MacGill's Co-Host Debut: Why Australia Is Failing Spin Bowlers

Stuart MacGill makes his official co-host debut on Cricket Unfiltered, joining Menners in-studio for a wide-ranging, unfiltered discussion on Australian cricket. MacGill goes deep on spin bowling, selection philosophy, and his frustration with Australia overlooking specialist spinners — particularly at the SCG. The pair also unpack George Bailey’s role as selector, the future of Australia’s bowling depth, and the dangers of prioritising short-term results over long-term development. The conversation then shifts to the Big Bash League, with analysis of the Sixers’ finals loss, the Scorchers’ dominance, Steve Smith’s impact on the tournament, and whether the BBL schedule and pitches are helping or hurting the spectacle. The episode finishes with strong views on BBL privatisation, ICC geopolitics, Bangladesh’s World Cup exclusion, and the growing influence of India on world cricket — setting the tone for what MacGill brings as a co-host: experience, honesty, and zero filter. (0:55) – Stuart MacGill officially joins as co-host and sets the tone for Cricket Unfiltered (4:18) – Spin bowling, SCG selections, and why Australia risks killing the art (16:16) – Big Bash Final review, Sixers vs Scorchers, travel debate, and tactics (45:18) – BBL privatisation, ICC politics, Bangladesh out of the World Cup We’ve launched our official Cricket Unfiltered merch store thanks to a brilliant partnership with Exactamundo, a longtime supporter of the show. 🛒 Shop now:https://www.chickensaltoftheearth.com/shop/category/Cricket-Unfiltered?c=5469591 🎁 Use Promo Code: CU10 for 10% off your first order! From caps to tees, rep your love of cricket with some top-quality gear. Exactamundo is a video, animation, design and content production company. They produce digital signage, on-screen graphics, sideline animations and videos for sports teams like the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League, Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL and numerous American NBA, NFL and MLB teams.  They also create high quality videos and animations for the corporate world, such as product promos and explainer videos. Check them out at exactamundo.com.au Get the inserted AD’s FREE VERSION of the show on our Patreon Page Subscribe to our YouTube page for live streams: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7koDKpKxe0e3yC7NXQx6Q Linktree for listening on podcast apps and finding us on social media: https://linktr.ee/cricketunfiltered Show twitter: https://twitter.com/auscricketpod Menners on twitter:  https://twitter.com/amenners TIKTOK: @cricketunfiltered Sponsorship enquiries for host read ads: [email protected] Email the show your cricket takes: [email protected] Piccolo Podcasts: https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/ Founder Andrew Menczel. The first episode aired August 2013.  It is a multi award-winning podcast team, the show has featured 15 Australian captains and some of the greatest legends of cricket and an episode is archived in the Australian National Film and Sound Archive. Menners is an accredited cricket journalist and commentator and his interview with Alex Blackwell won a Cricket NSW Media Award. The show was the first ever regular weekly Australian cricket podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices