Oh BP, I wish I’d seen your post BTL. No sign of Brian but I will go and search I promise. The stands are slowly filling up here, and I’m tempted to return to the ice-cream stand where they sell chocolate chuckle, honeycomb and vegan chocolate cones.
Ok, so things are looking up. The rain has stopped and they are pulling the sheets off and doing things with hoses. It’s actually quite warm though I’ve got soggy trousers after sitting on one of the benches to watch a shaggy golden retriever. The floodlights are off.
Around the counties
No play before lunch at Grace Road, Edgbaston, The Riverside, Hove or Canterbury.
A delayed start at The Oval and Bristol due to a wet outfield but, promisingly, just drizzle reported at Lord’s.
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Preamble
Good morning from a soggy Taunton, where the sky is slate and the groundstaff, who were pulling sheets off the field when I arrived, are now pulling them back on again. The super sopper zips backwards and forwards round the boundary edge, as if ironing a particularly stubborn shirt. There will be an inspection at 11am.
It’s all a great shame as both teams reckon this is only a 200-over game. However, in the definition of optimism, a few hardy souls settle into the Sir Ian Botham stand, an hour before the scheduled start. Hoods up, arms folded, stoicism origami – this is county cricket in late September!
I’m going to walk round the ground now to find a coffee, back in 15 minutes.
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