The half-way point of the cricket season has been and gone and yet the summer seems to have barely begun. 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 Gloucesthire in last week's tie, through to face Derbyshire in the Nat-west quarter final. 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 injured until now.

The tenacious yet fluent 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.

But he should be fit for the game, and can look forward to support from a great 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 at that time and brother Gary is still playing for Glamorgan. Added to this is his marriage to Alec Stewart's sister, Mickey's daughter.

I tracked down Belmont Butch to find out more about his Cari-bbean exploits last 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.

And how did he cope with the pressure? "By locking myself in the toilet during lunch to get some peace and quiet away from the contagious nervousness of the others," he admits unabashed. Good luck to him.

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