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Reverse Swept Radio: An podcast on cricket's past, present and its literature
Episodes
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Monday Mar 15, 2021
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Looking forward to watching county cricket, and Cricket the Musical in Sydney
"I'm not expecting to go out for a pint with Kumar Roach after the game, but we can still be nattering at the boundary edge."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (9'35): The Headingley Ashes Test, 2001
"At the beginning of the summer, Butcher had been in such horrible form that he had been playing for the Surrey Second XI. The chairman of selectors for the England test team, at the end of the season, was happy to state that Butcher owed his place simply to the lack of options elsewhere."
THE REVIEW (21'35): Tatenda Taibu's Keeper of Faith: Cricket, Conflict and God in Zimbabwe's Age of Extremes
"Miles Jupp points that you read this book thinking that it's a tragedy that Taibu didn't play more international cricket. But it's also remarkable that he played the game for as long as he did, given all that he went through."
Recorded 14 March 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: A farewell to Faf du Plessis, and travelling back to 1939 courtesy of a wedding present
"There's an advert for visiting Jamaica that boasts that it's 'only twelve days' travel from London'."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'50): The Hick Declaration, 1995
"There's no anger or open sign of rebellion. The camera pans across shocked looking England fans, who were clearly up for a celebration, and Hick can only manage a half raised bat to acknowledge their applause."
THE REVIEW (19'05): County Cricket Matters
"There is so much to enjoy here. For a publication that is so new, it feels like it has already found its voice."
Recorded 20 February 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Joe Root's lockdown viewing, welcoming a future test cricketer, and a jawdropping shot at the BBL
"When you're in those first, sleep-deprived moments of parenthood, I'd imagine that having a test match on in the background must be a great thing."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (9'20): More cricketing etymology, including the origins of the word 'cricket'
"This is where I'm going to get really Tudor with some of my pronunciations."
THE REVIEW (19'05): The Cricketer, February 2021 edition
"I know that cricket administration matters, and I'm very grateful to journalists for keeping the administrators honest. But I couldn't help craving more cricket, and finding the administrative stuff homework reading."
Recorded 6 February 2021
Friday Jan 15, 2021
Friday Jan 15, 2021
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Cricket (possibly) at the African Games, and Toby returns to club cricket
"My fellow opener had spent the off season lovingly knocking in his bat, only to nick one through to the keeper first ball of the innings. At least it proved his edges were well knocked in."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (7'50): The remarkable stories of Donald Weekes
"An actor who played Othello in Moscow. A painter whose works were exhibited in Paris. A Hollywood screenwriter. A basketball player for Barbados. A sparring partner of Muhammad Ali. Donald Rudolph Weekes was supposedly all of these. And we haven’t even got to the cricket."
THE REVIEW (18'05): The Wisden Cricket Monthly, January 2021 edition
"If you wonder what Michael Vaughan's been up to, he's been distilling Declaration Gin. If you'd like a bottle, write in to the magazine."
Recorded 16 January 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Fawad Alam's masterful ducking, and the chance to spend a whole day listening to the test
"Wagner defied two broken toes to bowl with energy and aggression. And he finally got his man."
INTERVIEW (7'20): Chris Smith, from The Declaration Game
"My process is what sometimes gets criticised in wider society: the echo chamber effect of Twitter."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (25'30): The tragedy and triumph of the 1953 Christmas Eve test
"When a country's at its lowest, we look to sportsmen to be our heroes. But what a burden to carry when there's a personal connection too."
THE REVIEW (36'05): The Champion (radio play about the life of WG Grace, 1993)
"We hear about Australians not knowing what a roller is. Instead, they go into the village, find the person with the biggest feet, and ask them to tramp down the pitch."
Recorded 2 January 2021
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Tottenham Hotspur take to cricket, and a day out at the WBBL
"I'm intrigued by where midfielder Eric Dier gets his wicket keeping gloves from."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'45): The Tendulkar Run-Out Riots
"If you gave me the choice between being stoned or appled, I'd probably take the apple."
THE REVIEW (18'35): The Strange Death of English Leg Spin by Justin Parkinson (published 2015)
"You had international bowlers frequently unable to land it on the pitch. Warner became embarrassed at the number of balls from his star bowler that would bounce multiple times before reaching the batsman."
Recorded 29 November 2020
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: A Zimbabwean great and a Zimbabwean prodigy; and Cricinfo's countdown of the greatest balls of the 21st century
"As America decides its next President, welcome to the podcast which hopes the US doesn't need a super over."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (7'15): The history of the Lord's bell
"We're a podcast for everyone, amateur campanologists included."
THE REVIEW (17'10): On Cricket by Mike Brearley (published 2018)
"He considers himself responsible for two rule changes... Brearley abused the rule that you get five runs if the ball hits a helmet, by placing it all over the field to tempt 'parsimonious Yorkshiremen'."
Recorded on 6 November 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Spotting Jack Russell and his easel, and Jason Gillespie leaves England
"For me, there's always a terror of being inane. Clearly the good people of Kew had no such qualms."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'10): The accidental captain - the curious tale of Major Nigel Bennett
"How far did the misunderstanding actually go? Well, it went far enough that he captained Surrey for the entire 1946 season."
THE REVIEW (17'30): Beyond the Boundary (Netflix / ICC)
"I daresay that we're not the target audience."
Recorded on 10 October 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: A return to village cricket, and England and Australia deal with pressure
"I mourned the loss of the red velvet cake."
THE INTERVIEW (08'10): Craig Dodson, author of A View of Australia from Fine Leg
"I played with a lot of people in isolated areas. They talked about cricket being their one opportunity to break that isolation: cricket has such a vital role to play to connect society."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (19'00): Ditchling v Afghanistan
"The Ditchling side was depleted after some wives and girlfriends refused to allow their partners to enter a warzone."
THE REVIEW (27'20): Botham - The Legend of 81
"We all want to believe that a Botham can turn up, and light the world up a little bit."
Recorded on 13 September 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: A reverse sweep gone (horribly) wrong, and the fate of Dawid Malan
"He ends up trying to play the shot on all fours. Which is never ideal for a batsman."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (07'30): The Fusarium Test
"I thought it would be quite fun to play horticultural Miss Marple."
THE REVIEW (19'45): Original Spin - Vic Marks
"We never say this about a book we review, but it could have been a bit longer."
Recorded on 16 August 2020