Dismissed by ECB but Championship appeals

The oldest domestic competition in the world has been treated dismissively lately, rather like the old duffer in the pub whose tales of yesteryear are tolerated but who some say has outstayed his welcome and frankly is going gaga.

It fails to garner the necessary coverage any more, in any form of the media; it is treated as an afterthought, an irrelevance, a necessary evil. It has done nothing to deserve this.