Tag: County Cricket

Somerset Top

Early yesterday evening Oliver Price claimed the final Derbyshire wicket to give his side victory by 213 runs with 6.3 overs left to be bowled. That brought an end to the latest round of championship fixtures. This post looks back at the main events of yesterday (see here for details of the two matches that ended on Friday).

KENT v WORCESTERSHIRE

This match was threatening to get interesting win the visitors needed just over 100 with five wickets left, and Brett D’Oliveira closing in on three figures. While not being anywhere close to the standards of his grandfather Basil this D’Oliveira is a solid county batter, and given proper support by the later Worcestershire batters he could have made it very tense indeed. In the end Kent had 84 runs to spare, and D’Oliveira was left stranded with a century to his name.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE v DERBYSHIRE

The county of my birth have been having a rotten season in the county championship, coming into this round with only one win to their name. It did not look like changing when they batted on and on in their second innings against Derbyshire, finally declaring to set the visitors 318 in 45 overs. Batting out for the draw should have been straightforward, but Derbyshire had a horrible collapse at the start of the innings, plunging to 41-6. The only batter of substance left was Martin Andersson, who dug in grittily. The fact that it took 24 overs for the last four wickets to fall underlines how atrociously the early Derbyshire batting failed, with six of them falling in the first 14.4 overs of the innings.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HOIST ON OWN PETARD

Northamptonshire might have thought they were doing OK when they needed 205 to win the fourth innings. However their own pitch preparation came back to bite them. They had prepared a spinning surface hoping for their bowlers to benefit, but it was Durham left arm spinner Callum Parkinson who reaped the rewards, with six cheap wickets are Northamptonshire crashed for 50 in the final innings.

THE STALEST OF STALEMATES

A combination of a flawed points system (on which I have animadverted before) and lack of enterprise by both counties consigned Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire to an early grave, awaiting only the formality of handshakes at the first legal opportunity. Once Leicestershire had avoided the possibility of being made to follow on, partly with the assistance of Josh Davey, who also helped his former county Somerset in the process neither side showed any interest in making a game of things. Leicestershire could have challenged Nottinghamshire by declaring as soon as the follow-on was avoided, effectively daring them to set a target if they were game. Nottinghamshire once they finally got the elusive wicket could have decided: OK, we still have a decent lead, and we are going to throw the bat for 20 overs and see where we end up, and if Leicestershire fancy attempting the chase good luck to them. In the event as indicated Leicestershire batted on until that last wicket fell, and Nottinghamshire showed no interest in anything other than a polishing up of batting averages. This is precisely the sort of event that underlines the folly of assessing a draw as worth half as much of a win. One result of this is that Somerset sit on top of the table, four points ahead of Nottinghamshire.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A hornet mimic fly in flight, approaching some greenery on which a small green insect rests.
A damselfly with a green body, resting on a green leaf.
A wading bird, probably of the sandpiper family (three pics) near the Nar outfall.
A holly blue butterfly.
A louse, of the type sometimes called a pill bug because its defence mechanism is to roll itself up into something looking like a pill and very well defended.

Two Very Different Matches

A look at two of the matches in this round of championship fixtures that have already finished and their implications for the table, plus a photo gallery.

There is a round of county championship matches in progress with today officially day three of four. The two matches in which I had most interest, Surrey v Yorkshire and Somerset v Glamorgan are both now finished. This post looks at what has been going on.

AN INNINGS WIN

This morning at decision time I opted to listen to Surrey v Yorkshire, since I thought that one was probably going to end before Somerset v Glamorgan. I had failed to account for just how spineless Glamorgan would prove to be. They slumped to 183 all out in their second innings, which gave Somerset a win by an innings and 64. The scores there were Glamorgan 194, Somerset 441, Glamorgan 183. This puts Somerset at the top of the championship table, and although they were one of the eight sides involved in the first properly organized county championship in 1891 they have never won it. Scorecard here.

A LOW SCORING THRILLER

Surrey won the toss and opted to bowl. When they had Yorkshire all out for 185 they would have felt reasonably good about that. They themselves then sank for 83, conceding a first innings deficit of 102. They then rebounded by bowling Yorkshire out for 82, leaving themselves to match Yorkshire’s first innings score in the final innings of the match to win it. When Burns and Sibley reached 40 still together it looked on. Then Jack White pinned Sibley LBW. Surrey now gambled, sending Rahul Chahar in at number three. The gamble failed, the Indian being bowled for a five ball duck. Not long after that Burns was also out, caught by Dom Bess off George Hill and it was 52-3. Wickets continued to fall regularly by Josh Blake dug in and held firm. Even so, when Tom Lawes was seventh out a further 70 runs were still needed to win, which looked a tall order on that surface. However Matthew Fisher, who had already claimed eight wickets in the match, including 6-25 in the 82 all out, now provided Josh Blake with excellent support and the pair clawed their way towards the target. They had got to 170, 15 short of winning, when Fisher edged a ball from Hill to Will Luxton to fall for 33. Auqib Nabi, an Indian seamer who can bat a bit – he has a List A century in his native land – now joined Blake. Nabi had just hit a six to move Surrey to within two of the target when he tried to go big again and sent the ball pretty much straight upwards and James Wharton got underneath it to make it 183-9. Dan Worrall, the sort of old style tail ender who does not bother to take guard when he arrives at the crease, now joined the fray. He survived the last two balls of Ben Coad’s over, and then Blake negotiated a very good over from George Hill, but could do no more than survive it. The next over started with another dot, but then Worrall got the second away for four and Surrey had sneaked home by one wicket. The match had seen an aggregate of 537 runs for 39 wickets. This is not even close to a record – in 1878 when The MCC faced off against An Australian XI at Lord’s the match aggregate was 105 runs for 31 wickets (MCC 33 and 19, Australians 41 and 12-1). Josh Blake in the final innings had scored 43 not out from 183 balls. It is a result that somewhat eases Surrey’s relegation worries, but everyone from fourth place downwards is under threat, so tight is it at the bottom. Scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off (periodic reminder, you can view images at larger size by clicking on them)…

A hummingbird hawkmoth
Flowring ivy plays a vital role at this time of year. This head has attracted two pollinators at the same time.
I got this 50p in change at Morrison’s today.

A Comprehensive Win for Somerset

A look back at the portion of Somerset v Essex that I was able to follow after the test match concluded so early, and a photo gallery.

Today is the final day of a round of county championship fixtures. With the test match at Headingley between England and Pakistan failing to go the distance (see here) I have been focussing instead on Somerset v Essex at Taunton.

AN INTERESTING DECISION

I started to follow this match when Somerset, having produced a mighty first innings score, were bowling Essex out cheaply in their first innings. As always when such a possibility arises there was speculation over whether or not the follow-on should be enforced. I felt, as did veteran Somerset commentator Anthony Gibson, that they should do so. I thought their best chance of winning was to bowl Essex out again, and I did not think that Essex with a deficit of 311 to overturn were remotely likely to be able build a winning lead and have time to bowl Somerset out a second time. In the event Somerset themselves also reckoned that putting Essex back in was the right thing to do.

A HUGE PARTNERSHIP

Essex lost their third wicket at 127, still 184 short of avoiding the innings defeat. At that point Charlie Allison and Matt Critchley joined forces for what proved to be a very long partnership. At the close of day three Essex were 314-3, three runs ahead overall, with the pair still in occupation. Although Essex had done superbly to get into that position I still felt only two results were on, a draw if Essex kept batting well and a win if they did not. In the event Jack Leach had a magnificent morning for Somerset, gaining the reward that his hard graft through the Essex innings had earned him. By lunch he had figures of 53-21-77-5, four of those wickets in the morning session. Essex were 394-7, 83 ahead, and their best remaining hope was Simon Harmer, mainly an off spinner but also a very useful lower order batter.

THE CLOSING STAGES

Leach, the hero of the fourth morning, left the field injured early in the afternoon, but young off spinner Archie Vaughan claimed the last three wickets, clean bowling Shane Snater, having Harmer inside edge one into the stumps for another ‘bowled’ in the scorebook and finally pinning Porter, a genuine number 11 (FC batting average 6.39) LBW to end the Essex second innings on 412, a lead of 101. Smaller totals than that have been defended over the years – way back in the 1930s Essex themselves once defended 54, bowling Yorkshire out for 33, to give just one example, but Essex would need to strike hard and early to win. They got one thing right, giving Harmer, their best hope on this fourth day pitch, the new ball. However their field setting for their star off spinner was awry – the fielder on the boundary square of the wicket on the offside was wasted, since they could only come into play if Harmer bowled short, which he was never likely to do. Harmer himself should probably have insisted on that fielder being deployed elsewhere. Somerset started the chase very brightly, having 50 on the board before the end of the seventh over. Harmer did pick up the wickets of Josh Thomas for 31 and Lewis Goldsworthy for 6 but Kiwi international Henry Nicholls ensured that there would be no nonsense, scoring an unbeaten 18 and staying with Tom Lammonby (39 not out) while the winning runs were scored. Scorecard here. This very impressive win means that Somerset are now third in the table behind Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

You will need to look close due to excellence of the camouflage, but there is a small green creature on the leaf.
A Little Egret with its wings fully spread out in flight, low over the Nar outfall.
The Egret, now wading in the water of the Nar Outfall.
Possibly a Ruddy Darter or possibly some other species of damsel or dragonfly perched on a big green leaf overlooking the Gaywood river.

County Championship Latest

A look at the latest round of county championship fixtures, now approaching a conclusion, and a large photo gallery.

Another round of county championship fixtures approaches a conclusion (indeed a number of matches have already ended), and this week marks a transition point – The T20 cup gets underway on Friday which will mean a break in the championship programme.

A WAKE UP CALL FOR SURREY

The first match I followed in this round saw the most successful of all cricketing counties, Yorkshire, taking on number two in that list Surrey. Surrey have been formidable in recent years, and in theory they have a very strong squad this year. However their results have been patchy, and this match was a horror show for them. They won the toss on the first morning, and that was about the last thing that went right for them. First they threw away the advantage winning the toss should have given them by opting bowl first in conditions that were not suitable for doing so, then a catch offered by Adam Lyth was dropped, which set the stage for a huge partnership between him and Jonathan Bairstow. Day two was heavily weather affected but Yorkshire racked up 486. It was day three (yesterday) that was the real killer for Surrey. It was only 56 from Sean Abbott, selected for his bowling, that even got them to 200, and with an advantage of 282 and just over a day and half to go Yorkshire did not hesitate to send Surrey in again. By the end of the day Surrey were 83-5 in their second innings, and any hope they might have of escape appeared to rest on the shoulders of Sibley (33 not out overnight). Just five runs had been added in the morning, and not a lot of time had elapsed when Sibley edged one from Aussie seamer Jhye Richardson into the slips and Harry Brook pouched the chance to make it 88-6. It was now a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’, with there being no one else left who could dig in for the long haul. At 90 Jack White pinned the other overnight batter Josh Blake plumb in front, and at 95 the same bowler ripped one through the defences of Jordan Clark. Sean Abbott and Matthew Fisher resisted a while, adding 25 together before Matthew Revis had Fisher caught by Root. That brought Dan Worrall, a member of the increasingly endangered species known as the ‘genuine tailender’ to the crease. The Aussie veteran, as per his usual custom, did not even bother to mark a guard. On this occasion he connected with a few lusty blows, amassing 18 before George Hill bowled him to give Yorkshire a win by an innings and 127 runs. Abbott was unbeaten on 33, giving him 89 for once out in the match, and the decidedly unusual record for a number nine of having top scored in one innings and second top scored in the other.

SOMERSET SET FOR SUCCESS

At Taunton Somerset are taking on Sussex. The weather is more likely to baulk the home side than their visitors, though it is holding good for the present. The two sides have just broken for tea with Sussex 111-7 in their second innings, after being made to follow on, a mere 162 runs short of avoiding the innings defeat (even in the most absurd of all ‘won after following-on’ matches, at Headingley in 1981, England were only the equivalent of minus 92-7 at their low water mark, when Graham Dilley joined Ian Botham at the crease). The Taunton floodlights have failed on two occasions in this match, though both times they have not been off for long. If Somerset win this, they will go second in the table, four points behind Nottinghamshire, who will soon be recording a draw against Hampshire. Somerset being behind Nottinghamshire will help to highlight the absurdity of awarding eight points for a draw – Somerst will gave won three matches, Nottinghamshire only two, but Nottinghamshire record will also include four draws, whereas Somerset have lost one match and drawn two to go with their three wins. While I have been preparing this for publication it has started raining in Taunton, so Somerset may yet be denied their win.

PHOTO GALLERY

Before sharing the gallery for this post, I have created a page containing links to all my ‘Pensthorpe 2026‘ posts. Now for my usual sign off…

A Hard Fought Opening Day

A look at day one at Trent Bridge where Nottinghamshire and Surrey are playing and a large photo gallery.

Another round of County Championship matches got underway today. My focus is on Trent Bridge, where one of the oldest and strongest of all county rivalries is happening – Nottinghamshire v Surrey.

THE STORY SO FAR

Around the time the County Championship was put on a properly organized footing these two sides were the strongest in the country. The first properly organized championship happened in 1891, at which point Surrey were dominating things after Nottinghamshire had dominated the first half of the 1880s. This then is a rivalry with a lot of history. Last season Nottinghamshire won the title, after Surrey had won in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Surrey won the toss this morning and opted to bowl. They took two early wickets, before Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett had a good partnership, ended by the dismissal of Duckett on the stroke of lunch. The afternoon belonged to Nottinghamshire, with Clarke and Jack Haynes building a substantial partnership. Post tea Surrey have come back into things with Dan Worrall bowling superbly and Sean Abbott nabbing a couple of wickets, but Clarke has found another good partner in Fergus O’Neill, and with bad light having just ended play for the day this pair are still in occupation with the score now 317-7, Clarke 129 not out and O’Neill 31 not out, Worrall 5-61, Abbott 2-63.

Nottinghamshire have probably had the better of the day given that Surrey chose to bowl, but we are all set for a cracking contest just so long as the weather doesn’t behave too badly (it is fine here in Norfolk, which I hope will hold tomorrow since that is the day of the annual WNAG trip to Pensthorpe).

PHOTOGRAPHS

The first two pictures in this gallery are from the sale I am currently putting together at work, the rest my usual sort of stuff…

This is lot 155 in the auction I am currently working on, and the full gallery for it runs to six images, but I sharing just two, this full picture…
…and this close up of a 2d blue with a GWR perfin.

Surrey Ruthless Against Sussex

A look at the final stage of Surrey’s ruthless disposal of Sussex in the county championship and a photo gallery.

This post looks back at the last stages of the match between Surrey and Sussex in the county championship which ended on Monday evening.

THE VICTORY PUSH

Although Surrey lost their last three wickets quite quickly they had piled up a lead of 264 by the time the last one fell – 622 against 358-9 declared. First class debutant Adam Thomas scored 120 of those runs from number seven, and I suspect we will be seeing plenty more of him, and higher in the order. Sussex started their second innings with the most obvious requirement being to reach the close of day three with little damage done. The very first ball of the innings, from Matt Fisher, hit and injured Tom Haines, and Sussex limped to 76-4 by the end of the day. They fared a bit better on day four, but for much of it an innings defeat looked more likely than not. They eventually avoided that, but were only able to establish a lead of 13, one run less than the lowest total Surrey have ever been dismissed for (against Essex in 1983, Neil Foster and Norbert Philip doing the damage with the ball). Surrey did lose two wickets while scoring these runs, making the final margin eight wickets, which decidedly flattered Sussex.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Surrey in Complete Control

A look at developments in Surrey v Sussex, where the home side have taken a firm grip on proceedings, and a photo gallery.

The current round of Championship fixtures is now deep in to day three of a scheduled four. I have been following Surrey v Sussex.

WEATHER INTERVENES

Play ended early yesterday due to bad light and rain, with Surrey having reached 292-2 in reply to Sussex’s 358-9 declared. Due to yesterday’s interruption extra overs were scheduled for today. Today has been dominated by two players at opposite ends of the spectrum. The veteran Dom Sibley, as so often a near immovable object at the top of the Surrey order, was finally sixth out after 518 minutes and 377 balls, for 187. Surrey at that point had 446 on the board, an advantage of 88. Jordan Clark managed a mere 5, which made it 461-7. That brought Sean Abbott in to join first class debutant Adam Thomas. The pair are still in residence as I write, and have boosted the Surrey score to 600-7, with Thomas topping three figures on his first class debut, and Abbott, better with the bat than most number nines, well past the 50 mark. I suspect that if Sussex do not capture the last three wickets (and there is little sign of them being capable of doing so) Surrey will declare at some point at this evening to have a shot at Sussex tonight. In an otherwise sorry looking list of Sussex bowling figures one name stands out: Jack Carson, already with a ton to his name, has figures of 34-4-128-4, which is very respectable in such a massive score. Henry Crocombe has had occasional moments of looking threatening, but has a modest 27-4-89-1. Tea is now being taken with Surrey 615-7, a lead of 257 so far. I would expect Surrey to bat on a bit after tea before declaring (a new ball, due in another four overs, does not seem quite so threatening when it will be the third such of the innings).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The three runners raising money for WNAG in this year’s GEAR (right foreground), with the crowds of other runners plus three big buildings, Fraser Dawbarns, The Corn Exchange and Bishop’s Lynn House providing the back drop.
A large beetle with a red-brown body, black legs and antennae rests on a green leaf in Kettlewell Lane Park (two pics).

A Switchback Ride at The Oval

A look at developments in the ‘James Southerton’ derby (Surrey v Sussex) and two photo galleries.

Another round of County Championship fixtures got underway yesterday. My attention is focussed on Surrey v Sussex (aka the James Southerton derby – that worthy, a slow bowler who also holds the record for being the oldest ever test debutant – 49 years 119 days old on day one of the inaugural test match in 1877, took advantage of a loophole in the qualification system to habitually play for both counties, one being the county of his birth and the other that of his residence), which forms the text part of this post.

DAY ONE

I missed the entire morning session due to a committee meeting of the West Norfolk Autism Group, and joined the coverage at the start of the afternoon session, with Sussex at that point on 105-7, Jordan Clark 5-16. The afternoon and evening both belonged to Sussex as the pitch flattened out and their lower order batted very impressively. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was the first star with a fluent 50, but he was to be overshadowed by Jack Carson and Oliver Edward Robinson. Carson, an off spinner who can bat, and Robinson, a medium pacer who is also Sussex’s current captain and can bat, each had one previous first class century when they came together. They over doubled the score from 167-8 to 340-9 before Carson fell for 105. Robinson took a blow and was injured, but batted on until a six took him to 100 not out and Sussex to 358-9, at which point he declared, hoping for an early wicket or two before the close. In the event Surrey got through without losing a wicket.

GALLERY ONE

This gallery comes with a preamble – I walked through Kettlewell Lane Park at about 8:30AM yesterday, and all was as it should have been. I walked back through that little park about five hours later and saw that a large number of bushes, in all of which I had previously photographed insects, had been cut down, and only a few survivors left.

The first picture showing the devastation at Kettlewell Lane Park – this wall was lined with bushes.
The same story further along – the empty patch on the far side of the path was covered in bushes.
There were many more bushes in this are as well.

DAY TWO

Today so far has belonged to Surrey. At the time I started this post they had lost only one wicket, Burns bowled by Crocombe for 77. Ryan Patel has just gone to a catch by Hughes off Carson for 67. Dominic Sibley, the immovable object at the top of the Surrey order, has just completed a century, his second off the season, off 236 balls, while Ollie Pope is newly arrived at the crease. Surrey are now 264-2 a mere 94 behind Sussex’s first innings total. The weather has just become questionable down in London (it is still splendid here in Norfolk, though rain is expected tomorrow morning, just in time for GEAR (The Great East Anglian Run). I hope the weather does not do too much damage to this match.

GALLERY TWO

We finish with more photos…

Round Four of the County Championship

A look at goings on in the fourth round of the 2026 county championship and a large photo gallery.

Between the games that ended early in definite results and the ones that ended with handshakes on the inevitable draw about 10 minutes ago another round of county championship fixtures is at an end. There is only one place to start, though I caught only the last few minutes of it…

DURHAM’S GREAT CHASE

Chester-le-Street has just borne witness to a remarkable turnaround. At one point Durham were 217-9 in reply to Lancashire’s 370, and in danger of not avoiding the follow-on (though Lancashire may well have chosen not to enforce in any case). Their last pair Matthew Potts and Callum Parkinson added 78 together for the tenth wicket, so Lancashire led by a mere 75 on first innings. Then, hoping to have a bowl at Durham in murky evening light, Lancashire declared on 260-9, a lead of 335. Unfortunately the light was too murky for their strategy to take effect. Even so, when Durham openers Lees and McKinney both fell cheaply and the score read 46-2 it looked dicey for Durham. However that was the end of success for the Lancashire bowlers, as Emilio Gay (159 not out) and David Bedingham (129 not out) put on an unbroken 290 together carrying their side to a remarkable eight wicket win.

SURREY v ESSEX

This game has been my main focus in this round, and at the start of today quick wickets were needed to breathe life into it. When Gus Atkinson struck in the first over it looked possible, but only one further wicket fell all day, though Surrey’s fielders let a couple of chances go begging. One quirk of this day, as Surrey realized there was no point tiring out the regular bowlers was that Ben Foakes bowled two overs near the end, with Jordan Clark standing in behind the stumps. The only Surrey players not asked to bowl were Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith.

ELSEWHERE

The only two definite results other than at Durham were both in division two, Worcestershire beating Kent by an innings and two runs in a match that did make it to the final day, and Gloucestershire beating Derbyshire by 10 wickets in a successful enforcement of the follow-on – Gloucestershire 498, Derbyshire 281 and 252, Gloucestershire 39-0. Warwickshire fared less well with the same tactic in the first division, Nottinghamshire batting through for 537-7 in their second innings to secure the draw, having built a lead of 357, but never being in a position, especially with the inflated award of eight points for a drawn match, to declare in an attempt to force victory.

PHOTOGRAPHS

This building has a macabre legend attached to it…
…as explained by this plaque…
…with this shot showing the heart in the brickwork.
Fraser Dawbarns is handsome building as well.
Yesterday was a WNAG pizza making session at Pizza Express, and I had spent over two hours out walking before arriving at the venue 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. This shows the base ready to be topped.
Adding the tomato sauce.
Then the chosen toppings
Then the cheese, and oregano powder as a flavour enhancer.
Ready for consumption – and it was good.

Surrey v Essex

A look at the early stages of Surrey v Essex in the fourth round of County Championship matches of 2026 and a photo gallery which features a damselfly, the first such sighting for me in 2026.

Another round of county championship matches got underway at 11 o’clock this morning. This post looks at the first two sessions (the latter of which has just ended) at The Oval where Surrey are hosting Essex.

THE PLAY SO FAR

The big news for Surrey was that Gus Atkinson was in the side for his first game of the season. They won the toss and opted to bowl first, so Atkinson was in action straight away. During the course of the morning session there was exactly one moment of trouble for Essex and that was self inflicted – a piece of running so poor that had the throw hit Paul Walter would not even have been in the frame. A rare lapse from Walter saw a return chance offered to Sean Abbott, but the Aussie seamer was unable to hold on to it. Finally, with 183 runs on the board and Elgar looking nailed for a ton Jordan Clark found an edge and Ben Foakes accepted the chance. The former South Africa test opener had scored 92, and had been largely untroubled. Tom Westley, returning from injury, cane in at number three. He struggled to 1 from 27 balls before Tom Lawes bowled him, probably almost as much of a relief to him given his lack of form as it was to the rest of us. That was 194-2. Charlie Allison joined Paul Walter, and pair carried Essex through to tea at 229-2, Walter 95 not out, Allison 23 not out. Play has resumed since I started work on this post, and Walter has moved into three figures, which he has by and large earned, though he did benefit from a couple of fortunate moments as detailed.

QUESTIONING RECEIVED WISDOM

It seems nowadays to be hardwired into captains minds that if you win the toss at The Oval you opt to bowl. However it is put it mildly not a policy with a stellar success rate. Relatively recent instances include Surrey racking up 820-9 declared against Durham, Surrey in their most recent match of this season topping 500 against Leicestershire, and now Essex headed for a huge total against Surrey. I also think the Surrey ground staff might well have questions to answer about the sheer weight of runs their surface is offering up – none of the other matches in action today look in great danger of degenerating into runfests with no real hope of a result, whereas that is a very obvious possibility in this match.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Before showing the full gallery I have an extract from it, a close up of a splendid insect from today…

Until today I had not seen a dragonfly or a damselfly in 2026. This is definitely a type of damselfly. Its mainly red body, with a black tail section that itself has four red bands can be clearly seen below the outlines of the four folded wings, while the thorax section features two bands of yellow and some yellow spots behind it. The head is quite shiny, with two large red compound eyes, and all six of the creatures limbs are clearly visible as it basks on a green leaf near Kettlewell Lane.

Now for the gallery…