He belittles his large philosophical gifts, finds publication an agony and worries to correspondents that his work is rot.

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On the one hand, James Murdoch can say that the rot within his organisation has tonight been cut out.

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But we can't just let him go, and we can't just let him rot, so you have to give him and his accomplices their day in court.

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Although he draws too much on his earlier writings, Peter Nichols in a fine new book suggests that the rot of sponsorship set in here: a trophy of a golden globe and a cash prize offered by the Sunday Times for, respectively, the first and the fastest circumnavigation.

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And the rot really set in as six wickets toppled for 26, Needham doing most of the damage with his off-breaks, taking three wickets in four balls early in his opening spell.

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