1) Are you not entertained?

What is the purpose of watching sports? “We’re in the entertainment business” used to be a common phrase used by those in charge, but you hear it less often these days as sports companies have realized the power of the emotional connection between fan and supporter. There’s gold in the mountains!

No one would argue that entertainment doesn’t play a role in sport; after all, few things in life have changed more in the last 24 years than the variety and accessibility of ways to pass the time. But sport is also about history, identity, belonging, relaxation, excitement and, perhaps more than any other factor, the rare exhilaration that comes from sharing an intense collective experience in real time. Why do millions pay a fortune to sing along to a distant spark? Sports lovers and Taylor Swift fans have a lot in common.

No Somerset or Glamorgan fan would argue that the One Day Cup is the pinnacle of the game or the variety of entertainment available to them. But thousands will flock to Trent Bridge on September 22nd in good voice and good heart to watch the final. The marketing managers, with their focus groups, brand strategies and income diversifications, perhaps understand that sentiment about as well as I do. And I quite like that.

2) Kai is fine

Before the long wait for the climax of the competition began, things moved very quickly last week, with two elimination games on Friday and two semi-finals on Sunday. (Incidentally, it’s a great structure, but should be done in seven days: elimination games Monday and Tuesday, semi-finals Thursday and Friday, final on Sunday).

Worcestershire, forced out of New Road by a match between the England Lions and Sri Lanka that must have been absolutely impossible to reschedule, played at Edgbaston in a thriller that offered the kind of narrative that other white-ball formats simply cannot provide.

In the 22nd over, Ed Pollock and Jake Libby were well placed, with the scoreboard showing 97 for two and them targeting a score of over 300. Jake Lintott’s left-arm wrist-spin provoked a mishit from Pollock and although his captain was yet to add to his century (Libby has had a good tournament in the middle order), all five Warwickshire bowlers took wickets in a solid performance.

At 77 for five on the 19th hole, it all seemed to be in vain; 287 was no longer a mediocre goal, but a distant one. Only the experienced Will Rhodes stood between the Pears and a showdown on Sunday at Sophia Gardens. But that would be to neglect one of the joys of this competition – the discovery of new talent.

Enter Kai Smith, who has not faced an innings of more than 44 balls in the competition so far, and not even a First Class game on the CV. With 31 overs available to bat, the teenager did just that, scoring 130 of the 210 runs his No. 7 team needed. What a knock!

3) No ball means no win for Hampshire

While this thriller was unfolding in Birmingham, an even more exciting decision was being made a few miles east in Leicester.

The first innings followed a similar pattern, Nick Gubbins, the experienced captain, scoring a century, but Hampshire will feel that 290 for eight was slightly below par after going into the final 10 overs at 214 for three, with Liam Dawson equally well placed as Gubbins. That it was Chris Wright who took two wickets in the 41st over to lead Leicestershire’s fightback will have pleased many cricket fans who sympathise with the experienced pacer after a tough suspension kept him out of the game until mid-July.

After two Test players, Peter Handscomb and Ajinkya Rahane, laid the foundation with two 70s, Leicestershire’s hero further down the order was Liam Trevaskis, who joined wicketkeeper Ben Cox, who needed 103 runs at just over a run per ball. They managed 94 runs before Cox left the crease, but that set up a very tense final over, with Dominic Kelly’s no-ball probably the turning point as nerves were frayed. The lad, who otherwise had a good game, will come back stronger after that mistake.

4) Bears repelled in the gardens

By winning their group, Glamorgan and Somerset had earned themselves a free Friday and home advantage in the semi-finals, and both were able to benefit from this.

Ed Barnard’s excellent form continued, with the opening bowler and batsman eclipsing the Glamorgan side by four wickets and leaving the home fans worried at 44 for 4. Colin Ingram and Billy Root held firm with a partnership of 46 in 11 overs to stay in the game, but at 168 for 7 in the last 10 overs, it was the Warwickshire fans who were checking the Sunday schedules to Nottingham.

Dan Douthwaite is exactly the kind of cricketer who suits this competition. He can influence a game with bat or ball and few number 9s have the brains that Timm van der Gugten has. They scored 34 for the eighth wicket before Douthwaite led an attack in the last three overs that brought in 41 crucial runs.

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Van der Gugten was back in the game with the ball in hand, removing Rob Yates and Will Rhodes while taking two for 22 of his total target. Douthwaite was not to be outdone, with Chris Benjamin and semi-final hero Kai Smith caught behind him before he caught Michael Burgess, whose 85 threatened to surpass the target.

5) Goldsworthy’s performance deserves first place

I’m not sure Leicestershire’s Lewis Hill made the right decision when he invited Somerset to bat at Taunton. While you don’t want a loud home crowd roaring your team home in a chase, you also don’t want them adding adrenaline to a well-aimed and atmospheric first bat.

Lewis Goldsworthy, who was batting at three in the 19th over, made 115 not out with five sixes to give the visitors an impressive 335 for victory, complemented by a 91-run opening stand from Andrew Umeed and George Thomas and a superb 71 from James Rew.

Handscomb continued his fine form with a century from No.5, but the visitors were always playing catch-up and it felt that either Louis Kimber or Trevaskis would have to do something special at seven and eight if Somerset were to win. They managed just two runs each and the home side had 23 runs in hand at the end of the 50 overs.

6) Train travel is stressful for fans

To save Glammie fans the hassle, the first train arrives in Nottingham at 12.53pm on 22 September after two changes and a journey time of four and a half hours, and is available for just £79.40 each way.

To give readers of this column a fair deal: the first train from Taunton arrives in Nottingham at 1.39pm, after two changes and over five hours, at the bargain price of £56.10 each way. And this from the country that invented the railway.

The CO2 costs alone should rule out such transport-unfriendly planning. Think of that the next time the ECB touts its environmental credentials.