Reverse Swing Diaries

Cricket craft, history and arguments from Karachi

Saad Farooqi2 episodes2 min of audio575 playsEpisodic

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S1 · E2Jul 19, 20261:03355 plays Preview

Forty Years of Pitches with a Rawalpindi Groundsman

A long conversation with head groundsman Riaz Ahmed on how a pitch is prepared, why it changes across five days, what captains ask for, and the day the roller broke before a Test.

S1 · E1Jan 8, 20261:10220 plays Members

How Reverse Swing Is Really Made

Saad explains the physics and the craft of reverse swing, how a fielding side looks after one side of the ball, what is legal and what is not, and why Pakistan became its home.

About the show

Reverse Swing Diaries is a twice-weekly cricket show for listeners who want more than the scorecard. Saad Farooqi, a former first-class seam bowler who played eight seasons for Karachi before moving into coaching and commentary, hosts a two-part format. The midweek episode is a 30 minute solo breakdown of one skill or tactic, how reverse swing is really produced, why a left-arm spinner bowls differently to a right-hander, what a captain is thinking at the toss in Rawalpindi. The weekend episode is a 45 to 60 minute conversation with a player, umpire, groundsman or writer, often someone whose name you know but whose story you do not. Saad covers the Pakistan Super League, the national side, county and franchise cricket, and the club game, with honest opinions and no manufactured outrage. It is for the fan who argues about field placings at dinner and wants to win that argument.

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