Always Look on the Bright Cider Life - The Somerset Cricket Podcast

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about all the goings-on at Somerset CCC since the end of the season...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Somerset CCC Chair Sir Michael Barber to chat about the successful 2025 season on the field, the to-ing and fro-ing with the schedule proposals off the field, why he fell in love with the greatest cricket club on planet Earth...

Ian Shepherd, Dan Kingdom, Harry Everett & Matt Kingdom get together to give their nominations for the coveted 'Golden Apples'

Ian Shepherd, Peter Wanless, Steve Tancock & Anthony Gibson get together to give their nominations for the coveted 'Golden Apples'

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about the final two County Championship games, the signing of Josh Shaw, and discover that playing with the Kookaburra ball might not be such a bad thing after all...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about the recent Russian Incursions into Romanian airspace, The Labour Deputy Leadership Contest, and Great Britain's progress in the Davis Cup...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett and Peter Wanless to reflect on the most extraordinary performance from Sean Dickson in the nail-biting 1/4 Final win over the Bears, sympathise with the visiting fans (not the ones who got lary and chucked out though) who miss out on a home finals day for the 5th year in a row, and speculate about the politics of sharing a hospitality box with the Lancashire committee...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent ALOTBCLMBODC campaign, look ahead to crunch games in the Vitality Blast and County Championship, and discuss the character of people who use phrases like "cross-pollination" in everyday life...

Ian Shepherd and Dan Kingdom chat about the latest batch of Metro Bank fixtures, try to make sense of the selection policy, and do this all while Shep struggles with a crippling bout of man-flu...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock and Anthony Gibson to chat about a positive start to the ALOTBCLMBODC for Somerset under James Rew, discuss brother Thomas's start to his 50 over career, and empathise with the many selection dilemmas faced by the powers that be...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to look back at the thrill a minute Championship match at Trent Bridge, look ahead to James Rew taking the reins in the ALOTBCLMBODC, and do their best not to panic at the state of the seam bowling department following the imminent departures of Aldridge, Davey and Green...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset's quickfire win over Durham, discuss the social media comments made by the President of Durham, and reflect on another successful Vitality Blast group stage campaign...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset Men securing a home 1/4 final in the Vitality Blast, the improvements Somerset Women have made over the campaign, and hope some concerning transfer rumours aren't worth the paper they're written on...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Anthony Gibson & special guest Don Topley to chat about Somerset's Men securing a berth in the Vitality Blast Quarter Finals with an emphatic win over Essex, Somerset's Women breaking their duck in the same competition with a victory over the Eagles' Women, and wonder what the stakes could be when the two sides meet in the final match of the County Championship season...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom and Peter Wanless to chat about the Kookaburra inspired draw against Notts, reflect on Tom Kohler-Cadmore's renaissance in First-Class cricket, and have another frustratingly protracted discussion about the format of County Cricket going forward...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Anthony Gibson to chat about a successful conclusion to the first batch of Blast games, reflect on a K**kaburra influenced draw up at Edgbaston in the County Championship, and hope that the return of one of cricket's keenest minds to the commentary box is a route back to bigger and better things...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Anthony Gibson to chat about the latest batch of Blast games, look ahead to the resumption of the Championship on Sunday, and discover that one of our number is a secret Swiftie...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless and Ben Warren to chat about Somerset Men's perfect start to the Blast Campaign, dissect the proposals for the restructuring of the county schedule, and cross our collective fingers that one of us will still be in a job this time tomorrow...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren to chat about a fantastic start to the Blast for the Men, marvel at Thomas Rew's incredible catch on Sunday, and special guest Somerset CCC Batting Coach Shane Burger joins us to chat about his coaching career and much more...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom and Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset's 3rd Championship win on the bounce, look ahead to the Vitality Blast, and try to calculate the ideal stewards per spectator ratio...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Dan Kingdom to chat about a second consecutive County Championship win for the men, look ahead to a crucial fixture up at Chester-Le-Street, and wonder if Mr and Mrs Rew might be getting a sternly-worded letter in the post soon...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Anthony Gibson and Sophie Luff to chat about Somerset Women's first month as a professional team, look ahead to the resumption of the County Championship on Friday, and celebrate the fact that Matt Henry is finally here !

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset's incredible first County Championship win of the season against Essex, two more victories in the excellent start to the Women's Metro Bank One-Day Cup, and ask.... is there really any point to a bonus point ?

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Don Topley and Anthony Gibson to chat about the collapse to end all collapses at the Oval, rejoice in Somerset Women plucking victory from the jaws of defeat at Beckenham, and try to work out how on earth Jake Ball helping Durham to victory is a benefit to Somerset......

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom and Anthony Gibson to chat about the draw against Hampshire, look ahead to both the men and women taking on Surrey in the next few days, and take a nostalgic look back to the 90s and the last time Somerset won a CC game at the Oval...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about the defeat to Sussex, look ahead to another difficult trip to the *Insert Sponsor's Name Here* Bowl, and wonder just what has happened to Somerset's away form over the last few years...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to celebrate Tom Banton's record-breaking innings against Worcestershire, debate the nature of Taunton surfaces again, and celebrate Craig Overton's refreshing lack of diplomacy on social media...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren (eventually !) and Anthony Gibson to chat about the pre-season match against The Glosters, look ahead to the County Championship starting up again on Friday, and take a look at how the Somerset Women's squad is shaping up.

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Anthony Gibson to chat about the heartbreaking departure of Roelof van der Merwe, Will Smeed's decision to sign an all-formats contract, and have yet another protracted discussion regarding the spare opening spot....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to celebrate the re-signing of Matt Henry, chat about all the various goings-on at the ground in readiness for the new season, and fret about the perils of venturing too high in the Sky channels in search of some cricket ....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to cast their eye over the fixtures, wonder how they'll cope if Matt Henry turns up at Headingley next year, and cricket writer Stephen Chalke joins us to chat about his new book "One Hell of a Life. Brian Close: Daring, Defiant and Daft".

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat to 150th Anniversary Chair Richard Brice about all the plans for next year's celebrations, and we chat to Club CEO Jamie Cox about all things Somerset CCC and The H*ndred....

Ian Shepherd, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson get together for the final time this season to give their nominations for the coveted 'Golden Apples'

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about the damp loss up at Trent Bridge in the ODC Final, defeat in the final County Championship match against Hampshire, and try to cheer each other up by reminding ourselves that things are pretty good, all things considered....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about the defeats at Edgbaston and Old Trafford, hope for a better outcome in the ODC final, and learn why we'll always have more class than that lot from up the road...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom to chat on the utterly incredible County Championship win over Surrey, look forward to putting ourselves through the wringer again on Finals Day, and reluctantly appoint Don Topley as the new official mascot of Somerset CCC...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren & Steve Tancock to chat about the fantastic win over Durham, look ahead to a chocker September starting with the Blast Quarter-Final at Northants, and who will have bragging rights around the Vaughan Christmas Dinner Table this year....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren and Anthony Gibson to chat about the weather-affected draw up at Edgbaston, look ahead to another must-win game against Durham, and discuss how unfortunate/hilarious it would be if Essex and Hampshire were deducted points for their tit-for-tat declarations....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about the stonking win in the ODC semi-final against Leicestershire, look ahead to the resumption of the Championship up at Edgbaston, and fret about some concerning transfer rumours...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom to chat about two excellent wins to cap off a fantastic One Day Cup group stage, look ahead to Sunday's Semi-Final (which is on the Clubs's 149th Birthday), and brush up on the rules and regulations for the Lord's Pavilion...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless & Chris Lintott to chat about the continuing joy of the One-Day Cup, Sonny Baker's departure to Hampshire, and discuss our various options for activities at Lord's on Sunday..

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about an encouraging start the the ALOTBCLRLMBODC campaign, Lewis Goldsworthy's welcome return to Taunton, and have our weekly support meeting about that other competition...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock and Dan Kingdom to chat about the debacle at Cardiff last Friday, preview the ALOTBCLRLMB One Day Cup, and once again get sidetracked into slagging off the H*ndred, but do decide that a solution to the problem could come from an unlikely source...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Anthony Gibson (eventually) to chat about the climax to the Blast campaign, how we can best handle the crop of young bowlers pushing for selection, and reveal what Miggy P *might* be up to in the next few weeks....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren and Chris Lintott to chat about Tom Abell's incredible innings in the extraordinary win against Warwickshire, look ahead to the return of the Blast with a trip to Essex and the Cider Derby rematch at Taunton, and whether Polly could make us a flag for the RVDM pavilion.....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about defeat in the Cider Derby to that lot from up the road, the nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster of a draw up at Trent Bridge, and have some welcome news for those of you who aren't fans of decanting on a matchday...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about 4 wins from the last 5 Blast games, look ahead to the Cider Derby and the resumption of The County Championship against Notts, and the deadly combination of a rain delay and a free bar....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about the opening round of Blast games, discuss a few things that don't quite add up about that other competition, and relive their earliest memories of Taunton...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Peter Wanless to chat about everything that went wrong at Durham, look at the selection dilemmas for the Blast, and somehow Piers Morgan weasels his way into the conversation...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Sam Dalling & Anthony Gibson to chat about the hard-fought win against Kent, react to the signing of Riley Meredith, and worry about Essex and Surrey taking a leaf out of Middlesex and Yorkshire's book during the final game of the season....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock and Anthony Gibson to chat about the upcoming game against Kent, look at potential overseas signings for the Blast, and Steve translates the club's accounts for the layman...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren and Chris Lintott to chat about Somerset's unbeaten streak continuing with the win over Essex, decide that the scheduling isn't actually that bad, and learn that you shouldn't always trust the answers in quiz books...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Anthony Gibson and special guest Don Topley to chat about another draw up at Kidderminster, look ahead to the championship decider against Essex on Friday, and almost manage to avoid mentioning the H*ndred...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom and Ben Warren to chat about the draw against Notts, the mystic art of pitch preparation, and Migael Pretorius's first steps on the path to redemption...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about the topsy-turvy draw at Surrey, the great starts to the season for Tom Lammonby and Kasey Aldridge, and the first Golden Apple of 2024 is awarded...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom, Harry Everett and Anthony Gibson to chat about the positives from the draw at Kent, the signing of Migael Pretorius, and the perils of transgressing social media rules...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about the pre-season campaign in Abu Dhabi, the warm-up game against Exeter University, and work out just how we're going to win the Championship this season...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Richard Brice and Anthony Gibson to chat about all the goings-on over the winter...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Harry Everett, Ben Warren, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about the unprecedented amount of good news for Somerset CCC in the last month, with the obvious exception of Tom Abell standing down as skipper, and crown the 3rd annual ALOTBCL Xmas Quiz Champion...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom and Anthony Gibson to chat about the various happenings since the end of the season, debate the ever-increasing likelihood of a H*ndred franchise coming to Taunton, and decide that we're probably going to write a book together in 2024...

Ian Shepherd, Harry Everett, Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson get together for the final time this season to give their nominations for the coveted 'Golden Apples'

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett and Anthony Gibson to chat about the final Championship game against Warwickshire, spend too much time thinking about regional postcodes, and come in off their collective long runs about umpire communications during ground delays (again).....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett, Anthony Gibson and debutant Kit Harris to talk about the rain-affected draw with Kent, look ahead to the season finale against Warwickshire, and debate if the SCCC groundstaff need to rethink the origin of their loam....

Ian Shepherd, Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren and Anthony Gibson chat to special guest Tom Abell about all things Somerset...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about more batting woes in the defeat to Hampshire, what we should realistically look to achieve in the final two Champo games, and the reasons behind the demise of outground cricket in Somerset over the years...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about George Bartlett's unexpected departure to Northants, look ahead to the resumption of Championship proceedings at the Ageas Bowl, and decide that between us, we'd make a perfect CEO

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to reflect on the ALOTBCLMBODC campaign, Andy Umeed's incredible run of form, and the rise of the #Umeeme....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about the ongoing ALOTBCLODC campaign, the signing of Neil Wagner, and discuss the predictions made in Sheps's recent eBay purchase...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren, Harry Everett & Anthony Gibson to chat about the start to the One-Day Cup campaign, another James Rew masterclass, and the staggering amount of players who have represented Somerset in 2023 so far...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Harry Everett and Anthony Gibson (plus a cameo appearance from Annie Chave) to chat about the defeat to Surrey, look ahead to the forthcoming One-Day Cup, and spend far too long chatting about that new shirt...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Sam Dalling & Anthony Gibson to chat about the dominant performance against Northants, look ahead to this weeks match against Surrey, and learn what BBC Health & Safety had to say about the rustic bus shelter...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about Carlos Alcaraz's victory on Centre Court, the ongoing threat of train strikes, and the soaring temperatures in southern Europe...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Harry Everett & Anthony Gibson to chat about another extraordinary win against Notts, look ahead to Finals Day and the CC match against Hampshire, and whether Sky should cast a wider net when selecting their commentary team...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset's record breaking Blast campaign, the completely unremarkable Championship win against Notts, and wonder which team Jack Brooks could play for on Friday night...

Part 2

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Harry Everett, Anthony Gibson & Don Topley to chat about the CC defeat to Essex, the mixed fortunes in the recent Blast games, and have a heated debate about what else, the bloody H*ndred....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Anthony Gibson & Special Guest Sophie Luff to talk about Somerset maintaining their 100% record in the Blast, look ahead to the resumption of the Championship at Chelmsford and wonder if there will be anybody left at Taunton to play in the One Day Cup...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren, Peter Wanless, Anthony Gibson & special guest Max Waller to look back at Somerset's perfect start to the Vitality Blast campaign, chat about Max's favourite memories from his time at Taunton, and wonder how much trouble Ben would get in if he illegally re-broadcasted the Pay-Per-View Kent Stream...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Peter Wanless to chat about the dominant win over Middlesex, look ahead to the Blast, discuss Western Storm's start the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and wonder if Kent charging for their T20 streams has opened a Pandora's Box....

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to take a look at the ebbs and flows of a mostly eventful game up at Old Trafford, one of us makes a bold selection for the upcoming Champo game at Lords, and apologies are offered for spreading unsubstantiated claims on Twitter...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Harry Everett, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about the frustrating draw against Northants, hear about the results of the 'Hearts & Minds' survey, and look ahead to the crucial game up at Old Trafford...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to look ahead to the crucial Championship game against Northants, chat about the rumours regarding the scheduling changes, and discover a totally different group of fans who are also at loggerheads on the Dragon v Wyvern issue...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom, & Anthony Gibson to chat about some green shoots from the draw against Lancashire, what we would do with the squad in the week off if we were in charge, and try to work out what sort of pitches we need at Taunton...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to mull over the defeat to Notts, discuss what changes we'd make for Lancs, and rejoice over a fighting fit Lewis Gregory's return to form...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Harry Everett & Anthony Gibson to chat about the draw against Warwickshire, look ahead to the upcoming match against Notts, and discuss why a giant sheet of tinfoil could be the answer to all our problems...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Harry Everett & Anthony Gibson to look ahead to the 2023 season, discuss the potential reasoning behind the Cameron Bancroft signing, and spend far too much time pondering the production process for Mark Church's daily Twitter videos...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to chat about Tom Abell's long overdue England call-up, the rule tweaks to this season's County Championship, and try to figure out exactly what an NFT actually is...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless, Sam Dalling & Anthony Gibson to chat about Will Smeed's decision to sign a white-ball only contract, have an inevitable moan about the fixture scheduling, and crown the ALOTBCL Quiz Champion for 2022...

Ian Shepherd, Dan Kingdom, Harry Everett, Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson get together for the final time this season to give their nominations for the coveted 'Golden Apples'

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Anthony Gibson & Harry Everett to talk about the defeat to Kent, the goings-on at the end-of-season dinner, and have a long old chat about the HPR...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about the thumping win over Northants, get creative with selection for the final game against Kent, and keep the podcast under 4 hours by postponing our discussion about the HPR to a later date...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Anthony Gibson & Peter Wanless to chat about the draw against Warwickshire, look ahead to the crucial game against Northants, and wonder why Max Waller never got a go for England...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Anthony Gibson & Sam Dalling to chat about the disappointing draw with The Glosters, look ahead to another relegation encounter with Warwickshire, and yet again wonder why Tom Abell doesn't bowl more...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Anthony Gibson, Ben Warren and Harry Everett to chat about Tom Banton and Sajid Khan putting pen to paper, look ahead to the Cider Derby in the CC, and wonder what could be done to make us all like that other competition just a little bit more...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to look back on the disappointing RLODC Campaign, try and square the circle for next season's fixture list, and speculate wildly on what the missing 8% of the club's income might be from...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Anthony Gibson & Peter Wanless to reflect on the extraordinary career of James Hildreth, look back at the latest batch of RLODC games, and try to decide which ciders we're most looking forward to sampling on Friday night...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to look back on the defeats to Notts and Gloucs, work out what can be done to arrest the slide, and try to fathom what on earth a Jurassic Fibre Milkable Cow might be...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about the highlights of an otherwise bore draw against Essex, look ahead to the RLODC, and try to work out what makes a really good cricket wicket...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Anthony Gibson, Ben Warren and Chris Lintott to chat about the draw against Yorkshire, what we can expect from the upcoming game at Chelmsford, and Tom Banton's comments on the Livestream last week...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Anthony Gibson & Peter Wanless to look back at a disappointing Finals Day, celebrate the performances of Lewis Goldsworthy and James Rew, and reveal why signing Luke Wright is the key to winning the County Championship...