Sticks and Stokes Cricket Podcast

The Sticks and Stokes gang return to the airwaves at the start of another glorious English summer to bring you everything you need to know about the County Championship. As well as predicting this years county champions we’ll be calling out some lesser heard names to look out for in the lead up to the ashes, and answering hard hitting questions including just who is the best team in the west country? Should Ben Foakes give up on wicket keeping to protect his back? And what is a decent average for a county championship number 5? Why not carve out 30 minutes of your day, sit back and enjoy the listen.

The new regime of Ben Stokes and Brendan Mccullum has started with a bang – a 3-0 series win against world test champions new Zealand, and there is plenty to talk about! We’ll also bring you the latest from the county championship, with of course special mention of the west country cricket factory Somerset, and there’s even time for a blind cricket update.

The sun has been shining, the batsmen have been making hay and the county cricket season is in full swing. This month we bring you an update from the first 4 rounds of the season, we call out a county XI to watch out for when it comes to England selection, and the crew reflect our predictions from the start of the year. And in a sign of our increasingly desperate search for a niche, there’s also a delve into the depths of the minor counties, and Crabby brings you an interesting stat from a 19th century somerset farmer who once bowled for England. And also this week Jonny Hilliard is taking a break from the podcast, so Jake has his wish. He’ll be back next time though. We think.

This week, we dive into the English County Championship. As you’d expect, the crew pull no punches in their assessment of each of the ‘proper’ counties’ strengths and weaknesses, and call out their players to watch this year. There’s even time for a quick dive into the butchers and bakers league, also known as division 2, and a discussion over whether an island constitutes a county. Enjoy!

This week, copying England's disastrous selection policy, we've dropped two of our big names, but Crabby, Johnny and Ben dig through the remains of the car crash West Indies tour for some signs of life for England's Test side. As well as that there is a customary mention for the royals and our good friend and loyal listener Jake. Enjoy!

After Jonny's tirade against England's 'fourth choice seamer' Mark Wood in the wake of the ashes debacle, the team discuss Mark Wood's brother in law's response. This month we've also got a preview of the West Indies series, we sort our Lakhs from our Craws after the IPL auction and we discuss Nick Knights anger issues. For a cricket podcast in February, it's positively action packed!

After the debacle of the 4-0 hammering in the ashes, something needs to be done, so we’re returning our voices to the airwaves and pinning down just what English cricket needs to sort out in order to return to the glory years, of a half south African team actually winning some matches. This week we debate the structural changes that need to be made in English cricket, we rate the pundits, not the players, and Crabby of course has a Nick Knight update.

In a week the Royals hit the headlines, we look back on England's winter in the subcontinent. We rate the players, pick our dream commentary team, answer listeners questions and debate whether taking a hattrick is worth getting hit for six sixes in a row. Jonny Hilliard has some personal experience he can bring to that question. Join us for some (mostly) cricketing virtual pub chat!

It's the best pub cricket chat you can get without actually being able to be in a pub. Join the lads as we dissect everything that has gone wrong over the last couple of weeks in English cricket, and what it might take for England to draw the test series in India.

Join us for a special edition 15 minute edition looking ahead to the day night test match in Ahmedabad. The panel debate who they'd pick, put their necks on the line with some bold predictions, and we also get a chance to put together our dream guest list for upcoming episodes AND learn some more about Crabby's favourite commentator and medium trundler, Nick Knight. What more could you possible want from a cricket podcast?

This week we look back on the 2nd test in Chennai, call for wholesale changes to the England set up, and debate whether the Kiwis really deserve to be the number 1 test team in the world. As always it's an action packed episode exploring the marginalia of the cricketing world, with plenty of controversial views and perhaps a modicum of insight (although probably not from Watty).

Crabby is stoked about Somerset's spinners, Chaser's backing of Dom Sibley pays off big time, and Jonny and Chris see something special in India's Pant. It's a mixed bag but at least we're off the mark and we've got a name. And you can't beat the theme tune.