As the Championship takes a mid-season break in favour of the one-day stuff, the storms abated and hot sun shone across most of Britain, even here in Cardiff. All bar one of the week's fixtures took place at the much-loved cricketing outposts, taking their bows in the spotlight. In Division One, Yorkshire enjoyed the annual trip to the seaside and regained the top spot thanks to an easy win against Middlesex at Scarborough. At first, Rogers, Gubbins and Morgan batted as if they'd brought spades instead of a willow but wicketkeeper John Simpson allowed his team-mates extra time on the North Bay Beach by top-scoring in both innings. Nevertheless, the home county dominated, with centuries from Adam Lyth and Andrew Gale, assisted by a stirring 7-47 from a creaking Ryan Sidebottom and a decisive 4-27 from Adil Rashid on the final afternoon.
At Horsham, it was a closer affair until Warwickshire collapsed to defeat against Sussex, denting their Championship credentials as a result. The visitors did at least welcome Jonathan Trott's first hundred in four-day cricket this summer, producing a typical hundred in the first innings. However, he succumbed like most of his colleagues in the second as Chris Jordan blew away the top order and James Tredwell despatched the tail with three in four balls.
Sussex's fears of swapping places with Worcestershire were eased, while the latter showed that they aren't mourning the loss of Saeed Ajmal's wickets for the rest of the season. They now stand 43 points clear in Division Two after overcoming Gloucestershire by eight wickets on the college ground of Cheltenham. Daryl Mitchell carried his bat for 167 while the opposition crumbled twice in two days. It would have been over even quicker had tailenders Craig Miles and Liam Norwell not broken Gloucester's tenth wicket record with 137 defiant runs. The answer to the question of who could replace Ajmal is....all of them! New signing Mitchell McClenaghan, Jack Shantry, Morris, Leach and Chowdry each helped themselves to a wicket or several. Saeed who?
Surrey remain second despite losing by 89 runs at Guildford. It was even-stevens for three days but then Darren Stevens claimed 5-68 as Kent to thwart Dilshan and the other chasers to win by 89. There were plenty of runs in total but no centurions, while Stevens and Surrey's Stuart Meaker grabbed twenty wickets between them. Non-playing Hampshire, in third place, will be more pleased than most by this result.
Bowlers were on top in Derby where the home side defeated Glamorgan by six wickets. Derbyshire's victory lifted them above the Welsh opposition and Gloucestershire in the bottom half of Division Two. Wes Durston's 50 was the top score in the whole match and Mark Footitt's 6-48 the pick of the bowling performances. Only Saeed Ajmal has taken more Championship wickets so far in 2014 than the Derby seamer's 52.
This weekend the Twenty20 quarter-final line-up should be settled. Somerset look likely to miss out for the first time in living memory (OK, so I exaggerate, but it seems like forever) so my interest in the competition is waning fast - unless we defeat Middlesex tomorrow and the Glammies lose to Gloucester, in which case I might just start dreaming of that traditional Finals Day disappointment yet again...
