Enjoy side-splitting banter with cricket legend David Lloyd at The Grand

David Lloyd returns to the crease in Clitheroe later this year for another side-splitting evening of banter and hilarity.

The term "bumble" may suggest to most people the act of dithering around, but to cricket fans all over the world, it is inextricably linked to the Lancashire and England legend from

Accrington with that unmistakable Lancashire burr.

And his latest book, the wonderfully titled Around the World in 80 Pints, Bumble recalls his colourful career and hilarious tour of the cricketing planet as he searches for the perfect pint.

And as you might expect, it is chock-full of brilliant anecdotes and down to earth Red Rose wisdom, chronicling his many adventures from Oswaldtwistle to the MCG.

On seeing former Sri Lankan World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga in the stands at Kandy, Lloyd said: “Is that Ranatunga?

“Strewth. He’s not missed many dinners, has he?

Lloyd says cricket has evolved in ways unimaginable a few decades ago and argues that a harder and more vindictive mindset has infected the sport.

Remember Australian captain Michael Clarke’s warning to Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford, ‘to get ready for a broken arm,’ when he went in to

bat.

Lloyd said: “In my youth, in the Lancashire League, players went at each other hard on the field of play, but once stumps were drawn, they’d be found drinking in the same pub, and

sharing the same yarns, but that has pretty much gone now.

“I do find that sad because we’ve lost some of the camaraderie.”

He added: “I love Clitheroe and we had a ball last time I came to the Grand – what a great audience they were.

“I like climbing up to the top of the castle and seeing that lovely view towards Pendle Hill.

“And on a summer’s day sitting outside a classic pub in the Ribble Valley sampling a pint of the mild stuff.”

Bumble is at his best, though, recalling escapades of his playing days in an era when most players lived on little more than meat pies, a packet of Woodbines, a couple of pints of

beer and a late-night curry.

He will also deliver a few fiery short balls on the 2019 World Cup and the Ashes series when England will, hopefully, have wrestled the urn from Australia’s iron grip.

This event sold out in double quick time in 2017, so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

David Bumble; Lloyd: Around the World in 80 Pints: Grand Theatre, Wednesday, October 16, followed by question and answer session.