Overcompensating...

I got to Old Trafford cricket ground at 10:00 to find that there was to be a pitch inspection at 10:45 to establish if the outfield was fit for play. At 11:00 the news came through that although things had improved since yesterday, there would need to be a further inspection at 12:15, but if this was satisfactory play could start at 13:15.

The weather gods smiled on us, and this shot was taken as the Surrey boys took to the field at the appointed time. Between then and 17:00 I proceeded to take a further 1731 shots of varying quality and interest, as Surrey bowled out Lancashire for 202 runs and survived a tricky little spell to close the day on 11 without loss. It will take me some time to wade through this digital swamp, and to be honest I'm far too tired to do it today.

In common with much of the country we were subjected to some seriously strong winds, sufficient to shred a temporary sight screen and blow over a lot of fencing, but also to keep any clouds moving across the ground without spilling any further rain.