N2022

Is preference for lemon curd a sign of ageing?

I do this, but credit to my sons, they love a lot of 80s stuff. I feel old when I realise it's 30 years since a certain song was in the charts / clubs.

Would add, aware that instruction to bowl very short when trying to clear up the tail sometimes seemed to come from captain, but am talking more about bowlers' preference for settling for leaves or going past shoulder of the bat, rather than bowling it fuller to try and force shots even if that approach conceded a few runs before getting the bowled, lbw or caught behind it was designed to achieve. Also aware it's a leader's job to address big characters and star performers, just saying without a couple of obvious ones in that category ball in hand he may find it easier to set direction.

Interested to know people's take on this. I know he struggled towards the end last time, but part of me feels he was perhaps unhelped there by senior colleagues, including Broad driving some questionable reviews and, in some situations, he and to some extent Jimmy (both England legends) bowling it on a shorter length than was needed. Not easy to take the ball off such experienced players with so many overs to get through. Am I misremembering?

Gone off injured for the rest of the gamr, and in a like-for-like swap he was replaced in the outfield by an ostrich.

Well, all I really wanted to say was that the second try, the Cleary one, was great to watch and good on him for delivering in a decider. Quality player.

On trains, didn't there use to be WAGN, standing for West Anglian ...? A useful description for Bedfordshire and parts of Cambridgeshire? I struggle with Herts being East of England. Places like Stevenage obviously fit that description, but Berkhamsted and Hemel are an easy drive to villages in Bucks and once you get down round to Watford, and I think even Rickmansworth is Herts, you're inside the m25 and only a few minutes from NW London proper.

When we moved up to Yorkshire it was funny to see signs say things like Barnsley, The North, as though one wasn't part of the other.

Spitting. Vile in the street because we have to see it. Vile in a sports context because people risk sliding through it to tackle.

Sorry if it's been covered but what species, bird or animal, does anyone think has the potential to boom population-wise? Maybe a reintroduction or recovery, in the way, say, red kites are now so widespread.

I think we have a good chance if the fielding holds up and everyone keeps their nerve. Will need a couple of good knocks from players stepping up, as I suspect we can't afford to rely on NSB and Heather Knight quite so much for runs as we did in SF. Great that it even feels possible thinking back the past couple of years.

An addition to my county grounds guide, last updated May 30 on p104 of this thread. Went to Leicestershire today for a daytime t20 v Notts. Game was a bit one-sided - Notts racked up nearly 210, looked like it would be more than that for quite a while despite the opening over being a maiden, and Leicestershire never got near chasing it. I wish we'd arrived for the finale of the women's game v Glamorgan, decided by just 2 runs. The ground is amongst residential. Club recommend paying £10 to park at Saffron Lane Athletics, but if you arrive early enough it's easy to park for free on Copinger Rd by the park, 5 mins walk to ground. Playing area seems large, perhaps because the stands give little elevation, and it's more square than oval. We started square of the wicket, in a stand by The Meet bar. Our neighbours were a bit sweary and the view quite plain. Moved round to fine leg facing the Pavilion, nicer view from here and very relaxed, finally went to third man at the same {Bennett?) End. Our section was cordoned off to indicate a family / alcohol-free area. After a poor first impression, i warmed to the ground, enough for it to go into the midrange of grounds with the likes of Trent Bridge, Northampton and Canterbury. Bars and food offer count in its favour but I do think the atmosphere could do with a bit more than the odd hunting horn. Would rather have seen the 430-run tie between Yorks and Derbyshire today, but glad we made it to the Uptonsteel and hope the guide helps someone.

May have been covered before, but has anyone done two in a day by travelling back an hour across a border with a time difference? On a related note, anyone finished, got their token and set off again to get two times from the same venue as first and second half of a 10k?

Agree. Each club may be entitled to a say, but not one having the veto.

Don't go giving excuses to [insert name of undersupported heartlands club unlikely to have near-Mediterranean microclimate] ...