Cricket meets Le Tour

One very much for the journal today. I'm wondering if this might be the first ever published photograph to reference the Tour de France and a cricket match in the same frame? Still hard to believe that in exactly two weeks time the tour will be racing past the club here and then through Ilkley and out into the Dales. It's going to be surreal.

I was forced to surrender any attempt to do anything exciting today. I've had absolutely no energy. The furthest I got was the cricket club here, to watch the first team game against Kirkstall. It was a strange match. Kirkstall batted first and were cruising at 97-1 off just 19 overs. Forrest had come on to bowl his off-cutters and had started to stem the flow of runs from his end. The captain then claimed a wicket at the other end with his slower off-spin. That opened the flood gates. Both bowlers extracted turn off the pitch and bowled quite beautifully to dismiss the opposition for just 129 runs. Forrest finished with figures of 3-19. Alex picked up six.

Unfortunately, the demons in the pitch proved just as troubling for us. We lost early wickets and never looked like chasing the runs down. Forrest came in sixth wicket down with the cause pretty much lost and launched something of a counter attack. He top scored with 26 before holing out in the deep - just at the point when a miracle seemed possible.

While all this was going on the seconds had cruised to a ten wicket victory in the reverse fixture at Kirkstall, very near where the test match was being played at Headingley. Roam arrived back just after the home game finished and was buzzing. They are only a few points off the top of the table. Worryingly, the firsts are only a few points off the bottom. It's going to be an exciting second half of the season.