv-ratings-espn-abc-chicago-philadelphia/] https://www.smh.com.au/sport/jackie-robinson-west-little-league-pitcher-says-we-know-that-were-champions-20150212-13ciuo.html [https://www.smh.com.au/sport/jackie-robinson-west-little-league-pitcher-says-we-know-that-were-champions-20150212-13ciuo.html] Presenters: James Whybrow Ben Whybrow Carlin Sheaves Music and cover art: Zoe Behrendt

Christmas Truce 1914 - On a Cold Rainy Night at the Somme

Sport is inescapable, even deep in the front lines of immovable trench warfare in World War I. Perhaps the most famous football match of all time is also one we don't know much about. But what we do know is that across parts of Europe, on Christmas Day in 1914, groups of soldiers met in no mans land and began playing football games. However, much more is unknown, made up, or lost to time... until today. Our resident historian Carlin has done the research and found out as much of the truth of this strange story as he could, while Ben and James forget who Julius Caesar is, turn the show into a military history podcast, and reminisce about primary school sports. So get ready to go over the top, run into battle, and play some old school football as we unpack the story of World War I's infamous Christmas Day truce on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport. Sources: Presenters: James Whybrow Ben Whybrow Carlin Sheaves Music and cover art: Zoe Behrendt

Maurice Flitcroft - World's Best Worst Golfer

There is a select group of people who, without any proof, believe that they are better at sport than they actually are. But most of those people don't go as far as todays hero, Maurice Flitcroft. Maurice had the grand idea one day in his mid 40s that he should become a professional golfer, despite never playing the sport before. So without ever playing a round, he entered the British Open, and infamously shot the worst score ever recorded in tournament history, an impressive 121. You might think that was the end of his story, especially after he was banned from all courses in Britain, but this is where the real story begins... So grab your trusty four wood, slap on a fake moustache and concoct the craziest fake name you can and get ready for a story of one of sports greatest games of cat and mouse on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport. Sources: https://www.todays-golfer.com/features/player-features/the-story-of-golfer-maurice-flitcroft-phantom-of-the-open/ [https://www.todays-golfer.com/features/player-features/the-story-of-golfer-maurice-flitcroft-phantom-of-the-open/] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12572040/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12572040/] - The Phantom of the Open https://www.4moles.com/golf-world/discussions/how-the-world-s-worst-golfer-gate-crashed-the-open [https://www.4moles.com/golf-world/discussions/how-the-world-s-worst-golfer-gate-crashed-the-open] https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/British-Open/598833 [https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/British-Open/598833] https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/62121946 [https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/62121946] https://www.globalgolfpost.com/featured/the-besotted-open-journey-of-maurice-flitcroft/ [https://www.globalgolfpost.com/featured/the-besotted-open-journey-of-maurice-flitcroft/] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/16/theopen.golf5 [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/16/theopen.golf5] http://smh.com.au/national/anything-but-par-for-the-course-20070407-gdpuwq.html [http://smh.com.au/national/anything-but-par-for-the-course-20070407-gdpuwq.html] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/sep/19/golf.rydercup [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/sep/19/golf.rydercup] Presenters; James Whybrow Ben Whybrow Carlin Sheaves Music and cover art: Zoe Behrendt