Posted by Here’s a quick update on our Patreon campaign, which we haven’t really mentioned in a while, other than in passing. It’s to do with Pat Cummins.
If you don’t know what we’re on about with this whole Patreon thing, the details are here. It’s basically the crowdfunder that keeps the lights on around here and which also buys us the time to write the longer features that we definitely 100% would not be able to produce otherwise.
It’s a very important thing for the site, but also an entirely optional thing. With our characteristic lack of guile, we have carefully crafted a crowdfunding campaign where the ‘crowd’ gets nothing obvious in return for backing us.
Our patrons typically chip in between £1 and £10 a month and, as we’ve said, that goes towards sustaining the site. There’s no extra content behind a paywall or anything like that. It’s more of an opt-in socialist thing where one bunch of readers has decided to contribute for the benefit of the wider community. This is (a) very noble of them and (b) a bit of a crap deal.
We feel a bit bad about this, so this week we gave these fine folk early access to the first episode of the next series of The Ridiculous Ashes, the podcast we do with Dan Liebke. We had it lying around waiting for the rest of the series to be recorded, so it’s no skin off our nose and zero effort to release it early.
We reckon it’s a pretty good episode to release as a standalone for two main reasons.
(1) It’s about the first Test of the 2013 Ashes, which, with Ashton Agar’s bonkers innings and Stuart Broad refusing to walk after edging to slip via the keeper, was an almost uniquely ridiculous match.
(2) Pat Cummins is in it. Actual Pat Cummins. Australia Test captain.
Just to be clear, this episode will come out for everyone else to hear (for free) in due course. It just might take a while. In the meantime, this is a small way of saying thanks to our valued but otherwise unrewarded patrons.
You can hear it if you sign up to Dan’s Patreon too. If you sign up to both Patreons, we will declare you a Ridiculous Ashes Contributor in Top Standing and Dan will send you an ‘I am a RACITS’ certificate that you can hang proudly on your wall.
Darren Stevens to retire.
Correction. Darren Stevens to leave Kent. Of course he won’t ever retire. What was I thinking.
As it happens, I listened to that pre-release podcast at lunchtime today, unaware that you were mentioning the matter on this site today.
I enjoyed it a lot, especially the Pat Cummins bit, which was super-ridiculous in its own way.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the series already.
As a patron, your reward is essentially an extra long wait for episode 2.
Your comment reminds me of the following GB Shaw quote: “ The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.”
A reward is a reward – thank you KC.
I haven’t listened yet but am looking forward to the guest appearance. Hopefully this starts a trend of cameos from protagonists/antagonists…
It’s hard enough getting us on.