Finally... the Ashes...

After a ‘slow-burn’ summer of white-ball cricket, the Ashes are finally here. England’s recent - and ridiculously exciting - win in the World Cup seems to have generated a fair bit of media interest, even if the lead story on the back page of most newspapers is whether Gareth Bale will, or won’t, go to a Chinese club for about a million pounds a week. I wonder how much interest in cricket will remain, once the Premier League kicks off.

The forthcoming contest looks appetising, between two well-matched teams. If England are favourites, that’s only because they have the advantage of playing at home. I’m looking forward to every minute. In half an hour I’ll be banging on the door of the Viking pub, a couple of miles towards Goole, hoping to see on the big screen the first ball of the first day of the first test. Bring it on!

Another pic licensed during the end-of-month surge: visitors relaxing in the gardens of Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire...