A few quick updates before this month’s blog puzzle: My latest Cricket Cryptic was in issue 15 of County Cricket Matters. I had another crossword in The Independent recently – click here and select June 18th 2023. And my puzzle “Disgraceful” is in the June 2023 issue of 1Across magazine.

Meanwhile, here’s this month’s blog puzzle – prompted by a recent new combination, and a minor grumble about cryptic clues. (Therefore I make no apologies for any references herein!) Solution and explanations are in the following post. Scroll down for a browser-solvable version. (There are no “check” or “reveal” buttons, but you will get a confirmation message if you have fully filled in the grid correctly.) Or print off the standard or inksaver versions.