Welcome to the Bishop and Bear!

It’s a rapid fire limited overs (pints) Bishop and Bear today as we squeeze in this chat during our daily World T20 coverage.

 Fittingly as Sri Lanka sit proudly top of Group B our guest is Nick Brookes, author of “An Island's Eleven: The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket”. Its won multiple awards and in the words of Simon Barnes ‘This is a great tale, and what’s more, it’s beautifully told.’  If you haven’t yet got your hands on a copy, then you can do that right here:

 “An Island's Eleven: The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket”

In rapid order after discussing his book, Nick, your landlord and episcopal barman move seamlessly into dissecting the World T20s to date and touch on:

· Why it’s more fun than we expected

· England and the Kryptonite of Asian Spin

· The BMac walkie talkie – Is he relaying tactics or booking a golf round?

· Nick’s Sri Lanka lads topping Group 2 – but tougher games to come

· Associate Nations - Colour or Cannon Fodder?

· Can Scotland do a Denmark?*

· Can anyone stop India?

· Why a  ‘weakened’ Australia are  still a threat?

All wrapped up with a quick group by group look to predict the Super 8s before we dash from the pub to the studio for today’s game!

Remember we are covering at least one game every day. Don’t miss it with us at guerillacricket.com or just come to our Guerilla YouTube channel.

And the best way to enjoy Guerilla Cricket with loads of extra benefits is to

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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A Belated HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR FABULOUS PATREONS!

It’s all rather appropriate that we are recording our analysis of the Ashes in a

We indulge in a bit of role play in the Bishop and Bear. Our Head Teacher and Head of PE are internet radio’s favourite double act, Annie Chave and Messy Jezz. The Bear and I send into their study England’s Management and Players. Some for a sharp telling off, others for a pat on the back. All for heartfelt advice.  Oddly, Messers seemed best versed in exactly what type of publication to pop down the back of one’s trousers should more severe punishment be forthcoming. But honestly, we live in modern times and

Not forgetting that Australia were there too and played pretty well, the central question we do not shy away from is “Ultimately where does the bulk of blame lie for England’s Ashes failure. Management or players?”  Listen to find out where we landed on that one!

There’s time too to look forward briefly to the Sri Lanka series coming up. Although that is already mired in visa issues for two of England’s players.

We will, of course, be with you for every ball of the Sri Lanka series. Don’t miss it with us from 8.50 am on 22nd January at guerillacricket.com or just come to our Guerilla YouTube channel.

But as Patreons, you know all that already and for keeping us on air, we have you to warmly thank for your consistent and invaluable support. So, THANK YOU!

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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Welcome back to The Bishop and Bear and STAND BY FOR A SHOCK!

Our guest for this Ashes special is lovable, if loquacious, Liverpudlian Gary

You don’t need me to tell you the situation. England are a familiar two down in an away Ashes. A media frenzy is declaring the death of Bazball. England’s captain is questioning whether there might be some ‘weak men’ in the England dressing room, while coach BMac thinks they have probably practiced too much. And let’s not forget that Australia, albeit a key man or two down, are downright formidable on their own turf.

Is there any hope? Yes always. Until there isn’t. A bit like ‘everybody having a

Your episcopal barman struggles manfully (Ben Stokes would approve), to keep order as the Bear and Gary go full steam into these discussion points.

Too much prep? Or the wrong kind of prep?   

Do we blame BMAC or is the problem deeper rooted in the structure of the English game?

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Wewill, of course, be with you for every ball of the Adelaide Test. Don’t miss it with us from 11.20 pm on 16th Dec (UK time) or 10am on the 17th

If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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A warm welcome back to The Bishop and Bear. Not one, not two, but three guests this week. We’ve turned the old B and B into a student union bar (or a Wetherspoons). OK not a ‘Spoons’ we have standards to maintain after all.

With us at the bar are Arnav, Ed and William, all Sports Journalism students at Brighton University and all now enjoying placements with us. We have a great relationship with Brighton and are delighted to provide the chance for them to write and broadcast on Guerilla Cricket. With Hendo and your Episcopal Barman to steer their journalistic and broadcast training and the Bear to oversee lifestyle choices and moral welfare, I think you’ll agree the lads could not be in better hands!

There is no shortage of things to discuss. As well as telling us about themselves, our trio are straight into tackling the big questions of the moment. Is AI dragging the standard of cricket journalism down or driving it up? Did Travis Head win the Perth Test, or did England lose it? The Pink Kookaburra – is it a ball or a Brighton nightclub? And speaking of pink balls, England are not playing a warm up match with one before Brisbane– is that arrogance or pragmatism? Given Australia and England’s contrasting records in Day Night Tests, are there any reasons to be optimistic for England?

We don’t just stop with The Ashes either. India come under the Brighton University microscope too as we examine just what has happened to their home Test form. Is Gautam Gambhir’s job under threat? Have home turning pitches turned against them when the likes of New Zealand and now South Africa have top quality spinners and there is no Ashwin for India? And why are the all-conquering WTC Champions South Africa playing so little Test cricket?

Our gallant trio do a fine job in answering these as well as coping with the Bishop and Bear in the process. They were very much the grown-ups in the room if you ask me. Let us know you think too.

We will, of course, be with you for every ball of the Brisbane Test, which we all hope will last longer than two day/nights. Don’t miss it with us from 4am Uk time on 4th December on guerillacricket.com or just come to our Guerilla YouTube channel.

If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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Welcome again to the Bishop and Bear.  We’ve got our ton, taken guard again and off we go with Episode 101.

The Ashes is so close we can almost touch it! Friday morning 2.30 UK time. Every ball will be on guerillacricket.com or just come to our Guerilla YouTube

 Everyonehas a point of view in the pre series media frenzy. Some things never change. Glen McGrath reckons 5-0. But others say this is England best chance in years.  Alongside your Pommie Landlord and Episcopal Barman, are two Aussie guest to balance things up.  Cat Jones and Dan Liebke, a much more established and probably more reliable pair than Khawaja and Weatherald, makers of the excellent Can’t Bowl Can’t Throw Podcast and regular Guerillas too. 

 And so we don’t forget, Dan has just written the perfect book for pre, during and post Ashes reading. It’s called The 50 Most Ridiculous Ashes Moments. A celebration of the funniest, weirdest and most absurd moments from Ashes cricket, it’s a richly amusing exploration of this timeless rivalry. Available at all good book stores including here.

You probably won’t hear a more balanced (or longer) podcast anywhere. As well as laughing at Merv Hughes and hearing how Jake Weatherald peppered Yorkshire graves with cricket balls, we touch all the bases others have and plenty they haven’t including:

·      Will England live to rue white ball battering and Lilac Hill beer match as their only prep?

·      Why don’t English players play more for Aus clubs or states?Aussies are quick enough to grab county experience after all.

·      Pound for pound match ups. Is this really England’s best chance in years?

·      Root and the Aussie Hundred Albatross? Will it finally fly free?

·      Weatherall and Doggett. Who?n Bashir – Why?

·      The England bowling break down derby

·      Aus haven’t won a series in England since 2001. Twenty four years ago! Why doesn’t anyone ever mention that?

·       Mitchell Johnson used to sing songs from Frozen when running in to bowl.  What might be the songs for bowlers on both sides in this Ashes?

·      Predictions – Actual and Moral victors?

 We’ll be with you for every ball of the Ashes. If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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Welcomeagain to the Bishop and Bear. Not just any Bishop and Bear this one. It’s our 100th.

This was recorded just two days after we got the awful news about the passing of Sean Tracey, one of our long time Guerillas. We thought long and hard about whether to delay recording.  But then we said that it’s going to be all about cricket and music. What could be more appropriate as a tribute to Sean? The show therefore went on, with him in our thoughts and hearts.

Once we had come up with the idea of our Bishop and Bear Cricket Island Discs 100 celebration, we knew immediately who we wanted not just a guest, but as guest host. A man whose music podcast, Sombrero Fallout, was the number one music podcast in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. He knows a bit about cricket too. It is, of course, Ian Forth, or Forthy as we know him.

Forthy takes over behind the bar and with a mix of musical expertise, urbanity and a firm controlling hand where necessary, he teases out of your ursine landlord and episcopal barman their most memorable cricket moments and a music selection to accompany them on their desert island.

We meander our way through our first and then most memorable matches, our top Guerilla experiences, the player we would have wanted to be and our best ever Guerilla guests. Each accompanied by a carefully and lovingly selected musical choice. We even nominate a player and relevant musical selection for each other. There is a mix of fabulously memorable cricketing moments and a distinctly eclectic music selection to go along with them. Do let us know what you think!

For your further delight and delectation, you can find our music choices here:

The Bishop Playlist:

The Bear Playlist:

And we of course, heartily recommend checking out Forthy’s excellent Sombrero Fallout too.

Hopefully we will see you for the New Zealand series. To make sure you don’t miss a ball, click here for our broadcast schedule.  If you want to help us

And do please raise a glass to Sean too.

 All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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A warm welcome back to the Bishop and Bear!

It’s number 99. That’s dedication for you and as the late Roy Castle sang "Dedication is what you need if you want to be a record breaker".

Next week, England travel to Ireland for 3 T20s at Malehide (a place dear to our hearts). To help us look ahead to that we have a very special guest in our pub today.  A cricketer who seems to make a habit of breaking records wherever he goes and who knows may break a few more next week. It’s Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher, no less!

Grab your drink and settle back as Curtis enjoys his Guiness and gets well and truly into the Guerilla swing of things. We natter about his background, how and why he chose Ireland (and loves it!), those records including his 5 wickets in 5 balls, and his recent 123 off 68 balls as Essex battered Surrey at Chelmsford in the One Day Cup.

But of course, we then get onto the Ireland vs England series which we all hope doesn’t get too rained on. There is a reason Ireland is so green.  Just how do Ireland prepare, who are their match winners and do they feel even faintly by miffed England’s squad selection?

Curtis is a fine and fun conversationalist, so we get plenty of time to hear how a modern international cricketer copes with the stresses and strains of

Hopefully we will see you for the Ireland series. To make sure you don’t miss a ball, click here for our broadcast schedule.  If you want to help us

 All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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A warm welcome back to the Bishop and Bear!

It’s been nearly a month since the end of the thrill packed roller coaster ride of a Test series between England and India. Most of us have got over it and moved on, except perhaps Guerilla Hendo.

Your episcopal barman has found plenty of distraction in the One Day Cup, while others may have enjoyed The Hundred in all of its sugary snack glory. BUT, our focus is now back on international cricket and most particularly the ODI and T20I series between England and South Africa, which starts on Tuesday. To make sure you don’t miss a ball, click here for our broadcast

To mull over all things South Africa (cricket wise at least) our guest is

We seem to recall that the last time Tim popped into the old B&B, we were castigating South Africa for putting everything behind the SA20 and fielding weak Test teams and yet, here they are, World Test champions. World Cup Semi Finalists, WT20 Finalists and have just beaten Aus on their own patch in ODIs. So the big question for Tim was “What are his Proteas doing right and should we now be discussing them as part of a ‘Big Four’, muscling proudly in with the big money boys India, England and Australia?”

Tim’s insight into the impact of coach Shukri Conrad and the positivity he has

We’ll be with you for every ball of the England vs South Africa series and England’s trip to Ireland of course. If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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Welcome back to the Bishop and Bear. Let us get you a drink and then feel free to make yourself comfortable, settle back and enjoy what is a very lively discussion indeed.

 It’s England vs India – The Decider. A kind of Podcast 6th Test.  Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman are the all guns blazing BazChatters, against powerhouse Indian opposition in the form of our guests, BB regular and Indian cricket sage Anindya Dutta and Raj (the man David Brook chased round Lord’s) Patel.

 A bit like the recent England vs India Test itself the conversation is fast,

 As the drinks are sunk, we plough headlong into some of the BIG questions. Was a draw a fair result? Did the result even matter when the entertainment was so good? (spoiler alert, it did to the Bear and our guests). What were the moments of the series? How did the captains face off against each other? (Ollie Pope had a letter from his mum and wasn’t included). And crucially, where did this series rate amongst the greatest of all time? There plenty of diversions along the way too.

 That all got us thinking, that if we have just seen five great Tests, all five

 For good measure we have a quick look forward to England’s white ball series with South Africa and we ask our Indian guests just how much does India really care about the Asia Cup?

 We’ll be with you for every ball of the last two England vs South Africa series and England’s trip to Ireland. If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

All the best

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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A huge welcome once again to The Bishop and Bear. What a week for Test cricket it’s been. As you will know if you have been watching or listening with us, we have been gripped by the 5-day drama of that Lords Test.  If you haven’t been with us, where on earth have you been? 

Meanwhile, in Jamaica a rather shorter but equally dramatic Test Match was taking place where the West Indies had a real tilt at breaking New Zealand’s 1955 ‘lowest score record’ and Mitchell Starc was pink ball swinging his way into the record books with a five-wicket haul in his first 15 balls.

To celebrate and marvel over both events, your ursine landlord and episcopal barman have the company of Ajit with his ever present armchair and David Brook, who, as you will hear, is both scathing and insightful on the state of West Indies cricket and certainly does not hold back.

In animated conversation we discuss the good, the bad and the ugly from Lords including last day drama, Flintoff and Lee vibes, slow pitch and battered balls, over rates and the seeming injustice of only England being docked points, Zak Crawley’s Oscar nomination, Jofra’s return, Siraj and Maradona, English batting and the forthcoming return of the Prodigal Dawson.

With a pause to refill glasses we lean exactly how the replacement balls make it into the magic box. It’s not as scientific a process as you might think by the way. From there it’s a race to the last orders bell to unpick the pink ball ballistics from Kingston and debate exactly why it happened and just where the West Indies go next. Does Brian Lara have a point in saying the team only play Tests to get picked for the global franchises?

We’ll be with you for every ball of the last two England vs India Tests. If you want to help us keep our show on the road and great cricket coverage free across the internet, then do please consider supporting us through Patreon here.

Allthe best

YourUrsine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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