Explore every episode of the podcast Going Upstairs
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supporting team mates with Tom Alsop | 18 May 2026 | 00:26:51 | |
After a long break we are back with a look at supporting team mates in our sport. Joining Mark is Sussex batter Tom Alsop who reflects on what he has learned across his career so far. | |||
| Staying mentally healthy in cricket with Kate Cross | 20 Nov 2024 | 00:31:17 | |
Kate offers her insight on how she proactively considers her mental health in the demanding world of international cricket. | |||
| Clevedon's Case Study with Dan Van Grudgings | 11 Aug 2023 | 00:34:54 | |
Clevedon CC in Somerset have seen success with their own scheme to promote mental wellbeing through cricket at their club. | |||
| Kate Cross & Alex Hartley | 12 Sep 2017 | 00:36:14 | |
Mark was joined by England cricketers Kate and Alex to discuss the challenges of playing professional sport, dealing with sexism, the good/bad of social media and much more. | |||
| Jonathan Northcroft | 23 Aug 2017 | 00:34:48 | |
For our debut podcast Mark is joined by Sunday Times football correspondent and Opening Up founder member Jonathan Northcroft. Jonathan talks about the issue of dementia in football, the mental resilience of Leicester City's remarkable Premier League winning season as well as the pressures of journalism. | |||
| How aware are we? | 18 May 2023 | 00:15:44 | |
Mark considers what is left unsaid during Mental Health Awareness Week | |||
| Coaches Conversation on passion | 03 Apr 2023 | 00:28:12 | |
The second Coaches Conversation focuses on passion and how far it can take you. We got a look at this from a rugby union perspective with guest Adam Canning of Old Leamingtonians RFC joining Mark to share his thoughts. | |||
| Coaches Conversation on burnout | 27 Mar 2023 | 00:23:32 | |
Our first Coaches Conversation was recorded last night (26.03) with burnout being the topic. Chris Laker, who works with Lancashire CCC pathway and in club cricket, joined Mark to share his thoughts. | |||
| A Postcard From Adelaide with Ethan Bamber & Miles Hammond | 31 Jan 2023 | 00:22:40 | |
Ethan spoke with friend and current team mate down under Miles Hammond, of Gloucestershire CCC. Topics included... | |||
| Identity with Tom Alsop | 10 Jan 2023 | 00:28:21 | |
Identity, particularly how much we define ourselves by our job, is a topic of almost endless discussion. Sussex keeper/batter Tom Alsop gave his insight to Mark during this episode. | |||
| Taking on too much | 03 Jan 2023 | 00:25:24 | |
Mark reflects on a personal experience of going beyond what was healthy to commit to. | |||
| The WK Coach with Josh Sivier | 12 Nov 2022 | 00:36:17 | |
Josh Sivier, known across social media as 'The WK Coach' shared with Mark his passion for wicket keeping, as a player and coach. | |||
| Life in Grade Cricket with Sean Terry | 18 Oct 2022 | 00:31:03 | |
Sean chatted with Mark about the reality of playing Grade, or as it is now known, Premier Cricket in Australia. | |||
| Routine and structure with Tara Norris | 24 Aug 2022 | 00:28:22 | |
Tara Norris of Sussex, Southern Vipers, Southern Brave and the USA joined Mark to discuss: | |||
| Dealing with change with Ethan Bamber & Tom Alsop | 22 Oct 2024 | 00:43:30 | |
Change can be exciting, it can be daunting. Ethan and Tom share their reflections on their experiences of transitions such as moving clubs, new roles and fluctuations in form. | |||
| Rogerian Cricket Coaching | 09 Aug 2022 | 00:26:23 | |
What is your coaching philosophy? | |||
| Pre Season Series with Ryan Sidebottom | 05 Jul 2022 | 00:30:29 | |
Ex England, Yorkshire and Notts bowler Ryan Sidebottom joined us for the final Pre Season Series session. | |||
| Pre Season Series with James Bracey | 01 Jul 2022 | 00:23:56 | |
Gloucestershire & England keeper James Bracey was the fifth guest for the Pre Season Series earlier this year. We're glad to share it here now after a delay. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Sam Northeast | 23 Jun 2022 | 00:26:34 | |
Much delayed but here is the fourth of the 2022 Pre Season Series sessions with Glamorgan batter Sam Northeast. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Ethan Bamber & Paul Horton | 10 Apr 2022 | 00:40:14 | |
Middlesex bowler Ethan and former Lancashire & Leicestershire batter discuss opening the innings, dealing with setbacks and the identity of a professional cricketer. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Eve Jones | 07 Apr 2022 | 00:22:28 | |
Warwickshire's Eve Jones was the guest for the second of the 2022 Pre Season Series sessions. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Ollie Robinson | 30 Mar 2022 | 00:33:04 | |
Kent keeper/batter Ollie joined us for the first of the 2022 Pre Season Series sessions. | |||
| Dealing with injuries with Dustin Melton | 25 Feb 2022 | 00:35:57 | |
Derbyshire pace bowler Dustin opened up on the realities of dealing with injuries. He spoke about the impact at the time, through rehab to the longer term mental challenges. | |||
| My life as a ghost with Jon Northcroft | 05 Nov 2021 | 00:34:00 | |
Jon Northcroft is an Opening Up Cricket trustee and football writer. In this episode he talks us the art of ghost writing, something he has done most recently for Peter Schmeichel, including:
| |||
| Physical activity for young people with Peter Kelly | 18 Oct 2021 | 00:40:04 | |
Primary school teacher Peter has a mission to increase physical activity in young people to the benefit of their mind and body. | |||
| One season, two national finals | 13 Oct 2024 | 00:33:36 | |
We're glad to have our one hundredth episode on the pleasure of playing cricket. In the case of our guest Chris Laker, this happens to have been at the top of the club game in England. The positives discussed can be applied to anyone playing the game, whatever the standard. | |||
| Performance anxiety with Ethan Bamber | 06 Aug 2021 | 00:36:20 | |
Middlesex bowler Ethan chatted with Mark about how he has managed performance anxiety during his career so far. | |||
| Untamed with Jim Hughes | 10 Jun 2021 | 00:30:01 | |
The term 'coaching' is subject to lots of different interpretations, especially in the world outside of sport. | |||
| Lessons from depression | 23 May 2021 | 00:25:21 | |
Mark gives his perspective on what he has learned from the experience of depressive illness. | |||
| Reflections with Paul Smith | 30 Apr 2021 | 00:21:44 | |
Paul Smith played for Warwickshire from 1982 and 1996, featuring as a key member of the famous treble winning side of 1994. Here he spoke about the influence of Bob Woolmer, how mental health was looked after in his career as well as the challenges post retirement. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Phoebe Graham | 22 Apr 2021 | 00:28:19 | |
Northern Diamonds bowler Phoebe joined us for the eight Pre Season Series session back in March. | |||
| Joining the team with Tom Alsop | 19 Apr 2021 | 00:22:48 | |
Hampshire's Tom Alsop chatted with Mark about the reasons behind him joining our team to host sessions. The insight to the personal and professional contexts of mental health and wellbeing are well worth a listen... | |||
| Pre Season Series with Jimmy Adams | 15 Apr 2021 | 00:33:25 | |
West Indies Director of Cricket Jimmy joined us in March for the seventh Pre Season Series session. | |||
| Being listened to with Abi Sakande | 05 Apr 2021 | 00:34:33 | |
Abi joined Mark to share his thoughts on the importance of being truly listened to. He reflects on his personal experience of being supported following the loss of his Mum as well as communication in cricket, drawing on his time as a professional player with Sussex. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Chris Liddle | 01 Apr 2021 | 00:30:36 | |
Northamptonshire bowling coach Chris joined us live in February for the sixth of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Daniel Bell-Drummond | 29 Mar 2021 | 00:36:16 | |
Kent batter Daniel joined us live in February for the fifth of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Put the phone down | 10 Jul 2024 | 00:24:25 | |
Cricket gives us a vital chance to take time away from our screens and properly connect with others. Mark gives his view on this increasingly important issue in this episode. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Tara Norris | 25 Mar 2021 | 00:28:43 | |
Southern Vipers bowler Tara joined us live in January for the fourth of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Rikki Clarke | 18 Mar 2021 | 00:33:59 | |
Surrey all-rounder Rikki joined us live in January for the third of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Luis Reece | 15 Mar 2021 | 00:33:57 | |
Derbyshire all-rounder Luis joined us live in January for the second of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Pre Season Series with Fynn Hudson-Prentice | 11 Mar 2021 | 00:34:28 | |
Derbyshire all-rounder Fynn joined us live in January for the first of our 'Pre Season Series' sessions so here it is for you to catch up on. | |||
| Life in the covid bubble with Kate Cross | 08 Mar 2021 | 00:38:28 | |
Kate shared her experiences of how the measures in place to facilitate international cricket during the pandemic have impacted her wellbeing. | |||
| Perform beyond pressure with Rich Hudson | 11 Jan 2021 | 00:39:33 | |
Rich Hudson, managing director of Buckinghamshire Cricket and author of 'Perform Beyond Pressure' discussed some key themes from his book with Mark. | |||
| Barriers to listening | 19 Dec 2020 | 00:24:55 | |
The importance of talking to maintaining good mental health is well established. What about how we listen to enable those conversations? Mark has a think about this in the final episode of the year. | |||
| Mindful Coffee with Ryan Cunningham | 04 Dec 2020 | 00:34:44 | |
Former Jamaica spinner Ryan Cunningham chatted with Mark about mindfulness, particularly using coffee to refine his practice. Alongside this we covered the mental approaches to cricket in the West Indies, dealing with setbacks as a bowler and adapting to life playing in English leagues. | |||
| Let's talk with Qasim Sheikh | 24 Nov 2020 | 00:46:52 | |
Former Scotland batsman turned podcast host Qasim Sheikh was our guest as we talked about: | |||
| The Power Of Vulnerability | 30 Oct 2020 | 00:31:27 | |
We look at the power of vulnerability and how this term can be looked at differently to benefit sport and life. | |||
| Supportive Team Environments #2 | 29 Feb 2024 | 00:36:48 | |
The second episode on this theme has Opening Up Cricket trustee & Sunday Times Football Correspondent Jon Northcroft sharing from another sport. We hear a range from Fergie to Guardiola on how wellbeing and team bonds are forged at the top level of football. | |||
| Cricket in sports psychiatry with Hassan Mahmood | 25 Aug 2020 | 00:22:55 | |
Dr Hassan Mahmood, a consultant psychiatrist and part of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Sports and Exercise Special Interest Group, has contributed a cricket chapter to the recently published 'Case Studies In Sports Psychiatry'. | |||
| Mindfulness for cricketers | 18 Aug 2020 | 00:24:32 | |
Mindfulness has far reaching benefits so here Mark talks a little about the links to cricket. ARTICLE: An example of yoga and mindfulness in practice with Australian cricketers ARTICLE: How meditation improves mental focus VIDEO: All it takes is ten mindful minutes VIDEO: Justin Langer on meditation and mental toughness WEBSITES: Headspace & Smiling Mind | |||