The Surfer

I happen to think that the new outfield is a contributing factor, for it will have helped lower the natural water table, sucking moisture from beneath the square and making preparation a different task from that which the Lord's head groundsman, Mick Hunt, would have had when he first took over the job in the late 70s. There is so much more artificial watering required now which, when added to a top-dressing that binds, results in a true surface but one which has discovered the secret to eternal youth, like anti-wrinkle cream.

Holding, meanwhile, is not as affable and friendly as he was a couple of years ago. He is far, far more so! There appear to be no minutes in the day when ‘Mikey’ doesn’t have a smile on his face and when he boarded the lift to descend from the famous UFO-style media centre after Saturday’s play, he seemed well-prepared for a party with half a case of rum under his arm.

There is a fundamental problem about England and an equivalent of the Indian Premier League (IPL). We can have an English Premier League by name - Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, coined the term when the 2008 season was launched in April - but what is “Premier” about a competition with at least 18 teams?

Talks on refreshing the Twenty20 format, which was born in England in 2003, began long before the notion of “New Twenty20” and Collier, who is trying to finalise details of the Champions League with India, Australia and South Africa, said that the ECB has “received enormous broadcast and sponsor interest from around the world”.

Myth: A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) is the way to dope.

Seven of the 11 active members in the 100-Test club are here and that includes the top four longest-serving present-day cricketers. Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble made their Test debuts in the late 80s or early 90s — that’s an era with which no other international team, besides India and Lanka, has any remote connection with. West Indies with 1994 debutant Shivanarine Chanderpaul in their side comes close, but that’s all.

There's only so much a player can do by himself, the captain's backing and his correct utilization of each players skills is also critical to a players success. Imagine if you've spent the whole day practising your batting and you've got yourself worked up to go out there the next day and bat, then when the next day comes you are slotted in at number 7 or 8 and you either dont get a chance to bat or you only face a dozen balls. How disheartened would you feel? Wouldnt it get you down mentally to know that you were fully fit and mentally ready but you didnt get a chance because you are batting too low in the order?

Becoming a strike bowler is not something a player can just wake up one morning and decide to do. It requires a nose for wickets, a sharp mind with an even sharper bouncer, and a swagger that falls, usually, to those who take the new ball. Flintoff possesses most of these attributes except taking the new ball, which, apart from the odd desperate foray in the last Ashes series, he has tended to leave to others.

I would have added Steve Harmison to the squad. I have been critical of his attitude and his bowling in the past but he has gone back to county cricket, is bowling better and getting wickets. It was obvious during the first Test that on a flat pitch England lacked pace. After three days of bowling, our three fast-medium guys are knackered. If England bowl first at Headingley, they could be bowling five days out of eight. That is a tall order, let me tell you.

Nine years after the state four-day competition became the Pura Cup, much to the chagrin of cricket lovers around the country, Cricket Australia has found a sponsor which does not want to put its name at the front of the award.

State captains were lined up for a promotional photograph with yoghurt smeared across their top lip to make it look like they had been drinking milk.

You might have noticed that McKenzie wears the number '42' below the Proteas badge on his shirt, Prince has '48', Smith '49' and Amla '60'.

OK, the game was going nowhere, but surely the only reason you forfeit the final hour is if neither side can win. By declaring 47 runs ahead, hadn't Smith given England a chance of winning? Scoring 47 shouldn't be beyond England in an hour. Of course, Smith's declaration was only made because England had promised not to chase it, but it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

Dhoni certainly has built his image through the electronic media. His utterances are measured with honesty and purpose. His demeanour presents the character of a true team man willing to do anything for the team. It’s when one has this image, reasoning for any act is accepted without murmur.

There are some in the Board who are okay with players choosing what to play and what not to. Others, driven by a sense of outrage at this insensitivity towards the country, will wait for an opportunity to pounce on him. To them, the issue is not about a tired player wanting a rest but one of power. In this game, the rules say the ones in authority choose who plays when and where and not, as Dhoni has done, the other way round.