Underneath the Archers

Regular readers of Line and Length will recall that I have a bit of a nerdy thing for The Archers, the BBC radio soap opera about farming folk, so I was delighted that talk has already begun in The Bull public house about Ambridge's chances this season in the Village Cup. They are going to be getting in shape with some net sessions at Edgbaston and I'm hoping that Ian Bell or Ashley Giles will be tempted into making a guest appearance. Perhaps Bell will be bowled by a long hop from Sid Perks (pictured, centre, with the tragic John Archer and his father Tony) or Alistair Lloyd, the show's gambling addict, will be caught on the phone to an Indian bookmaker. The blurring of cricket and soap isn't all that fantastical - Shane Warne recently appeared in an episode of Neighbours.