I have been a bit slow posting my blog, blame the arctic conditions, volcanic ash and concentrating my efforts on winning the pub fantasy football. I fully expect to get a free meal from the chef Sean as I ‘battered' him in the final couple of weeks. Somehow I think I had better not touch the hollandaise sauce or gentleman's relish with the free chips.

And so onto cricket and what an inspiring weekend. It was great to see young George and ‘Paulo' Rossie bolster the flagging 1XI batting and contributing 31 of our tortuous 148-7 to register an opening victory. Bless them, they could not resist the swings on the far side of Denham though before the match. Ross brought down his revision but was prevented from doing much as we took an interest in the paper, something not many of us ever did when we were his age, though I remember Orbes trying the same method of revision nearly 40 years earlier. What with 30 minnows turning up at Hurley for practice Sunday morning maybe we should install a play area on the far side by the ‘mound'. Dave did a roaring trade in bacon butties and now even has the parents bringing contributions for breakfast.     

So, England are World Champions at 20/20. Never mind that for long periods there was not a native born Englishman on the pitch. Cricket is now a multi-national game with players plying their trade across the world much like football. So goes my argument when I alight in Australia for the Ashes if British Airways is still flying. Immigration is a hot topic at the moment, and even if the Coalition brings in controls based purely on skill needs we should be ok for England players. Anyone need a laugh at the Australians not being able to beat the South African 2XI? :

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/identity-theft-foreign-legion-adds-to-our-ashes-pain/story-e6frg7mf-1225867936349