Late last year, and with a heavy heart, I was rereading Bob Willis's Diary of a Cricket Season, written in 1978. After only three paragraphs, Bob was in off the long run.

PAUL ALLOTT: Bob would have been the last person to think of himself as an all-action hero, but it described my old friend better than he ever knew.

Sir Andrew Strauss has admitted to mistakes in the way he handled Kevin Pietersen during the dispute that was to ultimately tear one of the best of all England teams apart.

PAUL NEWMAN: If cricket returns this summer, one key proposal by the ECB is for the Test and white-ball sides to play at the same time to enable as much action as possible to take place. 

PAUL NEWMAN: It is not without irony that Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, spoke of rewarding cricket's 'core audience' if the game can squeeze a truncated season into this summer.

RICHARD GIBSON: The 31-year-old represents another arrival straight from his country's Test team, having featured in their most recent match, England's series-clinching victory in Johannesburg.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sky Sports have given their blessing to the ECB postponing The Hundred for 12 months - despite the competition's importance to their £1.1bn television deal.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: England batsman Joe Denly admits his nerves almost got the better of him during this winter's tour to South Africa when he presented Zak Crawley with his first cap.

Ben Stokes, the hero of England's dramatic World Cup triumph and the miracle of Headingley last summer, has been named the leading cricketer in the world.

COMMENT BY LAWRENCE BOOTH: In the editor's notes in this year's Wisden I suggested the English game has a problem with unconscious bias - which is not the same as overt racism.

Wisden is published on Thursday for the 157th time. It is full of joy, and staring into the abyss. The Almanack's arrival usually coincides with a spring in cricket's step. But this year, not so much.

The ECB are considering a re-draft of players if they postpone the Hundred for 12 months - due to changes in status of Kolpak cricketers and the availability of overseas stars.

JOFRA ARCHER: Being chosen as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year is one of the most prestigious awards imaginable. Even being nominated alongside some big names feels great.

Ashley Giles says England's players will have 'no excuses' for not being fully fit to start a truncated cricket season he still believes can take place later this summer.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY TIM RICH: Ian Gould has just been walking on the seafront at Hove. It is eerie; empty. He retired as an international umpire after 13 years following last summer's World Cup.

Joe Root believes David Warner was better behaved in the last Ashes series than the previous one. The Australian batsman is known to be a lively character and Root thought he was calmer.

With no cricket to fill the live schedules as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, Ben Stokes rewatched his 'miracle of Headlingley' for the first time with his epic 135 not out performance.

Coco Cuhna made the mistake of suggesting to her cricket coach boyfriend that it might be fun to see if he could show her how to bat when she saw him whacking a few tennis balls into a net.

The traditional toss of the coin was due to return to the County Championship on Sunday but the half-dozen grounds scheduled to host fixtures stood empty.

Cricket's county champions are still planning for a truncated season and believe a Twenty20 Blast-dominated schedule will help the game avoid the financial black hole facing football.

The dream of becoming the first brothers to play Test cricket together for England since the Hollioakes is sustaining Tom and Sam Curran as they endure being apart during lockdown.

Phil Neville played alongside former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for Lancashire's age-group sides, and also went on to make an appearance for their second XI before turning to football.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eight months on and the noise of that unforgiving Edgbaston crowd is still ringing in Cameron Bancroft's ears. 'It was loud, it was intimidating.'

EXCLUSIVE: The ECB are preparing to postpone England's Test series against West Indies, put back the Twenty20 Blast until later in the summer and cancel the inaugural Hundred.

Fears over international teams getting stuck at this year's Twenty20 World Cup will feature prominently in the ICC's teleconference talks between chief executives next Thursday.

Sportsmail columnists Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd answer your questions including who were the hardest batsmen to plan for and will England lift the T20 World Cup?

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Rashid will turn 35 during the next World Cup in 2023 but with the tournament set for the spin-friendly pitches of India, he says he'd love to be involved.

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor and wicket-keeping great Adam Gilchrist believe pay cuts are inevitable for the country's cricketers as the sport gears up to deal with the financial crisis.

Can you guess the England cricket star who posted a throwback picture of himself alongside his sister on Instagram? He's wearing his first Nottingham Forest shirt in the photo.

If cricket returns while Covid-19 is still a threat, bowlers will be asked to throw clothing and other things such as sunglasses beyond the boundary rope instead of handing to officials.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eoin Morgan's side are scheduled to face the Aussies in three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals from July 3-16.

EXCLUSIVE: Ian Watmore quit his leading Football League role in November 2018 citing poor health. But it can be revealed a week earlier the EFL had commissioned an independent inquiry.

EXCLUSIVE BY PAUL NEWMAN: Cricket's biggest counties are most in danger of collapsing under the financial pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, claims Richard Thompson.

The ECB have been given a free run at reorganising their international summer plans after West Indies prioritised their three Tests in England over home series against New Zealand and South Africa.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: The ECB are under pressure to save counties by paying them their full instalments for the Hundred despite the competition's imminent postponement.

England cricket legend Andrew Flintoff has recalled how Newcastle boss Steve Bruce once bailed him out of a sticky situation at a restaurant after his credit card had maxed out.

Twenty20 record breaker Chris Gayle has signed for St Lucia Zouks for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.

Almost the whole squad were stricken by two sickness bugs, the first a type of flu and the second a stomach problem, that weakened England in their heavy first Test defeat over Christmas.

There are fears that the current restrictions put in place by their federal government preventing Australians flying abroad in all but essential circumstances will last into final quarter of this year.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Luke Sutton is looking back on the chance meeting almost nine years ago with his old Lancashire captain that quite possibly saved his life.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that the ECB are insured for the value of all tickets sold up until April 1 if the Tests do not take place as planned.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that all players are entitled to 12.5 per cent of their deals even if the competition does not take place.

The four-week tournament remains in its scheduled slot of an October 18 start, although Cricket Australia have reserved the right in the circumstances to reassess the situation as late as August.

SPECIAL REPORT: There are growing concerns that the new franchise-based tournament is unaffordable given the challenges facing cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic.

COMMENT: The postponement of the controversial new format for at least a year - which will be confirmed on Friday - gives the ECB the opportunity to admit their mistake.

Sportsmail revealed in November that assistant coach Paul Collingwood had already been earmarked to take charge of the one-day home series against Ireland, scheduled for September.

The ECB had initially announced that no cricket would be played in the UK until May 28 at the earliest, but - as expected - the pandemic has caused a further delay.

The ECB have delayed the 2020 season until at least July 1, leaving just three months to complete the remaining nine County Championship rounds, the Twenty20 Blast and the new Hundred competition.

English cricket supremo Tom Harrison has warned of dire financial consequences for the sport amid fears that the new season will not take place at all because of the coronavirus.

The prospect of the sanctioned use of artificial substances to alter the condition of the red ball, under the supervision of umpires, has been debated this week by the ICC's medical committee.