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I'm a Lancs fan and long time Livingstone sceptic but he's changed his game the last two seasons. He's become a genuine all-rounder and is much better as a proper middle order batter rather than a finisher. Not sure about his long term future in ODIs in but for T20Is I think he should be coming in at 5 and bowling as the backup or third spinner. He had a poor World Cup but so did most the squad, for which I'd place the blame firmly on Jos Buttler's captaincy.

I've switched from almost 100% non-fiction a few years ago to probably 80% fiction now. I'm finding I'm reading a lot more, getting through 30-50 books a year. For the last few months I've been trying to get through a bunch of old stuff I should have read as a teenager but didn't because my school was rubbish and we didn't have many books at home. Just finished Moby Dick which was a challenge but so rewarding. Also lots of Graham Greene which I'm really enjoying. For me, fiction helps put my own little problems and anxieties in perspective and I find I can enter my own little world while reading in a way I don't reading about history, politics, sport etc.

In defence of Old Trafford, this was my view two weeks ago.

Obviously I want him to succeed. But I do find that I feel a bit sad after listening to his press conferences.

I appreciate that. Still think the broader point about the triple lock making state pensions more generous in comparison to benefits for working age people, including child benefit stands - and will continue to do so as long as the triple lock remains in place. I do agree that there will be pensioners affected by this who will feel it due to where the cutoff point is being drawn, which is not good.

I'm disappointed by the poor arguments Labour is putting up for means testing the winter fuel allowance to be honest. There's a fairly straightforward and reasonable justifcation for withdrawing it from all but the poorest pensioners. When it was introduced in 1997, the UK pension was one of the least generous in Europe, now it's about average. Pensioners in 1997 were the age cohort most likely to be in poverty, now they're the age group least likely to be in poverty. The introduction of the triple lock in 2010 means the state pension has risen above the level of inflation for almost 15 years. Last year the state pension went up by £900 a year and next year will go up by almost £500. In this context there is a good argument to means test the allowance. I feel people would be much more receptive to this message than the nonsense 'we have to do this otherwise the bond markets will crash' stuff we've heard from ministers in the last couple of weeks.

Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and particularly Lancashire have really underperformed in recent years. Last year Lancs had a team including Buttler, Salt, Livingstone, Luke Wood and Daryl Mitchell but somehow contrived to only finish second in the group and got knocked out in the quarters.

Would say the two child benefit cap is a much bigger problem within the PLP than the fuel allowance issue though. The leadership have kicked the can down the road for now by announcing a child poverty taskforce but ultimately they'll have to make a decision whether to scrap the cap or not. Speaking to a couple of people close to this issue they think it will eventually be scrapped but the government need to roll the pitch beforehand because the cap is, depressingly, quite popular with the public.

Since I started watching cricket (late 90s) I'd have pretty much what you've got there but I'd have Bell in for Gough and move everyone from Stokes onwards down the order. I know it's cheating a bit only having two dedicated pace bowlers but I reckon between them Flintoff and Stokes would do a job.

I can see Coady coming in for this now he's fit again. Seemed clear in pre season that Cooper wanted him as captain. Then depending on the opposition he'll rotate between Okoli and Faes alongside him.

In no particular order: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue Wu Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers Pavement - Wowee Zowee Real Estate - Days The Strokes - Is This It

If you like Spirit of Eden you might enjoy an album by Westerman called An Inbuilt Fault. One of my favourites from last year.

100% agree with this. Get lifetime cover. Mine is currently insured by ManyPets. Not the cheapest but he's had a few issues so worth it for us. We've previously had a decent experience with PetPlan - had to make a claim for over a grand and they sorted it pretty quickly.

Very sad to hear this. Sven’s time at Leicester was a bit of a mixed bag but we played some scintillating stuff at times. The Derby game springs to mind, we battered them and Yakubu was unplayable. I recall a really fun away trip to Scunthorpe as well. It ended up a bit of a mess with all the signings in the summer of 2011, but I have fond memories of a pretty fun time. More importantly, he seemed like a good bloke who treated people right. You can tell the esteem he’s held in by players by the way Kasper talks about him. A life well lived. RIP Sven.

I live in Manchester and go to the OT test match most years. Didn't get a ticket this year because the prices were ridiculous. Cheapest I could find for today was almost 70 quid when you factor in admin fees. I expect to pay that and more for the big matches against Australia and India but balk at that sort of money for what's likely to be a pretty one sided game. Cheapest adult tickets for Friday are £72 in the party stand. In 2022 I paid about 50 quid for the test against South Africa which felt reasonable. If there's any play on day 4 I might take my chances and get a ticket as there are some still available for around 40 quid.

I think lots of football supporters, not just at Leicester, don't seem to appreciate that you don't have to boo or clap. You can just do nothing. If it's Mahrez or Kante give them a little clap before kick off then get on with supporting the team. If it's Chilwell give him pelters throughout because he's an absolute tube. Anyone else just ignore them.

He works hard and is physically strong. Not 100% sold on him as a modern full back as apart from that cross which ultimately led to Vardy's goal he didn't show much going forward. But as a backs to the wall defender he can play a role this season.

Stop trying to make 'stadium bowl' a thing you weirdos.

"Hermansen, Stolarczyk, Ward, Iversen. What does that say to you about Leicester City goalkeepers?" "There are too many of them?" "That's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is, people like them - let's have more of them"

Just listened to the David Davis episode and I largely agree with you. He's quite a likeable bloke in some ways but you can see why he never made high office. He just doesn't have sufficient command of the detail. On other podcasts, I'm a huge fan of Political Currency with Ed Balls and George Osborne. I was very sceptical before listening as I didn't think the world needed another podcast with two ex politicians from the centre of their parties largely agreeing with each other. What differentiates it from the rest is their honesty and willingness to admit mistakes. They also go into a lot of detail about the nuts and bolts of policymaking, particularly fiscal policy. Very different but also enjoyable is Past Present Future. It's quite academic and the strength of the episodes largely depends on the guests. They recently had an interesting series on political fiction - the episode with Helen Lewis talking about To Kill A Mocking Bird is great if you're into that sort of thing. Before the general election they had a series on previous 'change' elections, starting with 1906. The FT Politics podcast is always a good (and relatively short) listen, particularly if Stephen Bush is on. Finally, if you're into American politics, I can recommend Know Your Enemy. It's a deep dive into conservative and Republican thinking from two guys broadly on the left, one of which is a former Republican. They have a nice way of delving deep into history to explain what's happening in the Republican party now.

Feels like a risk but a reasonably well calculated one. I wouldn't want to see us lumbering ourselves long term with big wages for 30+ players but I'm happy with a one year loan if supplemented with some moves for under 25s with potential sell-on value elsewhere. Have seen some concerns about his personality but that's one of the more appealing aspects of this move for me. We've had a soft underbelly for quite a few years now - even last season we seemed too nice. He can be an aggressive player at times - we need a bit of that fire.

With what we currently have: Mads Ricardo Vesty Faes Justin Buonanotte Ndidi Winks Fatawu Mavididi BDCR Not great is it?

He’ll need to play well or it will be goodnight to the Premier League.

If attending this kind of event is not part of her role, I don't understand what her role is. Being generous, it's summer so maybe she was on holiday. Guess we'll find out how seriously the club is taking fan engagement if she turns up to the next event of this kind.