A glut of glovemen

Football’s got a nerve: the Premiership resumes business next week and is already blaringly full of itself, its conceited luminaries strutting about as if England’s abject World Cup show was nothing to do with them. Sanest way to continue enjoying the summer is to ignore anything that concerns football till the clocks go back in October, which is about the same time as the England cricket team set off for Australia in defence of the Ashes. Beset with injuries, at least the cricketers have knuckled down to turn out a new team by introducing some warmingly bright sparks. In the absence of crocked captain, Vaughan, for instance, for much of the summer it has been heartening to admire the adult composure at the crease of the callow, schoolboy-fresh Cook; and instead of the earnestly predictable straight lines of veteran leftie spin bowler Giles, it has been an overwhelming pleasure to watch the precocious Panesar at work.