Slogging It

This week we talk to ex-pro cricketer Adam Rouse who enjoyed a good, but by his own admissions disjointed career. We dive into the mental challenges brought about by leaving Zimbabwe in the Mugabe era, and how lessons learnt at that young age enabled him to have such a level view of the world when things weren’t going his way. A brilliant interview and one we all thoroughly enjoyed!

The county season has started with snow, batsmen take control in April ?!? and we talk about that stumping !!

This week we are joined by the most wonderful man, commentator and lover of the most beautiful game, TMS commentator and the owner of a one in a million vocabulary, Dan Norcross. Listen as we talk through how his love of the game came about and the amazing journey that’s taken him to commentating in the stands at The Oval for a blind man to being a regular on Test Match Special. We also hear Daniel confront an incredibly tough personal period, losing both of his parents with 6 months. A truly wonderful interview with one of the globals games most brilliant voices.

This week we talk preseason, England India, South Africa Pakistan, Babar Azam and is there a big 5 now ?

The funniest interview we have done by far… This week we are joined by Middlesex wicket keeper batsman John Simpson as we talk through his incredibly quick rise into the first class game, an England Under 19’s tour to India at 16, his well rounded upbringing in Lancashire and some of the characters that he encountered on the way. Hear how his rapid rise caused its own problems, and how he overcame them to become one of the finest English multi-format cricketers we are blessed to have.

The lads discuss (not argue) about selection policy, Englands middle order, Englands top order, fickle fans, New Zealand vs Bangladesh and West Indies vs Sri Lanka ..

Some of you will know Tom Smith having watched his 5/16 against Warwickshire in the 1/4 final of the 2020 Vitality T20 Blast. Others will know him as the cricketer who tragically lost his wife to a rare form of cancer at a young age. Whichever one of those is the case, this interview will give you a truly inspirational insight into battles faced both on and off the pitch during his career. One of the nicest guys in cricket, his outlook on everything that he’s been through is truly inspiring and something that we can all learn a huge amount from. Incredibly honest and open, it was a pleasure to spend the time with him as we talked it through in great detail. One not to be missed.

What a week in cricket , Johnno, Robbo and Eugene talk about the last week in cricket

When Dr Amy Izycky reached out to the three of us we were instantly determined to have her on the podcast. With a wealth of personal experience in top level sport, and with a huge book of reference brought about through the work she has done with sportspeople and teams, Dr Amy truly understands the demands placed on people’s mental health across a landscape of situations. The insight she provides on all things mental health are incredibly valuable and we can and will all learn a lot from her as she joins the Slogging It team as a contributor to the podcast as we move forwards. Aiming to tackle, and help listeners overcome problems faced by looking at causes and effects of mental health issues will form the basis of our future work, but in this initial episode we talk about her first book, and her own personal experiences of mental health issues and her work as a clinical psychologist.

This week we talk to the inspiration that is Andrew Edwards. Award winning autism campaigner, author and all round outstanding individual. We shared an amazing time with him listening to, and taking in his story and the struggles he faced due to a complete lack of understanding and education of his condition. Listen to a mind that you’ll unlikely have ever experienced before, and marvel at the way he recounts statistics and events from the past with more clarity than most of us could remember last week. A truly inspirational look into the world of autism and the challenges it can bring, but more importantly start to understand how brilliant these minds are. His love of cricket, and life are utterly infectious and utterly heart warming.