Key events
David ‘Syd’ Lawrence dies aged 61
Very sad news from Gloucestershire. Just a year after he announced he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, David Lawrence, the first British born Black cricketer to play for England, has died.
Preamble
Good morning and welcome back! Lather up for two weeks of midsummer cricket, Kookaburra balls and skylarks.
While Jofra Archer flexes his bowling boots at Chester le Street, I’m at Blackpool [never say the Guardian misses a big story] , where the wind is buffering the tent and Jimmy Anderson, in his 300th first-class game, is captaining Lancashire for the first time (while Marcus Harris is on paternity leave).
Elsewhere, there has been a proliferation of short term signings. Young Indian batter Tilak Varma joins Hampshire, Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique joins Yorkshire, Western Australian offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli joins Warwickshire and other Australian offspinner Todd Murphy signs on the dotted line for Gloucestershire.
Jimmy Anderson is presented with a bottle of champagne for his 300th first-class game, and play starts round the grounds in half an hour.
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