Reverse Swept Radio - a cricket podcast

Reverse Swept Radio 157: the curious tale of Sammy Guillen, Jon Hotten’s ”Bat, Ball and Field”, and swapping the cricket for a curry house

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: cricket in the rain at the Oval, and Shomit Dutta's new play Stumped

"It's a very liberating thing to take a day off work to go to the curry house and the pub, and you wouldn't do that under other circumstances."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (08'40): Simpson 'Sammy' Guillen - the man who played test cricket for the West Indies and New Zealand

"Ironically it was Guillen who was responsible for New Zealand's first-ever test victory - in a game against his old team."

THE REVIEW (19'00): Jon Hotten - Bat, Ball and Field: The Elements of Cricket (July 2022)

"I was astonished to read the section on Shane Warne's mural - including his friends, imaginary friends, and people he admired, all chilling by a swimming pool."

Recorded 30 September 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 156: Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, Eisenhower goes to the test, and a close encounter with a Yorkshireman

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: meeting 'Yorkie' and Australia's new friendship with Pacific cricket

"Once you've messed up your own innings, you can take on the umpiring and muck up someone else’s."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (10'45): When the President went to the Cricket: Eisenhower at Pakistan vs Australia in Karachi

"We hope Biden can meet Eisenhower's standards and make it through a whole day... without yawning."

THE REVIEW (20'55): Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams (2022)

"Anyone who has spent time with teenage boys will recognise those challenging moments, and will recognise that you get to your limits whether you've been an England all-rounder or not."

Recorded on 5 September 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 155: a batsman attacks a bowler with a stump, and interviews about the Windies Rebel Tours

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: the joy of cricket writing (writing cricket writing, not reading cricket writing); watching Glamorgan's record-breaking innings

"Most undeservedly, I ended up interviewing the curator of the London Transport Museum."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (9'40): When a stump became a weapon: Rashid Patel loses it

"The batsman has his bat horizontally across his chest in an unusual fencing move."

THE REVIEW (20'10): The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries by Ashley Gray (2020)

"The pursuit of the players become interesting stories in themselves."

Recorded on 24th June 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 154

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: an update from Lord's and England annihilate the Netherlands

"As someone who has today had champagne sprayed over my back, my feelings are now rather more nuanced. The behaviour at Lord's may not be better, but the product dumped on you is certainly of a higher calibre."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (7'40): When a captain sent his fastest bowler from the field

"Something exploded inside me. I couldn't go on. All I wanted to do was get off the pitch."

THE REVIEW (15'20): The Ball that Changed Cricket (2018, SevenPlus)

"The laconic Kim Hughes comes up with one of the best lines I've heard: 'Built like Tarzan, bats like Jane'."

Recorded on 24th June 2022

 

 

Reverse Swept Radio 153: watching baseball, Andrew Symonds at the 2003 World Cup

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: watching baseball, and Bangladesh host Sri Lanka

"The first pitch of the game was sent straight into the stands for a home run. That raised my and my wife's sense of what normal drama would be in baseball. It turned out to be very rare."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (12'00): Andrew Symonds at the 2003 World Cup

"There must be a psychological credit to Symonds: you come in knowing that if you don't score there's the next player waiting, and scoring under those circumstances is difficult."

THE REVIEW (22'40): The Test by Nathan Leamon

"Cricket is lacking in fiction compared to other sports, and this is a rare attempt to take on top level cricket in fiction - and it's done really well."

Recorded on 29th May 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 152: Root’s resignation, the Sir Walter Lawrence Trophy, and the Hollywood Cricket Club

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: all change at the top for English cricket

"Many of us fans are attracted to the idea of the specialist captain."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (9'30): The Sir Walter Lawrence Trophy

"For Sir Walter, his money was well spent: his legacy has been preserved by this trophy, while it's hard to find out much else about him other than the description of 'master builder'."

THE REVIEW (19'15): Howzat for Hollywood (BBC Sounds)

"If you were a British actor in Hollywood at the time, and you got the message from Aubrey-Smith, you were pretty well obliged to play."

Recorded on 18 April 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 151: remembering Warne, the most expensive over in first class cricket, and Frith on Archie Jackson

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: how best to remember Shane Warne, and a cricket-inspired name for a new member of the Reverse Swept Radio family

"In 40 years time they'll say that he was named after three West Indian greats, and then defined the name Chadd as the finest English opener the 21st century has seen."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'30): The most expensive over ever bowled in first-class cricket 

"After all, the whole thing was a complete waste of time: they could have played out the draw and still won the title."

THE REVIEW (18'25): Archie Jackson: Cricket's Tragic Genius by David Frith

"There is reference to the late cut as his classy trademark shot, while often with stylish cricketers we go straight for the drive."

Recorded on 15 March 2022

RSR150: The new Warne documentary, the most consecutive Test maidens, and Marnus’ homemade spin kit

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Marnus Labuschagne prepares for the subcontinent, and Toby takes a rare catch as keeper

"I remember a player reverse sweeping in a village game, and the keeper was so offended by the reverse sweep that he gave the batsman an uncharacteristic send off."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'50): The most consecutive test maidens ever 

"Many of the team were suffering from what The Times rather wonderfully described as 'internal misfortunes'."

THE REVIEW (17'15): Shane: The King of Spin

"If you have never heard of Shane Warne, we would heartily recommend this film."

Recorded on 22 February 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 149 - A Cricket Podcast

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: The county fixture list is published, and falling back in love with cricket thanks to the women's Ashes

"In the next episode of Reverse Swept Radio, we'll be providing advice on the best way to cook a cricket ball."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'30): When Alastair Cook and James Anderson played darts 

"Maybe this moment at Ally Pally can be credited with rescuing the career of one of England's greatest ever batsman."

THE REVIEW (18'45): Who Only Cricket Know by David Woodhouse

"We read lots of books that we enjoy, but this is a book that matters: what it says about cricket, about the politics and history of the time, and about writing."

Recorded on 1 February 2022

Reverse Swept Radio 148 - A Cricket Podcast

THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Andy reviews his highlights of 2021, and enjoying Iceland on Twitter.

"The memory of sitting in the sun, at the top of the Radcliffe Road stand, stuffing my face with Scotch Eggs, will be one to keep me going through the winter months."

FROM THE ARCHIVES (7'45): Chris Martin, the King of Tailenders

"Seeing a tailender desperately backing away to leg is perhaps the only thing that we can all relate to in test cricket. So thank you Chris Martin and Alan Mullally for giving us that."

THE REVIEW (18'05): Project Ashes (BBC podcast)

"The problem is encapsulated in the title of the podcast itself. We shouldn't have a Project Ashes, after all."

Recorded on 11 January 2022