Chris Tremlett was an example of wishful thinking on England's Ashes tour but just as Surrey spectators had given up hope he bowled one of the spells of the season

Steve Davies abandoned the gloves at his own request to seek batting form but made a duck in another Surrey collapse

They essentially uphold the inequity in the treatment of the Associates when compared to the lowest-performing Full Members

For all his triumphs as England coach, Andy Flower ultimately got the balance between trusting people and numbers wrong

Afghanistan's year included a historic World Cup qualification and a near-perfect record against all Associates and Affiliates except Ireland

The news that Warwickshire will be known as Birmingham Bears in next season's T20 is another example of the muddled thinking that surrounds the format in England

With Steve Harmison's retirement, English cricket has broken its last link with the bowling quartet of 2005

The national team is making headlines, their domestic cricket is thriving, and money is not an issue. So what's holding them back?

Nottinghamshire have one of the most attractive batting line-ups in the county game. Seldom can they have been as becalmed as this

The signs from this season is that Friday night Twenty20 is the way forward, and from next summer that will be norm, but it does provide a new set of challenges

The talk of Hove centred on how Steven Finn would react to being omitted by England. But Luke Wright was in no mood to ensure Finn had a soft landing on his Middlesex return

On a day when British thoughts were largely centred around Andy Murray's first Wimbledon title, Middlesex served up a demolition of Kent at Uxbridge with Adam Rossington's domineering 74 from 37 balls to the fore.

Shahryar Khan's memoir recalls the Inzamam-Woolmer heyday, and the nadir of the Oval, 2006

Adam Hollioake captains ESPNcricinfo's team of the decade, selected to mark ten years of professional Twenty20 cricket in England

Surrey's mid-season sacking of Chris Adams and his assistant Ian Salisbury is more the preserve of football than cricket

Could there have been a ninth team in the Champions Trophy, made up of some exciting players overlooked for different reasons?

This is a hard-fought game between two excellent sides. The prospect of a fourth day in glorious conditions at Hove should inspire excitement. If it does not, it is no reflection on the players.

There has long been chatter over Chris Jordan's international allegiance, but it has somehow never really felt relevant - a topic best reserved for a rainy day

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren't enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed

Ravi Bopara had a mixed day. It started with him being named in the England Lions squad, then two wickets followed but he failed with the bat as Essex stumbled