Pettini takes charge

Glad to find out that Adam Hollioake's denial to Line and Length yesterday that he was going to become captain of Essex wasn't a filthy fib. Instead, Mark Pettini was appointed today as the youngest county captain in England and Essex's youngest for more than 70 years. Good luck to him.

Meanwhile, at a grey and dank Ford County Ground in Chelmsford, Essex are about to play Hampshire in a Twenty20 match. I thought I was on to a scoop when an announcement came on the Tannoy just now asking for the Hampshire coach driver to return to his vehicle urgently. Given that the Hampshire coach was stoned by Middlesex fans the other week, I thought Essex supporters had tried to break the tournament record for most smashed windows on an opposition vehicle. Instead, he had just parked on a double yellow line.