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The Spin | Somerset v Essex was a final that evoked their glory days of the 80s

In the era of Richards, Botham, Fletcher and Gooch, football had yet to swamp cricket and humour pervaded the rivalry The two best teams in county cricket battled for the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord’s. Despite the absence of spectators it was an earnest, engaging contest and a curious throwback to four decades ago when Essex and Somerset were also two of the best and most entertaining sides in the country.This is not so surprising if you recall some of the personnel: the trinity of Viv Richards, Ian Botham and Joel Garner at Somerset and Keith Fletcher, Graham Gooch and John Lever at Essex were instantly recognised on TV screens against a backdrop of packed stands at Chelmsford or Taunton....

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Cricket has been infected with a bad decision-making virus this summer | Matthew Engel

The Bob Willis Trophy named for a man who was never really a county cricketer, and the junking of the Wisden Trophy, have done the game no favoursOne great controversy has divided the sports-watching nation this sad summer. There can be no abstentions on this. Fake crowd noise on TV? Yes or no? My answer, to my own astonishment, is yes – even after spending decades at loud sports events, in old-tech days screaming urgent newspaper copy down bad telephone lines, and wishing everyone else would just shaddup.Last Sunday, I was at Edgbaston watching Warwickshire play Northamptonshire. There were five of us in the press box, at the top of the spectacular newish pavilion, a handful of radio blokes downstairs....

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