The current edition of County Cricket Matters is now available in digital form thanks to Anindya Dutta. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GHGQZV2N/ The answers to the crossword are also available on my website www.countycricketmatters.com/post/crosswo...

What’s going on in the African Cup of Nations final???

This was a lot of fun plus we put England cricket to rights…

Is this the ECB legacy? ‘In England it has become elitist, with free-to-air TV coverage long gone, the cost of going to a game increasingly prohibitive and the county game’s importance as a place to learn having been eroded.’ www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...

I got a baga gymnastics award in 1978 - I’m sending it to Trump… shows I can do a forward somersault😊

Vacancy: Media intern at Somerset County Cricket Club 🏏 www.uksport.gov.uk/global/jobs/... #mediajobs #internjobs

Another fabulous Walkers & Talkers event with a big crowd. What a brilliant initiative this is. Today with England & Somerset star Craig Overton talking about his career & how he just wants to bowl & play as much as possible 👏👏

Jimmy Jimmy ❤️

Emma shows why Australia are so strong & how England have got it so wrong. ‘They are not run for the benefit of venture capitalists, nor for the members of private clubs, but for the very people who enjoy (or might one day enjoy) the sport they host.’ www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...

Just want to wish Exeter City FC all the best today for their giant killing 💪⚽️

Here’s my HPR - call me Sherlock.

County or country? #cricket

SO enjoying this great collection of science fiction crime stories. It’s excellent.

Just imagine what Bethell would be like if he’d been allowed to play some county cricket - they might have realised he was a better proposition than Pope and he might have got several more centuries…

My Jack Russell picture in pride of place on twelfth night ❤️

If you fancy listening to coverage of #TheAshes that’s a tad more off the wall then I’m joining the wonderful @Guerilla cricket tonight freezing my arse off in pyjamas & matchsticks holding open my eyes. As ever the team have been covering the whole series through every night 👏👏

Get some cricket issues off your chest by completing @thegrumbler.bsky.social survey this new year 💪 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A stunning day to walk to Maidenhead beach and forget the world is going to shit… Happy glorious 2026 everyone!

Here we go again! #TheAshes

A gorgeous walk from Castle Drogo to Fingle Bridge…

Happy 2026. What’s the first book you’re reading this year? I’m reading this from my husband for Christmas… not sure what he’s trying to tell me!!

A beautiful day on Exeter Quay to end 2025. Happy New Year everyone. Be kind.

Met up with Robin Askwith for lunch today - we talked cricket & not Confessions of a Window Cleaner! He has SO many fascinating & funny stories!

My lovely boy & I enjoying my niece’s beautiful orange and green wedding ❤️

Sauna at sun down at Haldon Forest with outdoor plunge pools. Yes… I sat in a bath there yesterday!!

I’m reading Richard Whitehead’s fascinating book on the 1954/55 test series - Victory in Australia at the moment & this comment by a reporter at the time made me smile…

I love test cricket and so I feel a bit sad about what a terribly disappointing series The Ashes has been this time round. It’s been a poor advert for test cricket. The England v India series in the summer was way superior in SO many ways.

Somerset should get docked points for this wicket.. #TheAshes

And finally a photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 24th of December - A very sad goodbye to our home ground of Teign Valley. A beautiful place that holds a very special place in my heart & always will.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 23rd of December. A father bowls to his daughters at the beautiful Pencarrow CC ground - Cornwall - 28 July

It’s hard to write all I want to on here so I’m attaching my Facebook Group post. I know Jeremy Lonsdale won’t mind me saying how proud we both are that County Cricket Matters has been growing over the last 6 years. Happy Christmas to all our subscribers 🎄and thank you to all our contributors.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 22nd of December - The amazing Stafanie Taylor going out to bat at Somerset’s Cooper Associates ground against England - 7th June.

I think we all know what changes Sir Strauss is envisioning - HIS! When really surely what needs to be changed is how England work with & value the only competition in this country that gives them the proper experience of how to play long format cricket. Let the England players play it for a start!

‘Chuck in a closed circle of selection…and a disdain for county cricket that helps nobody, that becomes self-fulfilling, and that seems a bit odd in a setup that really could do with some of those traditional virtues of patience and accuracy right now.’ www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/d...

Fraser & Mercedes in the mist at Haldon Belvedere.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 21st of December - As it’s my husband’s birthday today here is a picture of him batting with ny son at the other end. Ottery St Mary CC - 10 August.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 20th of December - A very special photo for me of my dad and my two brothers scoring at Teign Valley on 2nd August. Mystics v Erratics.

A beautiful view of Exeter’s flood relief channel in full use (there’s a walkway covered) - in the centre is a heron.

It’s been obvious from the outset that The Hundred was going to divide the English domestic system. Those counties with franchise money will prevail & morph into business conglomerations those without will have their buy-offs with firm reigns fitted to steer their way until 2029.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 19th of December - A showcase game at Exmouth CC - Devon v Somerset on 15 May. Brilliant to include the National Counties - just wish we had time in the schedule for more. Miss the Gillette Cup!

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 18th of December - A one-day game @somersetccc.bsky.social v Durham CCC on 8 August at The Cooper Associates Ground.

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 18th of December - A sold out one-day game @somersetccc.bsky.social v Durham CCC on 8 August at The Cooper Associates Ground.

A baby Bedlington!

Call me Sherlock but I think England are going to struggle to win this one… #TheAshes

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 17th of December - My son mid-throw as we play ‘getting your ball as close to the flags around the boundary’ at Warborough, Oxford - 6th September.

🥲what a selfish, gluttonous world we are. This has such frightening echoes of the last pages of Orwell’s Animal Farm.

I feel like cricket tonight… #TheAshes

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 16th of December - A wonderful festival of cricket at Cheltenham College - Gloucestershire’s gem of an outground. This was 22 July under heavy skies!

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 15th of December Erratics CC at Marldon, Devon 17 August. The local laws are that only straight sixes can be counted - square sixes are dot balls - two & it’s a wicket!

A photo of cricket a day from this year as an advent calendar - so this is for 14th of December - The Oval - home to Surrey CCC who treat the county championship with the love it deserves & are rewarded by huge crowds. Here’s lunchtime fun on 27 April - Surrey v Somerset