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Let there be light

With maddening contrariness, the cricket season is heading for its conclusion just as summer finally arrives in England but there is still some fun to be had. It will be lights, cameras and action at the Brit Oval next Tuesday (11th) when Surrey play host to Somerset in their penultimate NatWest Pro40 fixture, which will be televised by Sky and is the only floodlit match at the Oval this season.

This year marks the tenth year of floodlit cricket in England. Surrey were due to host the first ever match but it was abandoned because of a downpour, so Warwickshire had the honour of staging the first one three days later.

Line and Length is able to give away three free pairs of tickets to the match, which starts at 4.10pm, to the first three readers who click "comments" below and tell us what reality show they want to see Mark Ramprakash appear in during the winter.

Those who would rather buy their tickets can do so through the Surrey Cricket website.

Essex do the double

Glory be, as Thora Hird was fond of saying before she took one last stairlift ride to the great tea-room in the sky, Essex have won the Pro40 league, by virtue of Sussex being stuffed at Trent Bridge. It was disappointing that they couldn't seal the victory by beating Durham this afternoon but no doubt they were tired out by their exertions in winning the Twenty20 Floodlit Cup last night.

Not to be confused with the Twenty20 Cup, which Leicestershire won some time ago, the TTFC is for just four teams - Essex, Sussex, Derbyshire and Glamorgan - and the mighty Eagles showed how seriously they take the competition by playing almost a first XI in beating Derbyshire in the final. No wonder Ronnie Irani was looking tired and listless today. Even more tired and listless than usual.

So that's two trophies Essex have won this year, a fact I pointed out to my Sussex-supporting colleague Walter Gammie, who takes an unhealthy delight in Essex losing. "That's one more trophy than you have so far this season," I told him. "Nonsense," he replied. "Sid the Shark won the mascots' race for Sussex at Trent Bridge earlier this season."

If Sussex, as expected, win the County Championship this week, Essex may have to ask if they fancy a game of Howzat, the cricket-based card game from the 1980s, to settle who is the best.