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

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Ben Warren to chat about Somerset's semi-final defeat to Northants, discuss the Blast campaign as a whole, and look ahead to some fresh faces joining the squad for the One Day Cup.

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to chat about Craig Overton's extraordinary record-breaking innings in the Blast Quarter-Final at Headingley, mull over the myriad selection dilemmas for Final's Day, and award the first Golden Apple of 2026.

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless (unfortunately Gibbo beset by technical issues again) to chat about Somerset's incredible return to form in the Blast, look ahead to the Quarter Final up at Headingley on Wednesday, and wonder if Sheps can endure a same-day return drive to Leeds and back without picking up a speeding ticket again...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to chat about a pretty miserable week for Somerset's Men and Women, who both suffered major setbacks in their respective bids for Finals Day qualification.

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless & Anthony Gibson to chat about another extraordinary performance from a depleted Somerset side, delve into the reasons why Craig Overton is enjoying such a successful season, and weigh up how much we want Matt Henry back to lead our charge to the Championship in September...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock to chat about an incredible win by a stripped to the bone Somerset Men's team up at Trent Bridge, wonder if lightning can strike twice when an even more depleted squad takes to the field against Warwickshire, and purr over Thomas Rew's maiden first-class century...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless and Dan Kingdom to chat about Somerset Men's worst run of T20 form since the inception of this 'ere podcast, Somerset Women's best run of T20 form since the inception of this 'ere podcast, and wonder, when is an injury update not an injury update?

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Dan Kingdom and Anthony Gibson to chat about an undefeated start to the Blast campaign for both Somerset's men and women, look ahead to the next batch of games, and wonder what Jacob Bethell might have been up to in order to get home a few days early...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Peter Wanless to look back at the opening block of Championship game, preview the defence of the Blast, and come up with a new annual must-see event for the club...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to reflect on Somerset Men's loss in Cardiff, discuss the signing of Jordan Hermann, and wonder whether it's a good idea to wind up Craig Overton...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to reflect on Somerset Men's first defeat of the season to Yorkshire, look ahead to the trip to Cardiif to take on Glamorgan, and wonder if Tom Abell will be re-writing his best man speech for Dom Bess's upcoming nuptials...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock & Dan Kingdom to chat about Somerset Women's emphatic win against Surrey, look ahead to the Men resuming their Championship campaign against Yorkshire at the weekend, and do their best to come up with a solution to the bore draws we saw in Div 1 this week...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom & Anthony Gibson to bask in the glory of Tom Abell's finest hour at the "Insert Sponsor's Name Here" Bowl, celebrate a rejuvenated Somerset Women's perfect start to their season, and wonder if we have Donald Trump, of all people, to thank for all of this early-season success...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Dan Kingdom, Ben Warren and Anthony Gibson to chat about Somerset Men's phenomenal win over Essex, Somerset Women's nail-biting triumph over Yorkshire, and debate whether the new replacement system can be transferred to the realm of podcasting...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Peter Wanless and Anthony Gibson to look back on the season-opening draw with champions Nottinghamshire, collectively purr over that game-changing over from Alfie Ogborne, and learn that AI is not always to be relied upon when it comes to cricket statistics...

Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless, Dan Kingdom and Anthony Gibson to look forward to the brand new County Championship season starting on Friday, discuss the signing of just the one overseas bowler (so far) and whether any of our number will throw their hat into the ring as the new Chair...

Ian Shepherd takes a trip to the annual SCCC media day and catches up with Craig Overton, Bex Odgers, Emma Corney, Sophie Luff and James Rew, followed by an extended chat with Lewis Gregory ahead of his 2026 Testimonial Season

Ian Shepherd is joined by Steve Tancock, Ben Warren & Anthony Gibson to discuss the current state of the squad, look back at Thomas Rew's excellent winter, and come up with an out-of-the-box idea for spending the H*ndred windfall...

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....