Oh the ignorance!

[Strakeln]

A cleric would, at best, be a match for melee vs. a bard. A bard's songs + haste, etc. would overwhelm a cleric with divine power, aid, etc.. Offensive casting is easily on the cleric's side. So I'd rule it 3/2 in favor of the bard actually.

I'll agree that it's up for debate. I'd consider a cleric to have the advantage, but I've never seen a cleric-vs-bard fight where casting wasn't allowed.