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.

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