Fifty-two is no age. I’d been texted the sad news that guitarist Bert Jansch had passed away yesterday. When I got home I turned to the net to read more, and was aghast to read the news that ‘Picca’ had also gone.

I remember feeling old when Michael Atherton, three years younger than myself, retired. I had followed his career closely from university tyro to promising young Lancastrian to the future of English cricket, patching together an ever-changing cast of underachievers in those pre-central contract days.

Now, I find myself reading obituaries of a man only five years my senior, who I recall watching as a schoolboy on the BBC. A picture of youth; blonde locks and fresh faced with a run up of which a 1970’s West Indian would have been proud and, at his best, with pace to match. A Kent player to boot. As a schoolboy, born and bred in the county, I loved that Kent team with a passion not matched by a cricket side since.

He was the latest in the Kent production line feeding the English test side of the era; following from Cowdrey, there was England’s greatest ever wicket keeper/bowler partnership – Knott and Underwood, plus Luckhurst, Denness and Woolmer.

I’ve read the obituaries. His place in history is secure. He’ll be remembered for Lillee c. Willey b. Dilley and for that key role, the ‘fuselighter’ of Headingley ‘81; his 56 runs prompted Beefy’s shift of gears, not to mention the catch on the boundary.  I was astonished to read that in his 41 tests, he was only twice a winner. An incredible statistic that says more about the chaotic mess of selection and politics that surrounded the team at the time than his performance; a non-too-shabby 138 wickets at 29 each.

By all accounts, a genuinely nice guy and a great coach. Graham Roy Dilley, RIP.

Kent Cricketer Wayne Parnell - Ban On the Use of Wild Animals in Circuses campaign

New PETA Campaign Calls for Ban On the Use of Wild Animals in Circuses.

Cricketer Wayne Parnell has set his sights on a new opponent: circuses that force wild animals to perform unnatural and painful tricks. In a new anti-circus ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Wayne Parnell, who has played for Kent and currently plays for the Pune Warriors and the South Africa national team, appears shirtless and bound by chains next to the words, “Try to Relate to Their Fate. Say NO to Animal Circuses“. A low-res version of the ad is shown below, and a high-res copy is available upon request.

“I choose to participate in sport, but the animals used in circuses aren’t given any choice at all”, says Parnell. “Animals in circuses suffer a lifetime of abuse – all for a few cheap tricks.”

The ad follows a debate in the Commons last month during which MPs demanded that the government put a permanent end to the use of wild animals in circuses. The government has run out of reasons not to implement the ban, which every animal welfare group in this country and the vast majority of the British public demand.

Tigers and other wild animals used in circuses spend most of their time confined to cages or cramped trailers. As countless undercover investigations have documented, animals are routinely mistreated behind the scenes. Circus workers keep the animals in cages or pens, deprive them of everything that is natural and important to them and break their spirits through repetitive disciplinary measures.

The animals are shackled and isolated and experience terrible boredom when they are not being made to perform degrading and confusing stunts. Pacing, bar-biting, circling and self-mutilation are common among performing animals; these types of neurotic behaviour are widely recognised as the results of captivity and an unnatural lifestyle.

The ad was shot in India by photographer Himanshu Seth during the recent Indian Premier League season. Ayesha Wadiwala was the make-up artist.

For more information please visit PETA.org.uk.

Having been put in by the hosts the Kent batsmen played fantastically, building a platform and then going full on at the end of the innings to set a challenging target of 301 for 4 from their 50 overs. The innings focused around centuries from Van Jaarsveld (122 no) and Denly (102). Harmison was the only successful Durham bowler, taking all four wickets to fall for 47 runs from his 10 overs. Such form next season from the pace man and the ashes odds may start to back England’s chances against Australia.

In reply the home side lost big hitters Mustard and Di Venuto quickly, and were always behind the odds. Benkenstein finished on 80 no but wickets fell around him as the pressure of Kent’s big total, and tight bowling, began to tell. The innings finished on 218, with a late flurry of wickets for Tredwell (3-37) and a couple of inglorious run outs.

Kent now await the outcome of tomorrow’s match between Essex and Yorkshire at Chelmsford to see who they will face in the final at Lord’s on August 16th.

Essex all-rounder Graham Napier had the game of his life in tonight’s Twenty20 match against Sussex at Chelmsford.

Napier scored 152 not out from just 58 balls, hitting 16 sixes and 10 fours. He now holds the record for the number of sixes in a Twenty20 innings, taking the crown from Brendon McCullum. McCullum hit 13 sixes during his magnificent 158 in the opening game of the recent IPL – still (just) the highest individual Twenty20 score.

Essex made 242-3 from their 20 overs. In reply Sussex never really fired. They were all out for 114 in 16.4 overs, losing by a massive 128 runs. If you were to bet on the Ashes squad being announced today – Napier might have a chance!

Middlesex beat Kent by 6 runs at Uxbridge to leave the Southern division wide open. Elsewhere Durham beat Yorkshire to virtually seal their place in the quarter finals, and Worcester did enough to hold up Northants progress, winning by four wickets at New Road.

The advantage of Pikum! over traditional betting sites is that even if a player doesn’t predict what will happen exactly, the prize pool goes to the player with the closest predictions – not to the house. And you can guarantee that you cash in by creating a game – or Pikum – yourself and claiming a percentage of the pot.

To win the prize pool, all you have to do is be the closest at predicting outcomes such as:

Which team will win the match or will it end in a draw?
How many wickets will fall in total during the match?
How many catches will be taken in total during the match?

Sean Glass, founder and managing director of Pikum!, says,

“You may think that you can correctly predict the result of a cricket match but can you predict other elements in the game, such as the total wickets that will fall? The great thing about Pikum is that the player with the closest predictions wins and not the house.”

You can also play Pikums involving other sports, including football, tennis, rugby, Formula One, boxing, and mixed martial arts.