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"It is all about opportunity" - James Anderson's state of play

England's all-time leading wicket-taker tells RICHARD GIBSON that he was inspired to join the ECB's plan to rejuvenate state school cricket by his own unmemorable experiences at school

The fine-line world of player punditry: "As long as you don't have an agenda, you should be okay"

NICK FRIEND: Providing punditry as a current player comes with several challenges, most notably around the balance of providing insight without breaching confidence or omerta

Heather Knight: "I'm going to try enjoy everything that comes with being an England cricketer"

OSCAR RESS: After nine years in the job, Knight is braced to take on a new role as a batting-focused allrounder with more time on her hands to be a teammate away from the scrutiny of being her country's captain

True stats reveal the real value of Jade Dernbach

JARROD KIMBER: The former England seamer was not a numbers person, but he bowled the tricky overs and did it pretty well

Brook no argument: Why England Men's new white-ball captain faces a tricky task

VIC MARKS says an already demanding role, mastered by Eoin Morgan, but which Jos Buttler found testing, is not helped by the schedule

Emma Lamb finds her range at just the right time

NICK FRIEND - INTERVIEW: The Lancashire batter was England's opener of choice in 2022 but, after a spell out of the national side, she has chosen the ideal moment to rediscover her best form, ahead of Charlotte Edwards' first squad as head coach

Virat Kohli's Test retirement fast-tracks India's new era

OSCAR RESS: The former India captain, who made 9,230 runs in 123 Tests, has left an enduring legacy in the Test arena, not just because of his stellar performances but also his advocacy and passion for the longest format

The start of the inevitable march to irrelevance for county cricket

FANOS HIRA: Ex-Worcestershire chair and investment banker reflects bleakly on the implications of the sale of equity in Hundred sides

Jack Haynes' first Nottinghamshire hundred reflects early leaders' growing confidence

NICK FRIEND - INTERVIEW: Haynes passed fifty on seven occasions in his first year at Trent Bridge without reaching three figures, but his maiden Notts century – against Essex's much-vaunted attack – was a big moment for the former Worcestershire man

James Rew: An untypical modern England selection with an easy on the eye cover drive

GEORGE DOBELL: While the Somerset batter is unlikely to make his Test debut against Zimbabwe, his temperament, patience and ability to keep wicket could lead to a long and distinguished international career

A passionate defender of county cricket, Sean Jarvis' departure from Leicestershire reflects a sport at a crossroads

NICK HOWSON: Leicestershire's chief executive will stand down in the autumn after more than five years at the helm as a club prepares for a new era

"We had all survived... we were free"

DUNCAN HAMILTON: Keith Miller didn't collect memorabilia, but he treasured recollections of the Victory Tests, played 80 summers ago, just after the War

"Backing, trust and opportunity": The benefits of being on loan in the County Championship

OSCAR RESS: Ben Green has played almost half of his first-class cricket at Leicestershire, but will return to Taunton to be a key piece of their white-ball set-up; Green, Scott Currie and Calvin Harrison explain the player benefits of the loan system

A wise head from a different era, Sam Robson bats on

NICK FRIEND - INTERVIEW: Robson has played 216 first-class matches in his career – and seven T20s; he enters his testimonial summer at Middlesex as a dying breed in a changing game

Knockout competition returns to county cricket for first time since 2005

NICK FRIEND AT RADLETT: Kudos to Beth Barrett-Wild for going where no one else has prepared to go in two decades, since the men's 50-over tournament became a group-stage event and excluded the National Counties in 2006