The Surfer

“With the fitness programs that are now in place and the research that has gone into fast bowling, the longevity of careers is going to take a hold,'' Cooley said. "You probably won't break into the team as early, unless you are a standout, but the maturity of the body is the big thing and how you look after it. Nowadays the fast bowlers are definitely looking after themselves a lot better.''

Whatever happens in the coming Ashes series, England should be strong favourites for 2009. It is just a question of whether they retain or regain the urn. This, at least, is one possible conclusion from the long list of eight candidates for the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award, which includes three Englishmen and no Australians

There appears to be little to choose between Panesar, Cook and Bell, arguably the three strongest contenders in their section. Panesar would be the most popular choice in England. He has struck a rare chord with the public who like an underdog, especially one who is a bit different. But any cult appeal that Panesar attracted through his doziness in the field has been replaced by respect for his hard work and admiration for his skill as a spin bowler.

Beefy, I should explain, walks faster than most joggers and so after setting off at his right shoulder below the castle ramparts in Edinburgh's Princes Street on a pleasantly nippy autumn morning ... I frequently had to rest my aching limbs slumped in the back seat of the support car. There can never be any such respite for Saint Ian. "When I started these walks in 1985, there was a 20 per cent chance of people surviving leukaemia. Now the survival rate is 80 per cent and I won't stop walking until it's 100 per cent."

It may well be that the revolutionary Sony coverage is yet another fantasy, which has the power to enamour and also infuriate. We have already seen that the success of Sony’s entertainment focused cricket programming has led other Indian news and even sports channels to replicate the same model. In fact, the strategy—special programming with women anchors and other innovative attractions have become the standard way of covering cricket in India. With cricket across the world in need for infusion of new innovations, it is only a matter of time before it becomes the global norm.

"For about six months beforehand, she kept talking about something will happen, you will be involved and it will be something about four runs, but it's something to do with bowling,'' Bracken said. “And she rang [his wife] Haley on the morning of the game. Her mum's gone 'I think you should get ready to go to the game'. By the time Haley got up, she turned the radio on and I had two wickets. The rest is history.''

"In the couple of games we play, I'll just try and bat as I normally would," Gilchrist told the paper. "If I pull my horns in and get too tentative, then I'll probably just get out and that defeats the purpose.”

“I was playing for BPCL in Udaipur on Monday. I finished that game, drove 250 kms myself to reach Ahmedabad and from there took a train here [Mumbai, to play the practice game against South Africa]. Tonight, I take the train back to Ahmedabad and drive to Udaipur to join my BPCL teammates again.’’

The point, of course, is larger than the Champions Trophy. Quite simply, like an affair that has tired in time, one-day cricket has no fascination for me any more. Once I leapt onto my sofa as the final five overs unfurled, but no longer. Though this could be because the springs of an old sofa and older knees complain as much as the wife.

"My wife is into her horses and equestrian riding. I was down on the farm and running around after horses and learning the horse trade, it was just great," Martyn said. "She has events every two or three weeks in the state competition - showjumping, dressage and cross-country - I would go with her to watch.