As Michael Atherton remarked in The Times, it was sad that Ted Dexter didn’t live long enough to watch Joe Root’s innings at Headingley on Thursday. Dexter was a great admirer of Root and had given him good advice a couple of years ago when the England captain was out of form – out of luck too – and was tinkering with his game. Dexter, who always insisted that batting is “a sideways game”, would surely have delighted in the way Root played. I am not sure I have ever seen him bat better, rarely with such freedom. His hundred came up in around three hours, very fast for these days when over rates are so slow.
All eyes on Paris ahead of Olympics opening ceremony
France’s opening ceremony promises to be quite the spectacle, provided security threats can be kept at bay.