He said last night he’s playing for us next season.

Training starts on 6th November

The ambition is to retain the county championship which was warmly received by a big crowd. Four of the squad there to see his book launch. Sounds like he enjoyed the season and the two day victories helped!

Out of interest who is this big know all?

Stuart Cain is being interviewed on the latest Business in Sport podcast. I haven’t listened yet but will listen on the way to Villa Park this evening. The clips sounded v good! I’m often a critic of WCCC hierarchies but all my dealings with Stuart have been positive!

It got a wonderful reaction when it was shown last night! Every moment was cheered!

Wonderful post earlier Paul.

Unfortunately on top of everything else cricket writing is probably at a lower standard than it has even been in 2026.

ExiledBrummie wrote:

BosworthBear wrote:

I found a lot of it begrudging to be honest. Telegraph talked about ugly batting. Scyld Berry had a pop. Guardian said it didn’t have romance of Somerset or Notts.

Specialist writers a bit better but not much!

Can't see there would have been any romance in Notts winning back to back titles!

Unfortunately this is a West Midlands/Birmingham thing. Our sporting successes are played down, we don't get the praise like London or Manchester based teams, or plucky outsiders from the South West. Our best football team is patronised because they're not one of the media darlings.

We will just have to keep on winning things, they might get the message eventually.

Well a Warwickshire thing!

I found a lot of it begrudging to be honest. Telegraph talked about ugly batting. Scyld Berry had a pop. Guardian said it didn’t have romance of Somerset or Notts.

Specialist writers a bit better but not much!

That sounds good. Any details as to how to join cricket society or as a guest?

Although I don’t like the name they give the podcast this was wonderful listening live on WM last night:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0032vsp?

Looking forward to the Awards dinner tomorrow!

I wish I could go back to Scarborough again but I suppose that’s extremely unlikely.

Hopefully get a nice one in June or July for another mini break.

Just the thought of Gooch’s accent, white helmet, raised backlift, banging on about West Ham and Essex shudder

I love cricket but these three!

Some time I’d love to come along to the Cricket Society. I used to attend in London. However I can’t think of three speakers I’d less want to listen to than these!

Yes I seem to remember their supporters were having a title winning watch along at Old Trafford on our last day. We then beat them in the Bob Willis Trophy as well.

As for Notts this season they are 4th and well off the pace. And as mentioned the claims about our games against them are nonsense!

Yes Atherton seems to have set off all these 2021 comments. He doesn’t seem to like us. At the time we were seen as worthy winners.

As for the Notts stuff. The author is mixed up. We were the better team at Trent Bridge until the pitch flattened out. At Edgbaston there wasn’t enough meaningful cricket to reach any conclusion. If anything Somerset were lucky with the weather to win their game in the same round of matches.

Any chance to have a dig at Warwickshire seems to be taken in the written press this year!

Andy wrote:

I just keep looking at the league table every so often and having a smile to myself :)

I’m just hoping Somerset don’t win so that gap is big enough to stop all of this nonsense about them giving the Championship away. Gibson trying to again today.

With a draw for Essex it looks like they need to regain all of their lost 27 points. For some reason they are confident but that’s a big ask!

I wonder how George’s relationship with WCCC is now. He doesn’t seem to like the current hierarchy and write that scathing piece which ironically may have sparked our amazing recent form. Noticeable he’s been at Taunton this week!

I’d like to think I contributed to Ali Martin’s piece with criticism of Observer and Guardian coverage of all the hype over Somerset. I did explain to him how lazy it was! He argued back but I suspect realised their lack of objectivity recently. Cricket media coverage is as poor as I can remember at the moment. Awful piece by Scyld Berry in yesterday’s Telegraph and similar today by Will Macpherson!

Looks like Leicestershire want their lunch!

paulbear wrote:

A Somerset whingepants has been on the BBC site talking about how the weather has played a massive par tin the CC this season and I pointed out his sides use of subs and how Gregory is always trying to get the ball changed after a while when wickets are not falling. There might be a lot of people always saying how nice it would be if Somerset won the title, well, not this lot who are full of nasty, mouthy individuals who somehow think the game owes them something after the 2016 title race, 10 bloody years ago.

Somerset are incredibly entitled. They take over the whole county championship narrative and are so full of themselves. I’m really pleased we’ve blown them away and just got on with it!

Northwalesbear wrote:

BosworthBear wrote:

Just sat for lunch with Ethan Bamber’s father in the Dollery. Lovely man. I must have seen him in many things but struggling to recall. I praised Ethan v much to him!

He was wonderful playing Cicero in the 2005 BBC series Rome.

To cap it all just been discussing the building site at the other end of the ground with Ian Holland’s Aussie dad!

mad wrote:

He's livid but a captain's knock from Barnard

Only Leicestershire can stop us now not the weather.

The weather forcing a draw gets us to 215 which is the max Somerset can get and we hold the tie breaker

Not if they win and we draw as they have more wins than us then.

But I’m sure we’ll be fine!