MARK CHURCH

NEW VIRTUAL CRICKET TALKS SERIES

NEW VIRTUAL CRICKET TALKS SERIES

To help cricket fans get a regular fix, the cricket team at Pitch Publishing has launched a new series of virtual cricketing talks and Q&As, open to fans along with members of the United Kingdom's cricket societies.

Fans and members are welcome to join the events, which will feature Pitch's cricketing authors and run on Friday evenings at 7.30pm, kicking off this Friday with former Sussex and Middlesex batsmen and now umpire Ian Gould, hosted by BBC cricket commentator Mark Church.

Over the years our authors have regularly appeared to speak at events up and down the country, and many had agreed to appear this year. With this in mind, we have launched a new draft schedule through until the end of November 2020.

For the first three weeks, they will be every Friday with Church in the host's chair, with Gould followed by Dr Colin Shindler and Aussie-based author Ashley Gray, each talking on the respective subject matter of their books to kick off the series. 

The programme will then move to a fortnightly format, with Mark Peel, Tim Brooks, Andrew Murtagh, Richard Clarke, Richard Murphy, Franklyn Stephenson, Nick Greenslade and Luke Fletcher all set to appear before the end of October. 

29th May Gunner: My Life in Cricket author Ian Gould, hosted by Mark Church (7.30pm)
5th June Barbed Wire and Cucumber Sandwiches: The Controversial South African Tour of 1970 author Dr Colin Shindler, hosted by Mark Church (7.30pm)
12th June The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries? author Ashley Gray, hosted by Mark Church (9.00pm) 
26th June Cricketing Caesar: A Biography of Mike Brearley author Mark Peel, hosted by Mark Church (7.30pm)
10th JulyA Corner of Every Foreign Field: Cricket’s Journey from English Game to Global Sport author Tim Brooks 
24th JulyIf Not Me, Who? The Story of Tony Greig, the Reluctant Rebel author Andrew Murtagh 
7th August Last-Wicket Stand: Searching for Redemption, Revival and a Reason to Persevere in English County Cricket author Richard Clarke 
21st August England On This Day author Richard Murphy 
11th September My Song Shall Be Cricket author Franklyn Stephenson hosted by Dave Bracegirdle (TBC)
25th September The Hollow Crown: England Cricket Captains from 1945 to the Present author Mark Peel 
9th October The Thin White Line: The Inside Story of Cricket's Greatest Fixing Scandal  author Nick Greenslade (TBC)
23rd October Tales from the Frontline author Luke Fletcher hosted by Dave Bracegirdle (TBC)   

To partake in the events, please contact your cricket society to be sent an invite, or follow their or our social media channels (twitter and Facebook) where we will share the link to the event (and hopefully your society will re-post). You can find contact details for your local cricket society on The Cricket Societies Association website.

The events can be accessed via a web browser (Chrome is recommended) or you can download Zoom's software or phone/tablet application.

To join each event will be very simple and straightforward: 

  1. Click on the link provided by your society
  2. Enter your name and society
    EG: John Smith, Norfolk Cricket Society

Once the event begins you will be given access into the “room”. There will be a Q&A session, and to ask a question, you will need to use the raise hand option (located in the participants panel, at the bottom), and the host will open your camera and microphone and prompt your question.