Flannels

In minor cricket news, today sees the regular Piers Morgan X1 fixture versus Newick CC. Play starts at 2pm - with a result expected well before the rain forecast for 8pm. Piers has already been in training with the odd pint of Harveys from the Royal Oak.

BBC House Organ Ariel led on a minor cricket fixture last week - a James Purnell scratch BBC team versus Channel 4, under Dan Brooke. The match was played on Wednesday at Highgate, but Ariel and Twitter both lack news of a result. Channel 4 could do with any result this summer...

Clear the decks

A correspondent chained to Long Wave writes...

0522. England need 12 runs to win. 'The Shipping Forecast'. The bloody extended full-on Shipping Forecast. 

0529. England had won. 

Isles of Scilly and Cape Wrath both sprang to mind! 

When did this happen before? Two years ago?

Test with a skewer

Lord and Lady Patten, plus fruitcake, visiting the Test Match Special team at The Oval on Friday. (Just joshing, Danny...)

Grouting

Spin Magazine has picked up a revealing interview with cricketer Lou Vincent, which makes this blog because,  out of the first-class game for two years since being dropped by Lancashire, he tiled 160 bathrooms and kitchens at MediaCityUK.

He'd previously played for New Zealand - now he's residentially qualified to be considered as an England player. A fascinating read, including battles with depression and how he's been saving money on away matches over the summer by guerilla camping.