The Surfer

Andrew Symonds waits for Corey Parker's last practice conversion at Red Hill, the suburban home of the NRL's Brisbane Broncos. The ball groans over the crossbar before Symonds rounds it up and stuffs it in a bulging mesh bag. Parker leaves the field, the last Brisbane player to adjourn to the ice baths and recovery rooms. Symonds picks up a few brightly coloured markers, stacks them neatly like a PE teacher at the end of class and ambles over to the shade of Brisbane's gym. There's no zinc on the lips to guard against the spring sun.

It means he has competed against the best in the world across different eras; against grizzly pros when he was a kid and brash, irreverent young men now; he has played on feverishly seaming pitches and on raging turners, on cold, cloudy days and blazingly hot ones; at home surrounded by family and fans and away amidst loneliness; when the body is obeying all commands and when pain and fatigue bring you to your knees. And he hasn't just survived, he's left his imprint on every situation.

I have watched the England bowlers closely over the last few months and I think they are making a deliberate attempt to try to make sure batsmen have to run around them rather than allowing them to complete their runs in a straight line.

That is fine. It is streetwise, it is within the laws and, as a captain who played with a win-at- all-costs attitude, I am not going to criticise anyone for playing the game in the same way.

One can also wonder if attacking one’s neighbours is really such a wondrous thing, desirable for sporting success. Two, India does have a rich, though regrettable, martial history of wars, between different states and kingdoms before it was unified into one entity. And while it might look like a case of nit-picking, Upton doesn’t seem to be aware that the navies of the Cholas did attack the regions that are now in Indonesia and Malaysia – way back in the past, though — fundamentally altering those places forever.

Winning four straight games to take their second Champions Trophy title, after Kenya 2000, might be beyond them. However this tournament, with its twists and turns, has shown that maybe the anticipated gulfs among the top eight countries - the present West Indies team excepted - aren't as substantial as had been imagined.

Bonkers. There’s no other word for it. Dynamite in the middle overs, brilliant in the field. Sri Lanka thrashed; South Africa too. In the semis with a game to spare. Bonkers. (And, I imagine, more than a little annoying if you paid £70 to watch them against Australia; a series that became a fortnight-long party political broadcast for the Scrap ODIs Coaltion.)

Quote of the Year
An unnamed county player whose face was filled with fear when I mentioned that some dinosaurs want a return to one, all-play-all division: “Our batsmen will get blown away!” he squealed. Indeed. The gap between divisions is widening. The bowling in the second tier is generally awful, not very quick either. Batsmen receive as many bouncers as you see mentions of baked beans in a cook book.

There is no logic, however, in deciding to play no 50-over county matches next season, yet staging no fewer than 13 such games involving England, plus two Twenty20s and a couple more 50-over games between Pakistan and Australia.

In one way it is laudable that England should come to Pakistan’s rescue at a time of political turmoil in that country that threatens the future of cricket there. But did anyone even consider reducing England’s workload if such a gesture was to have any genuine altruism about it?

In any case, is being the aggressor and going to war such a good thing that youngsters should feel proud of it? Should they feel embarrassed that their forefathers never attacked any nation? In fact, if anything we feel proud of the fact that India never had any imperial designs and did not loot and plunder other nations? Kirsten and Upton are here to coach and train a cricket team — something they are qualified to do. They should refrain from giving us lessons on our history, culture, religion and race.

For an hour or so on Friday night Paul Collingwood was a prince of the batting arts. He danced two paces down the pitch and flicked a six over mid-wicket as if he was Sachin Tendulkar. Warmed up, he produced a cover drive for four that could have been struck by Ricky Ponting, and pulled another six which Sanath Jayasuriya might have equalled but not surpassed.

With hindsight, we might have done a couple of things differently.However, the key now is focusing on winning against New Zealand. We’ve slipped up and we’ve blown a good chance to book ourselves into the semi-finals. But how you respond to such moments is the key. Good sides have the ability to dig deep and raise their game. I’m confident we’ll learn our lessons and come back strongly.