The Bear and The Bishop Ep71

Explicit content warning

03/22/24 • 66 min

Welcome back to the warm embrace (and warm beer) of the Bishop and Bear.

The chat this week is very much focused on the IPL as this year’s marathon begins. Who are the runners and riders? Where is the smart money going? Who are the stars and who is missing for each team? What makes the new smart replays smarter than the average replays? Why do Sunrisers Hyderabad get battered everywhere? Is their website still a UX disaster? (Don’t bother looking - it is I can assure you). Who is Jake Fraser McGurk and what happened to the monkey that bit him?

To answer these and so many other questions, we have our own ‘Oracle of the Odds’ and IPL aficionado Andy Ward. Andy is going to be steering our weekly IPL coverage and he seems to be limbering up in fine form, albeit with a Guinness Zero.

We even make time to debate the morals of Australia’s Afghan withdrawal and ponder why no one is mad about the Roy.

Here is our very loose running order:

· IPL 2024

What’s new for 2024?

o Bouncers

o Smart replays

Guerilla Tips – where is our money for this year?

· Australia pull out of Afghanistan Mens T20 – A fair stance or looking for an excuse?

· Why is no one mad about the Roy?

· A decent start for England’s Women vs NZ despite missing some WPL starts

· Our IPL Coverage – what to expect

Thanks, as ever for your company. Do let us know what you think and join us for our weekly show.

Cheers!

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to the warm embrace (and warm beer) of the Bishop and Bear.

We even make time to debate the morals of Australia’s Afghan withdrawal and ponder why no one is mad about the Roy.

Here is our very loose running order:

· IPL 2024

What’s new for 2024?

o Bouncers

o Smart replays

Guerilla Tips – where is our money for this year?

· Australia pull out of Afghanistan Mens T20 – A fair stance or looking for an excuse?

· Why is no one mad about the Roy?

· A decent start for England’s Women vs NZ despite missing some WPL starts

· Our IPL Coverage – what to expect

Thanks, as ever for your company. Do let us know what you think and join us for our weekly show.

Cheers!

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

The Bear and The Bishop Ep70

A warm welcome once more to the Bishop and Bear.

A fabulous if ultimately unsuccessful Test series for England is behind us, but there is plenty to reflect upon. The IPL stretches out before us. No less than 66 days of, well pretty much the same as last year, but it will be fun.

As we look back to that enthralling Test series in India, we have two guests propping up our bar to cogitate on that and much more besides. Anindya has been busy penning his thoughts on whether or not India saw the death of Bazball as a strategy. If you haven’t read “Death of a Strategy? The Curious Case of 'Bazball' in India” then we can heartily recommend it. You can find it here.

We also welcome the late Sagir Parkar. Not “late as in in the late Dentarthurdent”, but apparently detained on his way to the pub by a traffic accident.

He picks up the pace of conversation like a pro though.

It’s a lively chat I can assure you we answer many questions as we go including:

· Was Baz ball battered?

· England’s dilemmas

o One attitude – flexible approach?

o Making way for Brook?

o Duckett’ technique (and his dog)?

o Leach – should he stay or should he go?

· Will the Jazz Whale stay in tune wherever he plays?

· Jimmy 700 – For a fast bowler a record that will never be beaten?

· New Zealand against Australia – Is it a mental thing?

· Fire up the clown car – who wants tickets to the IPL circus?

Whether you agree with any of the answers is of course, entirely up to you, but do get in touch and let us know.

Cheers!

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next Episode

The Bear and The Bishop Ep72

Welcome back to the Bishop and Bear.

Most guests in this pub would probably agree that they want cricket to grow and be healthy. They want it to be more diverse, inclusive and attractive to new younger fans. They also, want to watch national teams to play entertaining winning Test cricket and be successful in other formats too. For many of us, that is England. But by no means exclusively. Those of us that follow English counties want them to entertain us a play great cricket and, ideally, win things.

And yet, in a theme we constantly return to in the B and B, for English cricket, the lure of money and the proliferation of franchises sets traditionalists against modernists, romantics against pragmatists. Even your ursine Landlord and episcopal barman, feel a little, well dirty, frankly as we cover the IPL.

Our guest today on the Barstool of Bravado, is Ben Bloom, who spent last summer travelling the country speaking to more than 100 of the game’s most important figures for his book – Batting for Time: The Fight to Keep English Cricket Alive. The concern and discontent he uncovered from all quarters was palpable and left him concluding that English cricket is in crisis .

It gets brilliantly under the skin of English cricket, giving a fair voice to those who represent all sides of the argument, including many of those we know as friends, not least Annie of course.

It’s a great chat with Ben, so do have a listen. And we can thoroughly recommend the book, available, as they say, from all good booksellers, including here.

Cheers!

Your Ursine Landlord and Episcopal Barman

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