'A wet and forgettable English summer'

But what of 2012 so far? How long we will remember the wettest start to the season since records began? There have been the sodden, one-sided series against the West Indies, won by an efficient England side whether the ball was red or white. Tony Greig gave a lecture; Kevin Pietersen retired from one-day cricket. Stay awake at the back.

Around the counties it feels like a battle for survival against the distractions: the Euros, though England's performances there were seldom more uplifting than a damp draw at Grace Road, and those Olympics just around the corner. But mostly it has been a battle against the weather. County chief executives look in anguish at the skies like grumpy old farmers.