"Please recognise that our voting against 12-6 was not a vote for the status quo." Confirmation from Gloucestershire that they would have abstained in the schedule vote if given the option. On the field, they spent the day chasing Leus du Plooy's 171*.

A piece about the last few months. What started with consensus for change, ended without consensus for what that change should look like.

Glamorgan didn't look like promotion contenders when they were winless and, in the words of their director of cricket, "pretty bloody rubbish" through April. Ten games later, they're up with a week to spare. A piece on how a really successful season was built.

A final reflective of a very good women's One Day Cup: loads of runs, and a successful run-chase to finish that, a year ago, would have been the second-highest in UK List A history but is now only fifth. One gripe: England availability in the knockouts.

Interview with Charlotte Edwards (from this month's @thecricketer.com) ahead of the World Cup: on scrutiny, expectation and selection:

A piece about the Worcestershire family.

Lift-off. Worcestershire need 188 in 27 overs. Any more rain and we're probably back tomorrow...

Wasn't the plan for Freya Davies' retirement to become public knowledge after Hampshire's semi-final win. But tomorrow's One Day Cup final will be her last game before committing to life as a solicitor. Interview here, two years on from her last England cap:

When Jake Libby takes guard in Saturday's One Day Cup final, he'll take the world record for the highest List A batting average of anyone who's played 50 games. Interview about whether Bevan, Pujara and Kohli could do it on a warm August morning at Repton.

With the way that the last three days have played out across Division Two, highly likely that Glamorgan will be promoted today alongside Leicestershire. Loads of talk about Leics' story, but Glam under Richard Dawson have been outstanding, unbeaten in the Champo since late April.

Yesterday ended the T20 Blast as we knew it: a return to three pools of six, two fewer group games, Finals Day in July, a more manageable schedule, better overseas availability. Piece on a better, more realistic competition for today's landscape.

Such a big fan of Will Smeed and the way he's laid out his career. Somerset missing Tom Banton, needing a record chase in a Blast final, never having reached fifty in a knockout match - and does that. Proper clutch - and still only 23.

The first-ever Finals Day century and a hit away from six sixes in an over from Chris Lynn. If that's the last time we see Ravi Bopara in English cricket, then it's been a joy. One of my absolute favourite players.

Hard not to feel for Lancashire, utterly depleted by England and overseas availability. A great advert for not having Finals Day 107 days after the first game. Tom Kohler-Cadmore very good for Somerset, also without Meredith, Henry and Banton.

Interview with Olly Stone, who made his red-ball comeback earlier this week - on loan at Middlesex - after a year out. Well-timed, given Jamie Overton's situation, and the challenge facing England this winter.

As per this from a couple of weeks back, Leicestershire have signed Keshav Maharaj for the start of next season. Quality signing, decent couple of days for the county...

Interview with Lancashire's interim head coach, Steven Croft, who'd "love the opportunity" to take the job permanently. He takes a side missing loads of players to Finals Day, hoping to add silverware to a pretty fraught season.

Men's Blast Finals Day belatedly back into July from next year, which will mean that teams - unlike this weekend - will feature the players that got them there. Women's Blast Finals Day has been moved to a Friday, for the last day of the school term, which I do not understand.

Derbyshire must beat Glamorgan next week to keep alive their promotion hopes. After finishing bottom last year and winless the year before, even being in that position represents a form of progress. Mickey Arthur rightly billing it as "our grand finale".

Understand that the upper age-limit in boys' academy cricket is set to rise from 18 to 19. Widespread support from counties & acknowledges that making decisions on 18-year-olds has lost talent from the game. Extra year expected to make a major difference.

Threat of showers around for Blast Finals Day - reserve day only ever been needed once, but imperative it's avoided this year, with Champo fixtures on Monday. Unlikely, worst-case scenario could see a 12-hour turnaround between Blast final and Champo toss.

Interesting idea... England Women planning to take 30 players (centrally contracted & others) to Abu Dhabi for a five-match, competitive T20 series in March, with no fixtures between Nov and May. Split into two squads: different hotels, coaches, training

Spoke to Worcestershire teenager Dan Lategan last week: uncapped 19-year-old from Cape Town, at New Road on a two-year overseas rookie deal. Picked up today in the SA20 auction by MI Cape Town. Wild few weeks, fascinating career path taking shape:

So enjoyed sitting down with Wayne Madsen for this. On Monday, aged 41, he'll play his 500th game for Derbyshire. Then, early next year, he'll play for Italy at the T20 World Cup, 20 years on from scoring for South Africa at the Hockey World Cup.

Ed Pollock is moving on from professional cricket after leaving Worcestershire. Extremely fun batter, thoroughly good man. Spoke to him last summer during a really tough period, wish him well for whatever's next:

Interview with Dan Lategan, extremely highly rated at Worcestershire, as displayed by signing an uncapped South African 19-year-old batter to a multi-year overseas deal. One to keep an eye on ahead of becoming locally qualified in 2028:

A strange day at Radlett, where I'm still unsure who the home team was. Hampshire ceded that advantage, Nick Gubbins tossed the coin, Middlesex had the home dressing room, both clubs' members granted free entry. Ali Orr and Liam Dawson were excellent. I *think* the home team won.

Kent have re-signed Sam Northeast:

Gloucestershire on the lookout for a director of cricket, an acknowledgement - across men's and women's strands this year - that they've missed not having someone in that role:

Excellent chaos caused by yesterday's ODC group stage conclusion and the one-day gap before the playoffs. Middlesex, effectively, have 24 hours to rebuild Radlett, with Hampshire unable to host, having been all but out of the competition at 6pm last night.

Understand that Leicestershire's ambitious, ongoing recruitment includes looking at Keshav Maharaj as a potential overseas option for next year:

Last August, England were obsessed with what Dani Gibson could offer them. Since then, she's suffered a stress fracture, has hardly played and is only back now as a specialist batter. Sat down with her to discuss the last year and the way forward.

The One Day Cup has offered so many unlikely opportunities. Few more so than Andrew Neal. Fun sitting down with Hampshire's 25-year-old left-arm spinner, who was a Minor Counties seamer until three years ago, at which point he basically started again.

"The amount of dark days I've had in the last two years, to have a couple of good days, I cannot put it into words." Piece from Hove, where Matt Milnes - who's spent the last three years with stress fractures - took 7 for 38 for Yorkshire.

ICC gonna ICC. In this case, that means shifting the venues for a third of all matches at a World Cup beginning in just over a month. Understand that England were somewhat surprised by the change to their clash with Sri Lanka.

Courtney Walsh is in London for the month, as bowling coach for Oval Invincibles women - says he'd jump at the chance to help Mark Alleyne at Gloucestershire, where he's a club legend:

No surprises in England's World Cup squad, which in its own way feels like a surprise. Four seamers (if NSB is fit to bowl), which is basically a lot of trust in it spinning. A shame, I think, that there isn't much of a leftfield pick.

Middlesex v Kent at Radlett, where Corey Flintoff was among three 19-year-olds involved, along with a 20-year-old, an 18-year-old and 17-year-old Seb Morgan, who took three wickets, has been on the academy since he was 14 and is particularly well regarded.

Piece on county streaming - some support for a centralised, consolidated product:

At the Costa del Radlett, where Andrew Flintoff is watching Corey Flintoff on his professional debut.

At the Costa del Radlett, where Andrew Flintoff is watching Corey Flintoff on his professional debut.

For the last five years, the One Day Cup starting in August has given counties the chance to change the narrative of their season. Gloucestershire, mid-seamer-exodus, are four wins from four, the only perfect record in the country.

Vansh Jani's a cool story: not signed by Middlesex at 18, a winter in Australia, which began in fourth grade and ended with the Kerry O'Keeffe Medal, followed by a zillion second-team/SACA runs, almost a thousand club runs and now a deal at Warwickshire:

Plenty of nice stories in the One-Day Cup, Will Smale among them. Long, winding road to a first professional deal at 22, a first hundred today at 24. Ben Foakes preventing that from coming in a winning cause.

Piece on the reasons behind the men's Blast reduction:

Ali Orr broke his arm in last year's Blast, hit by Spencer Johnson. The injury healed, but the mental scars took longer to shake. Fair play to him for discussing the "demons" that then came with facing the short ball; pleased he's found a way through it.

Wild rise for 18-year-old Jamie Feldman, who'd never been in the Lord's dressing room before today and two years ago was bowling at me (lol). Eleven months ago, he took 5 for 9 against Kenton 3s in the MCCL's second tier for third XIs. Today, he took 2 for 36 against Sussex.

Gloucestershire good value for their win over Surrey, who are underdogs for a month. Ollie Sykes looks incredibly talented. Ben Charlesworth, too: 80, 60, 160, 71 in four of his last five innings.

Interview with Alice Capsey, who turns 21 next week, her career mirroring The Hundred's rise. That has brought huge opportunities but also unwanted exposure, including the grim social media messages that she has become disappointingly used to.

Between stress fractures and a time without a club, Mikey Cohen went four years between first-team appearances. Nineteen months after joining Kent, he was finally fit for his debut. Piece from Arundel, where the reward for his resilience was four wickets in front of his family.