Murali reflects on his career on this week's ICC Cricket World Radio Show

On this week's ICC Cricket World Radio Show, former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran looks back on his cricketing career while Australia's women's player Lisa Sthalekar and New Zealand's women's captain Aimee Watkins look ahead to the upcoming Rose Bowl series that starts next week in Brisbane.

Muralidaran, who claimed 800 Test wickets and 534 ODI wickets for Sri Lanka, says: "Winning the World Cup is the proudest thing I've ever done. 1996 was the biggest thing in Sri Lanka and we proved we could play good cricket and more teams came to play against us.

"I could have gone on for another two or three years but I wanted to quit while in a good position and retire at a peak rather than on a downward turn. I thought it was a right time to give the youngsters like Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv and Rangan Herath an opportunity. They are all itching for their chances because I have been playing for the last 18 years. I got my chance at 19 and now it's their turn."

Joining Muralidaran on the show this week are two top female cricketers, Australia's Sthalekar and New Zealand's Watkins. The two sides will face off on Sunday in the three remaining matches of the Rose Bowl series to be played in Brisbane.

Watkins says: "We're very confident going into the last three games. We're looking forward to getting back out there and finishing the series. Sophie Devine isn't playing due to hockey commitments, Erin Bermingham is having shoulder surgery so we'll miss her with the ball and Sarah Tsukigawa has retired. So there will be some new faces in both this series and the quadrangular series we'll play in the UK afterwards.

"My goals are for us as a team to win the Rose Bowl, something we haven't done in 11 years and if we do that it means we'll go onto the UK with confidence and hopefully win the quadrangular series too."

The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want free cricket content for editorial use, while the public can also download it straight from the ICC website at http://www.icc-cricket.com/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php or from iTunes.

Looking ahead to the Rose Bowl Series, Sthalekar says: "It's going to be tough for both teams coming off the off-season. The series is level at two-all and we haven't lost a Rose Bowl in a long time. So, there is a lot at stake as usual.

"The Rose Bowl is also the last home series for Shelley Nitschke whose retiring. She has brought a lot to the side having come into it at a later age. Her passion, enthusiasm, and an ethic to work hard even though she's the oldest player was really admirable. I'm glad she's gotten to the top of her game and she will be missed after the Rose Bowl and quadrangular series in the UK," she says.

Sthalekar, who recently completed a trip to Argentina to work with the women's national cricket team, also talks about her experiences in the South American country.

"It was my father's 70th birthday and I wanted to take him to a place he'd never been and Argentina was the destination and while we were in Argentina for the holiday I asked the Argentina cricket board to see if I could pop in and work with the girls for a few days," she says.

Sthalekar adds: "It was exciting, to firstly to have cricket in a country that I never expected it to be played and secondly to come across a group of girls who are passionate, enthusiastic to learn and take advice on board. It was a great experience."

Apart from these exclusive interviews, there is the usual round up of cricketing news and an update of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test cricket.

This show is 15-minute audio show and has been put together by the ICC's global broadcast partner, ESPN STAR Sports.