'There is a whiff of betrayal in the salty sea air. But let's cut Farby some slack'

So many crew members have abandoned ship – 11 players have left and more might follow – and now captain Paul Farbrace has fixed his lifebelt, pinched his nose and jumped into the briny after them. The Titanic, even after its spot of bother with the iceberg, looked better placed to survive.

I sense a feeling of disappointment, even anger and bitterness, following the announcement on Tuesday that Farbrace would be quitting to join Lancashire. There is even a whiff of betrayal in the salty sea air. That Judas Iscariot wasn’t such a bad bloke after all.