Whither Smith?

To Mike Denness, who resigned as chairman of the cricket committee as a consequence, it was "despicable"; to David Fulton it was "a long time ago, done and dusted". But to the captain's dismay the refusal of two senior players to support Ed Smith when he led the side at Worcester in June is still setting tongues wagging.

Tension increased to the extent that Fulton came onto the field as a fielding substitute and reportedly began directing the side. "It was blown out of all proportion," counters Fulton. "There were no dressing room ructions - the commitment and spirit are fine. I like to think most people who play under me will play with commitment, and excitement. There are going to be clashes of personality from time to time, as happened at Worcester. We've got some powerful characters. But we've all moved on - and learnt a bit from it."

Enough said? Maybe, maybe not. The whereabouts of the circuit's most literate batsman next spring remain open to conjecture.

Hats off to Matt Walker, whose twin centuries off Sussex helped him reach 1,000 first-class runs for the second season in a row. "He's been our best one-day player for two years," says Fulton, "and now he's looking the part in all formats. You can be a bit nervy, in awe, when you're coming up - I was the same - but now he has that aura people look up to. He's playing as well as ever. He belongs. "