If ever a man deserved his gong it’s Sir Chef

Here’s a date for the diary: if you’re in south London on 11 April, head for the Oval. It’s going to be nippy for sure, certainly a four-sweater day, and it might even be snowing, but you can count on the free coffee Surrey generously lays on for members, not forgetting a few pastries as well. More than that, though, you should be able to see a real copper-bottomed English knight of the realm strapping on his pads. With a bit of luck Sir Alastair Cook should have said cheerio to his lambs and be playing in the County Championship for Essex in what must be his gazillionth season of first-class cricket.

If ever a man deserved his gong it’s Sir Chef. And come April and a handful of spectators in a largely deserted Oval, it will be a far cry from that golden September Monday last year when 25,000 cricket fans saluted Cook with an endless roll of standing ovations and tears.