Controversial to say it no doubt but you can’t help but wonder how good West Indies could be with Bethell and Archer, both Barbadian. Having said which, England better pick Bethell for Tests now. He’s something isn’t he?

Don’t suppose much work will be done today on the English all-rounders book. Great to see Sky and TMS have top commentary teams in place. Here we go….

Top piece this. Full of love and knowledge. Needles and Pincers indeed. Loved the Echo item too, in which the boys were given a Town Hall room to sign autographs or ‘dispense their signatures’ as the article had it.

Trouble is he makes the rest of the Wimbledon commentators look poor. He should do every big match.

Best thing to have happened in cricket today was Wiaan Mulder’s declaration.I was having a rant at breakfast to my wife and daughter about what a travesty it would be if he broke the record (they’re used to it but not remotely interested) and then came that gracious act. Lovely.

Perhaps, Christopher, you should quit while you’re behind

What?

Grateful for any RTs here - thank you! #EngvInd #cricket

Rather think this might be an investment as part of long term collaboration and not a give away

Profound stuff Mike. Brave, too, in a sense. But playing the game has slightly more meaning than reporting it, something I think about quite a bit these days and wonder, without regret, whether I’ve wasted my time.

Gee whiz. You could get almost 40 overs bowled in that time.

And you can read all about it in A Striking Summer: How Cricket United a Divided Nation. The series went on from mid-June to mid-August and a country in turmoil was gripped.

It was astonishing wasn’t it that the series captivated while being pretty turgid. I’m intending to write a book about it and the fascinating year in which it took place. That line from Johnners, who wasn’t Johnners to all quite then, still resonates

Good stuff Paul. A timely reminder I reckon. Would still be rather good, however, if the Obs could find room for scorers and so on if it’s bothering with results. And good writing does need to be accompanied by the odd Championship round-up I feel. But maybe I’m from another age.

Fiona Bruce says people don't want to talk about the traitor Nathan Gill and Russia bribing Reform politicians. Retweet to tell #bbcqt BBC Politics and Nigel Farage MP that we really do want to talk about it. #Farage #Putin

🚨NEW: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has rejected the Trump Administration’s offer of federal funding in exchange for aligning with Trump’s agenda. This is the first university to do so. RETWEET to thank MIT President Sally Kornbluth for standing up to Trump!

I think that BBC News (UK), Sky News ITVPolitics and Channel 4 News should all be reporting on Reform UK and Russian bribery. RT if you agree!! Why are the media ignoring such a blatant story?!

Four of our titles are on the shortlist for the 2025 Derek Hodgson Book Award, presented by the Cricket Media Club A Striking Summer by Stephen Brenkley, One Hell of a Life by Stephen Chalke, Cricket Changed My Life by Annie Chave and In Syd’s Voice by Dave Lawrence/Dean Wilson

A pity. Fairly lightweight stuff this. No Hussain or Atherton, best in the business, automatically diminishes the offering. You wish Cook and Swann well but top-notch players, which they were, don’t always make the transition and so far they lack insight and linguistic quality.

Been in the wilds of Saskatchewan so just heard about this. It is excellent news and so well deserved. Diana is outstanding at her job and wonderful to know.