Crackin’.

I have been avoiding talking about it..! Could barely bring myself to look at the scorecards over the last few days… at first it looked as if Essex might not win their match, but once it became apparent they were likely to do so, I just tuned out really. There is a very negative little voice inside me saying that now they have overtaken us, we will never catch them again… of course the gap is only four points at present, but what worries me really is that – for all the games they have already won this season – when Somerset fail, they really look very vulnerable indeed…

A most sobering pair of results in the CC this week, Dane. Are we still confident? I suppose the title is technically still ‘in our hands’, although that requires us remaining within c.15 points of Essex going into that final game showdown…

Most welcome, KC. Following recent travels, I also have what in these parts might be termed ‘a submission’, which in a cricketing and literal sense is purest village. I look forward to my ability to spake returning, along with the getoffarseability to actually put some words to what is a most amusing and unusual scene. Watch this spake, as one might say.

I still can barely spake.

I haven’t heard a squeak from Charley “The Gent” Malloy nor from Nigel “Father Barry” White. I guess none of us can spake.

… I had not seen anything like that until (literally) yesterday when my daughter came down and asked my permission to sign an online petition for an environmental campaign; we did it using my details, at which point they not only asked for a donation, but rather made it look as if our “signature” would not be counted otherwise. That turned out not to be the case, but by that point I was probably already swearing at the laptop. (Can’t actually remember if I did or not, but swearing at the laptop is pretty much default mode in these cases, sooooo…)

Is that normal now, then? You stick yer head above the parapet by declaring your support of some cause or other and they immediately try and hit you up? Cos, like, fuck that.

We have other work to do as well as this, so even with missing a full week at the end of the group stages covering the tournament has at times felt pretty tough. (Partly because everything becomes so frenetic either side of going away.)

We always appreciate a thank you and we’re glad to know there are people who enjoyed at least some of what we did. As always, please put the word out, sign up to the email, follow us on Twitter etc.

Thanks also for the magnificent and frequent coverage which has added an extra, very enjoyable dimension throughout this epic (in both senses) tournament. Chapeau!