Twist in the Tail
Shourov, Brian and Abhik
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Top 10 Twist in the Tail Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Twist in the Tail episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Twist in the Tail for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Twist in the Tail episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Impetuous Youth
Twist in the Tail
06/16/20 • 34 min
Perth 2008 - after the bitter acrimony of the "Monkey-gate" affair, two fired up teams face off on a unusually placid WACA track. Australia brings one of the fastest bowling attacks ever assembled, but a lanky young fast bowler from Delhi turns heads by shaking up the legendary Ricky Ponting.
Shourov brings a classic game full of surprises, including a characteristically execrable spell from Shaun Tait and an uncharacteristic brain-fade from Rahul Dravid. But Ishant Sharma vs Ponting is the real game within a game, leading to tales of other young firebrands from our lives.
Today's game: 3rd Test, India tour of Australia at Perth, Jan 16-19 2008
Hero Worship (with Shomik Sengupta)
Twist in the Tail
05/25/20 • 33 min
Before Kohli and Tendulkar, there was one man who single-handedly carried India's hopes with the bat. In this week's family special, Abhik's brother Shomik comes on to discuss an uncharacteristically swashbuckling innings from the one and only Sunil Gavaskar against the mighty Windies of the eighties.
The discussion soon turns to the blind hero worship that characterises Indian cricket. But are all of our heroes worthy of our adulation and what happens when our heroes don't live up to our expectations ?
Courage
Twist in the Tail
10/07/19 • 24 min
On November 25th 2014, Australian cricketer Phil Hughes was hit in the head by a short ball in a Sheffield Shield game, rushed to hospital and died. This week we review the tragic event and how it made us feel and reflect on our own time on the field. Cricket requires rare physical courage - in no other sport is a ball aimed at the head a legal part of the game. But are there higher forms of courage than the physical? Is courage the absence of fear or the overcoming of fear? As always the boys explore some of the deeper questions and finish up on a philosophical note.
Today's game - South Australia vs NSW, November 25th, 2014
Coming Back
Twist in the Tail
03/29/20 • 30 min
This week the boys look back an another time when cricket was interrupted by pandemic. Almost exactly a century ago, a group of English cricketers toured Australia. Amongst them were legendary players like Jack Hobbs and others who had been through the trauma of the World War. Though the cricket was one-sided, the games brought the joys of Test cricket back into the lives of a weary public. There is a special moment that we can look forward to soon when a batsman will again lift an enormous six into a stand packed with spectators. A moment of triumph over adversity. We've been through this before (and much worse), but we'll came back and keep on playing.
Today's game - England vs Australia, January 14-21st, 1921
Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right
Twist in the Tail
02/13/20 • 23 min
Brian brings in a game from 1990 between Australia and Pakistan that featured a famous and very funny sledging exchange between the great Javed Miandad and one of the most entertaining Australian bowlers, the great Merv Hughes. The game was a draw but cricket and the art of sledging was the winner. The boys discuss the merits of the 1980s mullet hairstyle before diving into a more philosophical discussion about the ethics of retribution and 'poetic justice'. Sometimes abuse on the cricket field (and life) crosses the line - do two wrongs ever make a right? Perhaps we should all learn from Big Merv and keep our sense of humour intact.
This week's game - Pakistan vs Australia, January 19th-23rd, 1990
Timing and Luck (with Ben Mercuri)
Twist in the Tail
12/03/19 • 44 min
Our special guest Ben Mercuri brings in a one-sided but memorable game with contrasting debuts - Ricky Ponting and Stuart Law. Sri Lanka suffered a big loss, despite bowling Murali into the ground and having an opener called Mahanama. Ponting went on to a famous career whilst Law never played a Test match again, although he had an amazing first-class record. Surely he was hard done by? Law had some bitter years but eventually came to terms with his fate. The boys ponder the role of timing and luck and the Sliding Doors in the lottery that we call life.
Today's game - Australia vs Sri Lanka, December 8th-11th, 1995
First Impressions
Twist in the Tail
11/02/19 • 24 min
Shourov takes us back to a Test match between Australia and India in 1992, a game he had to follow via the radio from a flat in Kolkata. Australia had just gone through a moment of political drama, a precocious kid called Tendulkar hit a century, and another kid with a blonde mop made his debut as a leg spinner - the great Shane Warne (though he was outbowled in this match by India's debutant Subroto Banerjee, who never played a Test again). Despite his poor figures, there was something about Warne that marked him out. The boys muse over the indefinable "je ne sais quoi" that makes for a memorable first impression.
Today's game - Australia vs India, January 2-6, 1992, Sydney
Never Give Up
Twist in the Tail
06/15/19 • 45 min
Shourov brings in another famous game that left its mark - one of the biggest comebacks ever in sport - but admits to being a demoralized Indian cricket fan who had given up on his team. The boys admire the faith of the diehard fans like the Barmy Army who keep turning up even when their team is being thrashed. Does a focus on results cause us to miss the joys of the experience? We finish up by recapping some legendary comebacks closer to home in our own lives and discuss the magic power of never giving up.
Today's game - Australia vs India, Mar 11-15, 2001
Peaking Late
Twist in the Tail
05/13/19 • 38 min
Shourov brings an iconic game to this week's podcast - England vs Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup Final. Brian remembers uncharacteristically skipping school to see the game and Abhik dissects that famous spell from Wasim Akram. The victory was Imran Khan's finest hour, at least until he became Prime Minister of Pakistan. The boys go on to speculate about other cricketers who might have become politicians and finish with a deeper discussion about peaking late in life.
Today's game - Pakistan vs England. March 25th 1992
And on special request from Abhik - Like a Tiger :)
Beyond the Numbers (with Gaj Skandakumar)
Twist in the Tail
06/28/20 • 39 min
**BONUS episode with Special Guest**
Everyone loves a list, and most of all our special guest Gajanan Skandakumar ('Gaj'). Not only a handy left-handed batsman, Gaj is also a student of the game, and today he brings in his special "Impressionist" list of his most memorable cricket players (one from each Test-playing nation).
From the expected candidates such the great Viv to more obscure choices such as Kris Srikkanth, there is plenty of passion and argument in this episode - everything from cricket to political wrangling over the monarchy to a comparison to Monica Lewinsky. Many of these players aren't necessarily the best on paper - which leads us into a more philosophical discussion on the value of data itself. Do we rely too much on data to make decisions, and have we forgotten that there is more to life than what can be captured in the numbers?
Join us in our special bonus length episode - and send us your own impressions via social media!
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FAQ
What is the most popular episode on Twist in the Tail?
The episode title 'Christmas Special: Heroes and Villains XI (with Gajanan Skandakumar)' is the most popular.