The half-way point of the cricket season has been and gone yet the summer seems to have barely begun, writes DOMINIC BURGESS. Thankfully though, enough play has been possible for a meaningful programme to have developed.

This sees Surrey sitting pretty at the top of the Championship table and, having eased past Gloucestershire in last week's tie, through to face Derbyshire in the Natwest quarterfinal. The game will be played at the Oval on Tuesday, July 28, and pits Dominic Cork against several of his England colleagues.

Hopefully one of these will be Mark Butcher who has been missing through injury.

The tenacious left-hand opener had secured a place in the first Test team with an impressive start at Edgbaston and was unfortunate to be sidelined by a damaged hand.

Both Steve James and Nick Knight failed to capitalise on the absence of Butch, who is a veritable walking cricketing dynasty.

His father Alan was another left hand opener, a great Surrey stalwart of the 70s and 80s who has now returned to coach the current side. His uncle Ian also played and brother Gary plays for Glamorgan. Then there's his marriage to Alec Stewart's sister.

I tracked down Belmont Butch to find out more about his Caribbean exploits this past winter. The outstanding highlight was his masterful match- winning innings in the third Test in Trinidad where he marshalled the tail brilliantly to ensure victory.

I asked him how he coped with the pressure during the lunch interval. He revealed that he locked himself in the toilet for the duration to get some peace and quiet away, from the contagious nervousness of the others. And how did he focus when faced with the likes of Ambrose and Walsh? "Easy - you really don't want to get hit by that hard red ball travelling at over 90mph. It tends to concentrate the mind." Spoken like a man with cricket in his blood.

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