HOOK’S SHOT: After seasons of domination, Surrey’s performances, men’s and women, were underwhelming this summer, particularly in the County Championship. MARCUS HOOK crunches the numbers and suggests there could be significant changes coming to The Oval over the winter
It’s said that expectation is the root of all heartache. In cricket this summer, Surrey ended the County Championship with many a cause for concern.
‘Tough season’: Rory Burns
Surrey were County Champions in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and runners-up in 2025. But their form this summer, particularly towards the back end of the season (that is, after the Hundred nonsense was finally out of the way), was such that they barely warranted finishing seventh, with just two victories out of the 14 four-day games played.
Thankfully, Essex, Hampshire and Leicestershire were also off the boil.
While Warwickshire were romping to the title with five wins from their last six (including three by an innings), Surrey’s run-in read: Played 9, Won 1, Drawn 4, Lost 4. Continue reading
A year ago, Andy Burnham was seen scurrying away from the Labour Party Conference, scorned by loyal Starmerites. Today, he makes a speech to the 2026 conference as Prime Minister.
“Croydon Means Business? It’s more like Croydon’s mean to business.”
Meetings are held in the United Reformed Church Hall, 3 Sanderstead Hill, CR2 0HB. There are usually two talks each month; they start at 8pm and finish at about 9pm.
Croydon’s Green Party councillors have written an open letter to Zotefoams, the Mitcham Road company that provides the go-faster foam for world-beating running shoes, to pause their redundancy process and re-think its plans to shift production to Vietnam.
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The collapse of a multi-million-pound contract to manage a children’s home in the borough has exposed the flaws in the procurement process and sunk Mayor Perry’s claims of running a ‘more efficient’ council.
It’s a seemingly modest light industrial site not far from Mitcham Common. Yet the cutting-edge materials produced at the Zotefoams factory are credited with helping deliver up to 20 running world records in the last decade, thanks to innovative “super shoes” made by US sportswear giant Nike.
