In this episode, we talk to S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath, authors of the book Mid-wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar.
Giri and Raghu take us through their lifelong journey as cricket fans – and help us understand the magic and aura that surrounded some of the greats from the past. Memories, anecdotes, technique, literature: the stories never stop.
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Talking Points:
- Learning about the game through books, radio commentary and at stadiums
- The singular Mr Venkataraghavan – a breed apart in Tamil Nadu cricket
- The joy of watching close-in catchers as India’s great spin quartet spun a web
- Why Neil Harvey is so revered among old-timers in Madras
- Gundappa Viswanath – batting side-on, oozing class against the greatest attacks
- Bedi’s poetry, Chandra’s electricity, Prasanna’s flight
- The extraordinary Kapil Dev and his ability to rotate strike at will
- The great slip catchers – and Azhar pouching them without a sound
- An all-time XI from the guests’ experience of following the game
Participants:
S Giridhar (@MidWicketTales)
VJ Raghunath
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)
Related:
Mid-Wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar – S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath – Amazon.com
From Mumbai to Durban – India’s Greatest Tests – S Giridhar and VJ Raghunath – Amazon.com
Wrist Assured: an autobiography – S Giridhar on G Viswanath’s autobiography – Hindu BusinessLine
They too played for India – S Giridhar – ESPNcricinfo
The kinship of cricket lovers – S Giridhar – Hindu BusinessLine
Unexpected beauty – Suresh Menon on TE Srinivasan – ESPNcricinfo
The art of Bedi – Suresh Menon on the 81allout podcast
The greatest slip catcher – Ian Chappell on Bob Simpson – ESPNcricinfo
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Excellent book. A must read for all cricket lovers.
I’m still listening to this podcast, but I’m always amazed how many good things people have about Kapil Dev. I noticed the same in one of street cricket episodes (ft Vijay Bharadwaj IIRC) how he mentioned the kids used to idolize Jimmy Amarnath.
@Sid: when you mentioned there are some terms you learnt only while listening to cricket commentary, I thought you’d mention “damp squib” (like you have mentioned in one earlier episode) 😀
Thanks a lot, Vivek. Kapil must have been such an inspiration for kids growing up in the 1980s. I can’t imagine a single Indian cricket fan not touched by his presence. ‘Damp squib’! Haha, I chose to go with ilk this time.