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Reverse Swept Radio: An podcast on cricket's past, present and its literature
Episodes
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
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Stokes going the extra mile, and Sky's coverage of BLM
"By the end of the second test, Stokes was in such a bad state - mostly because of Joe Root's belief in giving him 11-over spells."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (07'30): Smokers vs Non-Smokers
"To amass 803 suggests a degree of bloody-minded ruthlessness not quite in keeping with the occasion."
THE REVIEW (17'20): Calling the Shots podcast - Dan Norcross and Adam Collins
"The key thing I learnt was that there was nothing inevitable about cricket commentary's success."
Recorded on 26 July 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Watching the 1984 England v West Indies test at Lord's, and the importance of Vikram Solanki's apppointment as Surrey's Coach
"Maybe we should spend more time delving into the archives than keeping up with the latest game."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (09'15): The Cricket Match at Sidmouth by David Jones
"I thought that was a wheelbarrow, but it's definitely a cannon. Encouragingly pointing away from the field."
THE REVIEW (19'35): The Great Romantic - Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus by Duncan Hamilton
"Here was a man who proudly proclaimed that he was the son of a prostitute. And yet he also wanted to be a member of an exclusive London club that bought into the traditions of social niceties."
Recorded on 28 June 2020
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
THE TEN MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Looking ahead to the summer, and celebrating Stephen Fay
"The relationship between leather and hand sanitiser is something we're going to find out pretty soon."
FROM THE ARCHIVES (07'48): "The most important figure in Aboriginal sport: Faith Thomas"
"She was known as the fastest female bowler of her time, in the '50s - which she attributes to growing up throwing stones at galahs."
THE REVIEW (15'00): The Test - A New Era, episodes 5-8 (Amazon Prime)
"I learnt much less than I hoped."
Recorded on 1 June 2020