Slogging It: The cricket podcast that goes beyond the boundary

"We're not trying to be all things to all men, just trying to offer an outlet and help people feel like it's acceptable to talk"

Banter can be a key ingredient in a successful podcast. Many aim to recreate that Friday pub feeling, being surrounded by your mates with work taking a background role for two glorious days until Monday.

Slogging It, a cricket podcast from manufacturer Woodstock Cricket, ticks that box immediately. Hosts Johnno Gordon, Simon Roberts and Eugene Berger make the listener feel like an old friend and their cricket debates are just as passionate, and divisive, as they should be.

But while cricket does make up the foundations of Slogging It, there is another integral theme: mental health.

The Cricketer catches up with the three hosts to find out more…

“The podcast came about with Eugene first,” Gordon tells The Cricketer. “We were working on some stuff for Woodstock (Gordon is owner of the manufacturer) and Twickenham CC (where Berger is chairman) and he asked whether I had ever thought about doing a podcast for Woodstock. 

“I said it was something I wanted to do and that has turned very quickly into Slogging It.”

The first two episodes saw broadcasters Max Rushden and Toby Tarrant appear as guests before host Roberts was the subject of episode three, and it struck a chord with the listeners.

Roberts was a talented cricketer as a youngster. He was a part of Nottinghamshire’s junior set-up before signing for the MCC Young Cricketers in 2005. But three years later he was released and had to embark on the unenviable journey of trialling for counties. Roberts soon had to confront the fact that professional cricket was no longer a path open to him.

^{The podcast in full flow. From top-left clockwise: Johnno Gordon, Eugene Berger, Simon Roberts}

“Getting released had quite a big effect on me,” Roberts explains. “I had my own demons that I never really dealt with until last year.”

This problem faces so many sportspeople. Sport is an industry that consumes all of your time, thoughts and dreams but the reality of achieving those goals can end very quickly. So much is poured into making it in any given sport that when the dream slips away some struggle to find where their motivation, and often financial security, will now come from.

Things got to such a point where Roberts attempted to end his life, but now he is using Slogging It to help others. However, just as importantly, he is using this platform to help himself too.

“It started almost as a bit of a selfish thing [hosting the podcast], where it was quite cathartic for me to talk about what I’d gone through and how low I had got.

“But before long I realised it was doing me a lot of good. I’ve had probably 50 messages from people not just within cricket but also from guys I work with now in the electrical industry.

“It’s about getting that message out there that talking is good. I never claimed to be a psychologist of any kind but I just talk about my experiences and have my theories. These problems can happen to people who you don’t expect. And for me that’s half the problem, that you don’t feel you can talk because it doesn’t match your persona.

“We try to focus on both the good and bad of cricket,” Berger adds. “There are some dark days where people aren’t in the right headspace, or they aren’t enjoying what they are doing and we want to help people feel like they’re not alone.”

Modern broadcasting is a two-way street and listener feedback has an influence on steering future content. Listeners could relate to Roberts’ experience of personal struggle.

“All the messages that we receive we put in our Whatsapp group or we email them,” Gordon says. “Because it’s vitally important that we all know at any given point the effect we’re having.

“A mate of mine at the golf club I used to play for in London is 60-years-old and he reached out to me to say the podcast has been offering him so much help. He’s not even a cricket fan.

“I think we’re all incredibly proud of the positive impact we’ve had on people who have reached out. We’re not trying to be all things to all men, just trying to offer an outlet and help people feel like it’s acceptable to talk. Blokes aren’t great at this, but all we’re trying to do is promote that it is OK to talk about the troubles you are having.”

^{Sir Michael Parkinson is due to feature as a guest}

The podcast is partnered with the Lord’s Taverners as well as Big Smoke Brewery, for whom they run a Big Night In via Instagram Live every Friday to recreate that communal shared experience we have missed during lockdown. 

There are also plans to link up with the Samaritans charity, so to further their support to any listeners who may be in need.

Guests so far on the podcast include Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Mark Alleyne, all of whom have been candid and open about their struggles during their careers.

Former Lancashire wicketkeeper-turned-agent Luke Sutton stands out for Gordon as a past guest.

“The Sutton episode was just mind-blowing, for him to be so open about what he went through. The three of us read his book beforehand. I couldn’t move while reading it, the dog ate my dinner, and I needed a wee for four hours because I couldn't put it down.

“The book and the episode made me look at myself and address some things that I had previously shut off,” Gordon continues. “If the podcast can do that for me then it must be doing that for other people and through feedback we can see that it is proving beneficial.”

Slogging It is far broader than just the professional game, and now a solid base of listeners are tuning in every week, the team are planning to extend invitations to any “clubbies” who may want to come on and tell their story.

“Having that relatability is important,” Roberts adds. “Which is why getting club cricketers on is important.”

Berger follows, “Another area we want to focus on is diversity. Trying to talk about how we get more diverse and cover everything within our cricketing fraternity, as many different roles and genders.”

There’s a lot to look forward to on Slogging It, with more club stories being told and names such as Sir Michael Parkinson, ex-Liverpool player Mark Lawrenson and Hampshire’s Chris Wood due to drop by.

The camaraderie between the three hosts is obvious and listening to them talk cricket almost feels like we’re back to normality and able to spend time with friends and family as if the world was the way it used to be.

But there is an enormously admirable attention to mental health and the importance of talking. Slogging It is a safe space and while we may never know the exact number of people it helps, those who are beneficiaries will be enormously grateful.

“We said that if we could help one person, that would be great, and I feel we’ve done that,” Roberts adds. “I just really enjoy coming on, having a bicker about cricket with Johnno and winding him up, having a chat with Eug, then winding up Johnno a bit more. It brings a sense of normality to a time that is completely abnormal.”

Gordon finishes, “It’s about trying to spread the awareness of mental health being talked about more than it currently is. 

“If we can be the catalyst for the cricket community to share with each other, to help each other, that is our ultimate goal.”

Slogging It is available to download on Apple Podcasts and Spotify