COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: 'Over my dead body' CEO on cutting counties | The schedule is a pretzel or a Rubik's cube | Hildreth retires early | Thompson's in-tray | My Faustian bargain
“Can I have some money, Dad? I am going into London.”
“OK, where are you going?”
“My mates have got some tickets to a cricket match.”
Given my long-running attempts to get my 15-year-old son interested in the game, it was a moment of elation.
But then…
“Sooooo… where is this game?”
“Err… not sure. South of the river somewhere.”
I looked it up. As expected, it was the Wotsits v the Cheesy Puffs (or some such nonsense) at The Oval in the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named.
Had The Cricket Paper been running this season (fingers crossed for next year) I would have written about this already. I have taken my kids to numerous Blast and 50-over games at Chelmsford in their earlier years but the game has not stuck. In hope, I have got them junior memberships and yet they have never taken up offers to come with me. When my son turned down a hard-to-get ticket to a sold-out Lords for the visit of Essex at the start of the Blast in 2019, I put the issue on the backburner. My daughter has shown interest in scoring and that remains a possible way in. But, in truth, they just get bored.
So, in my column, I was going to ask myself the question - would I embrace the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named if it got my kids interested in cricket?
For me, this is a Faustian bargain.
Often I do not really know my position on key matters until I write them down. The process allows me to collect, order and, most importantly, prioritise my thoughts. I was going to do that in the pages of The Cricket Paper before it was shelved earlier this season.
But my hot-take is, no, I would not embrace it. Maybe I could just about tolerate it with a view to a greater goal but it would need to pay-off quickly. Trying to put aside my own weighty prejudices, it is because you-know-what’s success will mortally wound the structure of the game in the UK. Any ‘benefit’ would be short-term and, as teenagers, that is exactly the mindset I am pushing against.
If they loved it then joined a club to play and excelled in the way they have in other sports then where do they end up? Join a county system left even more impoverished and irrelevant through lack of support? Or pay through the nose to get to the front of the queue? Franchises do not serve this need.
As a supporter, they would be investing time in an organisation appearing and disappearing annually like some sort of cricketing Brigadoon, not the 24/7/365, bricks-and-mortar of a club. It all feels like a financial transaction or just another night out, not an emotional investment.
Supporting a team is a lesson in hope and belief in the long term. There is history to understand, heroes to admire and values to support. Things every sporting parent wants their kids to learn.
I took the opportunity to explore his views the next day. The transcript of my ‘interview’ is at the bottom of this newsletter.
Despite all my reservations, I have to accept that the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named did something I could not - get him to watch a live game of his own volition. OK, it might have been the marketing, price, overblown BBC self-promotion and, most importantly of all, peer-group interest but he went. That is more than I could get him to do. If he wants to go again, I’d take him under sufferance but try to push him towards the Blast. Yet the schedule around you-know-what makes that pretty much impossible.
My contention remains that tempting him back could have been achieved via a county-based Blast if the will was there. But, I admit, that assumes a lot. Yet, in so much of sport, the real will comes from family. The best marketers in sport are parents and grandparents because so many of us follow certain games and certain teams purely because of them. Thus far, I have failed at cricket but my son and daughter both play football and follow my team.
That is why the divisiveness of the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named is as damaging as the system it supports.
As it was, my son’s post-match text - “Yh, it was act[ually] quite good” - gives me something to work with.
But, if it had followed an Essex game, I might have been a little bit emotional.
* See our chat at the end of the newsletter.
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Players - moves, contracts, departures and retirements
Moves and contracts: De Lange (Gloucestershire - 3yrs, domestic player), Toole (Essex - RLCup), McKiernan (Derbyshire - 1yr), Finch (Kent - RLCup), Albert (Hamsphire - 2yrs), Potts (Durham - 2yrs)
Ian Cockbain: Batter to leave Gloucestershire after 12 years (BBC Sport)
Another key player leaves Gloucestershire after Howell and Higgins. De Lange is a massive capture but there still needs to be major surgery at Bristol.
James Hildreth: Somerset batter to retire after 20 years with club (BBC Sport)
He’s been a smashing player and an excellent county servant. The fans will get a chance to say goodbye before the game with Sussex on Friday.
But sport ain’t fair sometimes.
The Emperor announces his Retirement (Grockles)
OK so, firstly, Stevens’ career is not over yet. Barring this season, his averages would seem worthy of someone giving him another year. Leicestershire have been mentioned.
Stevens is feted by county fans for his hardy-perrenial potency with bat and ball. But, at the same time, he is a lightning rod for those who seek to denigrate county cricket. They argue that if this balding fortysomething is still hitting sixes and gleaning edges with his swing then what does it say about the standard in the Shires?
For me, this misses the point. Stevens barely bowled at the start of his career. He has developed multiple skills and evolved into a highly-effective all-rounder within the realm of county cricket.
How many players have shone brightly as youngsters, snatched some sort of early international recognition and then faded badly, even leaving the game early?
Stevens is an old dog who learnt new tricks, a perverse symbol of change and the consistency required to excel in the long term, albeit at a lower standard. If that was easy to do then more people would have done it. He is an outlier and therefore worthy of respect.
Hildreth, Patterson & Stevens. Thank you. (Full Toss)
Darren Stevens ‘looking forward to the ‘next chapter’ as his Kent innings ends (Independent)
County Cricket’s Existential Crisis
I did a podcast with the Guerilla Cricket chaps last week. There was a long agenda but the to-do list of new ECB chair Richard Thompson took up most of the time. It shows the shambles we are in now.
But just look at the stream of stories below.
There is anger and division everywhere. So much energy is being wasted fighting each other that there is little left to solve the crucial issues at hand. I say it a lot but this all reminds me of the political landscape in this country right now.
‘Choose your tribe’ and then take on their collective opinion even if it flies in the face of all good sense.
In both areas, vested interests are so cleverly packaged as the public good that few can tell the difference. And all the noise only serves to muffle our thinking.
The most straightforward (but hardest and longest to implement) solution is to abolish the ECB and, in conjunction with an independent regulator, create a different body with clear values, principles and goals against which they can be held to account.
I got the issue of an independent regulator on the desk of the Culture Secretary this year. It would be a full-time job just to lobby for this, let alone bring it to fruition.
Leicestershire CCC 🏏 @leicsccc
🗣️ "𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲." As part of his feature interview with Foxes TV, CEO @SeanMJarvis issued a further staunch defence of the 18 first-class and discussed his desire to grow the game. 📈 📺 Watch the full interview. 👇 🦊#CountyTogether
Richard Thompson’s in-tray: key tasks for ECB chair with cricket in turmoil (Guardian)
“…anger remains, with English cricket having twisted itself into a pretzel for a tournament that was supposed to promote the entire sport. The previously thriving T20 Blast has been squeezed, the Royal London Cup devalued and the County Championship still a predominantly spring/autumn endeavour; any new converts via the Hundred find themselves walking into a bitter, unresolved argument.”
What Richard Thompson can do for English cricket (The Spectator)
Virtual Members forum to discuss future of the game (Somerset CCC)
County fans fight against plan for fewer games (LondonOnline)
The Hundred didn’t ‘produce’ Will Smeed – the traditional, county-led system did (Times) ($)
The Goose That Lays The Golden Eggs (Being Outside Cricket)
Death by T20 leagues? It's real, it's coming (Cricinfo)
Cricket culture war sparked by The Hundred threatens to overshadow summer game (Metro)
An emotive piece by Derek Pringle.
A plea to TV commentators – turn off the gush (Telegraph) ($)
How MCC failed cricket (Telegraph) ($)
Should I continue to be a member next season? (Middlesex Till I Die)
This is the key question for so many of us.
The Royal is upon us... A Good or Dangerous future? (Grockles)
Cricket is about to reach tipping point with power grab of alternative season (Guardian)
‘A big Rubik’s Cube’: Strauss believes Test and T20 cricket can sit together (Guardian)
I entirely agree. It is the new, extra, ring-fenced tournament we don't need. We were told that was different to T20 and not for existing fans.
So either this is another faux pas lumping the 20-over and the 16.4-over version in the same bracket. Or it was only the marketing BS telling us it was any different in the first place. I am going with the latter.
Here’s what you can do…
Cricket Supporters @yourcricketsa
Our biggest survey yet is out and you can find out more about it by heading to cricketsupporters.com/news/survey2022 - or to just take the survey go to
News, Views and Interviews
County cricket: Middlesex and Hampshire set pace in One-Day Cup
Matthew Potts' "amazing" start to his England career is a "testament to the county game" (Mirror)
Adam Lyth suspended from bowling in ECB competitions (Cricinfo)
Dal opens up on mental health issues last season (Derbyshire Live)
These are emotional and open words from Dal, who is having a fine season this year. In seasons gone by, he might have been less forthcoming for fear of appearing weak. It also shows the value of belonging to a union.
From Kabul to the crease: the London cricket club bowled over by Afghan refugees (The National)
Glamorgan return to Neath (Glamorgan CCC)
Like some observers (see last week’s newsletter), I am concerned that the stance of the local paper has not been sufficiently questioning of Yorkshire CCC regarding the racism ‘scandal’, not ‘row’ as their reporting suggests.
The headline in the Part 2 story, below, does not help either. I have not immersed myself in this story but, for the record, I do believe Azeem Rafiq’s conduct was wrong in key areas. However, the issue of racism in cricket is far too important to be undermined by ‘whataboutery’.
Prioritisation to the detriment of worthy others is one of the hardest thing a society can do. As a journalist, you are taught to ask questions to undermine it. Sports leaders and politicians cannot answer by saying “yes, I know that this, that or the other is important but we believe this is more important so we are putting all our energy and resources here”. That is why you should always look at the actions, not the words of our leaders to understand their values and priorities (see the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named and the NHS).
So often, ‘whataboutery’ is the rock you cling to when your argument is failing so you wish to deflect and divert. It tends to leave you in stasis and serves to support the status quo because, in the absence of a clearly beneficial course of action, you do nothing.
That is NOT what cricket needs over this crucial issue.
Yorkshire likely to admit to bringing game into disrepute after racism charge (Times) ($)
Azeem Rafiq asks ECB to hold Yorkshire racism hearings in public (Cricketer)
So here’s my chat with my 15-year-old son who went to The Oval last week. He went with four school-mates. One of their Dad’s paid £20 for all four tickets. Only he had seen a ‘proper’ cricket game before.
Did you like it?
Yes, it was entertaining. It was hard-hitting, more sixes and fours. That’s why it was better than the games you have taken me too. And it was not as long. In the end, cricket gets a bit tedious. We liked the men’s game, we left halfway through the women’s game as we were getting bored. It was very hot too.
What about the event - the fireworks, graphics, razzmattazz and the food etc?
I liked that. It made it interesting as cricket games are usually quiet and calm. Football is more exciting. But, actually, part of me liked the calm side of cricket until it becomes a bit tedious.
The food was good but it was really overpriced. There was a lot of beer being drunk too. The kits were not the best though.
Was the atmosphere different to the cricket you have seen at Essex?
There was not much difference. But there were quite a few families, more than I have seen at Essex before.
Would you be interested in seeing more games in the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named?
Yes but not double-headers because it gets boring. You have to sit through too many overs.
Do you remember any of the players?
I remember one of the women’s players had turned 18 that day. I don’t remember any of the men’s players.
Would it make you more interested in coming to Essex with me?
No.
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August 2023
- Aug 8, 2023 Because cricketers are worth it. Greed, ego and contract negotiations Aug 8, 2023
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May 2023
- May 20, 2023 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Blast preview | Foxes put meaning over money | Should Essex house Tigers? | Lancs v Somerset declaration row | Roach goes home | Lancs try to change rules at AGM May 20, 2023
- May 12, 2023 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Marketing trends in County Cricket | Week 6 Previews | Chaos at Derby | Cricket Paper back this weekend | Why invest in Yorkshire? | Tom Harrison paid £1.13m in final four months May 12, 2023
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April 2023
- Apr 29, 2023 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Week 3 reviews | 12-month IPL contracts offered to England players | Own your mistakes! | Sort out 'reciprocal' rights for county members | Tom Price heroics Apr 29, 2023
- Apr 21, 2023 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Championship Week 3 previews | Ballance retires | The dangerous ageism of labelling older fans 'a problem' | Saudi Arabia T20 threat | Oh Mickey (Arthur), you're so fine Apr 21, 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- December 2022
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November 2022
- Nov 18, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: ECB change board | Back to an eight-team top division? | Smeed's move the first of many? | Hogan unretires | Major deals at Notts | Yorks racism hearing ramps up Nov 18, 2022
- Nov 3, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Richard Gould - the right CEO for the ECB ? | Shock Rushworth move | Yorkshire's key changes | New contracts - Wood, Barker, Hain | Surrey, Worcs coach appts Nov 3, 2022
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October 2022
- Oct 21, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Will a county 'go under' like Wasps? | Key says support you-know-what | Buttler & Croft contracts at Lancs | Yorks racism hearing in public? | Benefit Years no more? Oct 21, 2022
- Oct 8, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Angry reaction to Yorks' relegation | County Awards | Teams of the season | Will counties vote against Strauss Review? | Should we split cricket into two codes? Oct 8, 2022
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September 2022
- Sep 30, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Fantastic finale to the Champ season | Success at Surrey, Notts & Middx | Warks send Yorks down | Strauss Review reaction - and it's not good | Hildreth and Hogan farewells Sep 30, 2022
- Sep 16, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Should high performance mean high priority? | Royal London Cup previews | You-know-what 'least enjoyable' competition | $10m fine shows ECB the way on fighting racism Sep 16, 2022
- Sep 12, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Thompson delays county vote on Strauss review | Media blitz - Fri night Blast games, transfer window, player exodus | "One man and a dog" - still!!! | You-know-what Yr 2 figures Sep 12, 2022
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August 2022
- Aug 18, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: 'Over my dead body' CEO on cutting counties | The schedule is a pretzel or a Rubik's cube | Hildreth retires early | Thompson's in-tray | My Faustian bargain Aug 18, 2022
- Aug 16, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Thompson appointed ECB chair | Special General Meeting forced at Lancashire | Yorks tribunal underway | Flintoff's Field of Dreams considered | Stevens to leave Kent Aug 16, 2022
- Aug 3, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Major moves announced | Yorks change captain | Royal London Cup is not an 'alternative' | What Dr Who tells us about the demise of county cricket | Loads of pessimism, sorry Aug 3, 2022
- Aug 1, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Will counties lose that £1.3m payment? | Why the balls have gone soft | Join Campaign to Save First-Class Cricket | B&H Cup 50 years on | Northeast's 410* Aug 1, 2022
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July 2022
- Jul 20, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Why first-class county cricket will be gone in six years Jul 20, 2022
- Jul 14, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Scarbados and Southport shine | Lancs Action Group rally members | Why do 'outsiders' love the Champ | What change will YOU make to save the game? Jul 14, 2022
- Jul 2, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: What Wimbledon can teach English cricket | Vaughan off-air | Gale's parting shot | Sibley, Barnard moves | 'Bazball' in the county game | Who's out of contract Jul 2, 2022
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June 2022
- Jun 24, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Last four Yorks chairs blast ECB | Champ games to be played in UAE or Sri Lanka? | Introducing the 6ixty | Seriously, how to replace the ECB? | Big Somerset signing Jun 24, 2022
- Jun 17, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Yorkshire and former players charged | Willey returns to Northants | Moeen, Sibley to move? | Chesterfield of dreams | YouTube stream hacks Jun 17, 2022
- Jun 9, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Blast catches fire at last | Sky's schedule, fights and food problems | Why fan engagement is the key | Yorkshire payouts Jun 9, 2022
- Jun 2, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Blast crowds struggling, are you surprised? | Foxes fight back with £10 deal | Key to cut Championship games? | Fans' banners taken down | Jim Parks RIP Jun 2, 2022
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May 2022
- May 26, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: T20 Blast Off | Ticket sales struggling because of you-know-what? | Has Championship been a let-down so far? | Surrey's classy gesture | Big sponsorship deal for Lancs May 26, 2022
- May 19, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: ECB CEO Tom Harrison goes... finally | Have bad balls helped batters? | Bees stop play | Where you get in free after tea | Why should we listen to ex-players? May 19, 2022
- May 14, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Is a different Dukes ball the reason for all the runs? | Finally, an ECB chair we can believe in? | Sparkling new Potts |Best of the blogs May 14, 2022
- May 5, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Should Joe Clarke play for England? | Essex boardroom problems | Six ducks for Kent tail-ender | Yet more ECB nonsense May 5, 2022
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April 2022
- Apr 24, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Strauss Review nonsense | Key appointment doubts | Compton's stunning start | TalkSPORT's quality coverage | Syd Lawrence Apr 24, 2022
- Apr 15, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: All the Championship previews | Mickey Arthur defends county cricket | A list of the ECB's mistakes this week | Player moves Apr 15, 2022
- Apr 7, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: All the County Championship previews | Fantasy League tips | Bumble speaks out | Latest player moves | And 'Teflon Tom' wants to secure 'his legacy' Apr 7, 2022
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March 2022
- Mar 28, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Should we have a fan-led review? | Surprise! Talk of culling some counties | Yorkshire can't get out of their own way | Should the ECB fine themselves? | All the moves Mar 28, 2022
- Mar 7, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Warne remembered by Hampshire | Power struggles at top of the county game | More trouble at Yorkshire | Should Durham be asking questions? | Lots of new signings Mar 7, 2022
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February 2022
- Feb 18, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: 'Civil War' at Yorkshire | Why Tom Harrison is cricket's Chesney Hawkes? | Mickey Arthur flies in | Surrey's 15k members | Davies banned for tweets | All the player moves Feb 18, 2022
- Feb 2, 2022 COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Angry about the fixtures, the Yorkshire scandal and especially the ECB... here's why Feb 2, 2022
- January 2022
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December 2021
- Dec 24, 2021 BLOG: All the major player moves & contracts | Exploring Cricket & class | A right old 'Codgerfest' | Counties redeveloping grounds | Changes at Yorkshire | Peter O'Toole taught by Imran Khan Dec 24, 2021
- Dec 10, 2021 BLOG: Yorkshire look to rebuild | Lancashire's new ground | Coaching changes at Hants | Northants and Derbyshire overseas signings | All the latest player moves | Delay on 2022 fixture announcements Dec 10, 2021
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November 2021
- Nov 28, 2021 BLOG: Latest on Yorkshire racism scandal, all the county cricket moves, are ECB 'fit for purpose'? Nov 28, 2021
- Nov 10, 2021 Sign up FREE to the only County Cricket newsletter - all the latest in one place Nov 10, 2021
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October 2021
- Oct 28, 2021 It seems you can't wish Geoffrey Boycott a happy birthday anymore Oct 28, 2021
- Oct 1, 2021 The Championship must find its niche again and Mason Crane must not ruin my Spag Bol again Oct 1, 2021
- Oct 1, 2021 The Grumbler's County Championship team of the season - 2021 Oct 1, 2021
- Oct 1, 2021 How to say goodbye to a cricket season, career or life Oct 1, 2021
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September 2021
- Sep 14, 2021 Dear Mr Dowden, first-class counties are 'art treasures' too Sep 14, 2021
- Sep 8, 2021 We love seeing the youngsters play but it helps county finances too Sep 8, 2021
- Sep 1, 2021 Why watch when there is nothing to play for? Sep 1, 2021
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August 2021
- Aug 24, 2021 The intended consequence of diminished horizons Aug 24, 2021
- Aug 18, 2021 Like the many who will follow him, red-ball Ravi will be missed Aug 18, 2021
- Aug 11, 2021 Cricket needs diversity from all sides Aug 11, 2021
- Aug 3, 2021 Gimmickry can help county cricket too Aug 3, 2021
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July 2021
- Jul 29, 2021 50 and out? Why one-day cricket may fall through the cracks Jul 29, 2021
- Jul 20, 2021 A failure of governance Jul 20, 2021
- Jul 13, 2021 Cricket, data and Foxes Jul 13, 2021
- Jul 9, 2021 Lessons from six months of creating county cricket content Jul 9, 2021
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June 2021
- Jun 30, 2021 What happens when you become a cricket 'meme’ Jun 30, 2021
- Jun 21, 2021 How 'Hobbiton' is starting a village cricket team during a pandemic Jun 21, 2021
- Jun 15, 2021 Where's the fun? Derek Randall and Spinwash show the joyful chaos of yesteryear Jun 15, 2021
- Jun 9, 2021 County cricket fans are having their say... and their 'When Saturday Comes' moment Jun 9, 2021
- Jun 2, 2021 Why cricket's best YouTube channel is under threat Jun 2, 2021
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May 2021
- May 26, 2021 Fanning the flames for REAL supporter representation May 26, 2021
- May 18, 2021 Getting back in the ground, it’s going to be pretty damn emotional May 18, 2021
- May 18, 2021 By the end of this season, we’ll know if traditional county cricket has been outgunned May 18, 2021
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October 2020
- Oct 7, 2020 Vitality Blast: Team of the Season 2020 Oct 7, 2020
- Oct 7, 2020 Streaming offers red-ball cricket a lifeline Oct 7, 2020
- Oct 7, 2020 My T20 finals days: Michelangelo, Kiss Cam and the Sugababes Oct 7, 2020
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September 2020
- Sep 30, 2020 The Grumbler's Team of the Bob Willis Trophy 2020 Sep 30, 2020
- Sep 30, 2020 Barmy Army 'batten down hatches' as Covid hits cricket tour business Sep 30, 2020
- Sep 30, 2020 No-one marketed the Bob Willis Trophy final, so I did it myself for a tenner Sep 30, 2020
- Sep 24, 2020 Udal on Parkinson's Disease - 'When you play cricket, you learn to fight' Sep 24, 2020
- Sep 24, 2020 Tom Banton's not Somerset's Messiah, he's a very naughty boy Sep 24, 2020
- Sep 24, 2020 Why cricket fans will mourn this season more than most Sep 24, 2020
- Sep 10, 2020 Cold-blooded Murtagh takes on Donald Trump's spinner Sep 10, 2020
- Sep 10, 2020 By George, he's the proud No11, batting in his mother's memory Sep 10, 2020
- Sep 10, 2020 Bring back the 'FA Cup' of cricket Sep 10, 2020
- Sep 10, 2020 County game grows viewership via stream power Sep 10, 2020
- Sep 9, 2020 Financial nous like ‘Barnacle’ Bailey can guide cricket though the pandemic Sep 9, 2020