Of Ashes, headaches and mobile breakfasts

Ashes to Ashes: Having been given a real towelling by India in the one-day series, Matthew Hoggard reveals where England's priorities lie. Having a day off in the soothing surroundings of the Taj Malabar in Kochi, Hoggard gives an unambiguous reply when asked whether he would rather take five wickets to win the World Cup final or to wrap up the Ashes at the SCG next January. "The Ashes," he says. "Any team on their day can win the World Cup." While admirable, Hoggard's honesty is also underpinned by realism. The way England play one-day cricket, the closest they'll get to the World Cup final will be seats in the stands, watching Australia, Pakistan, India or South Africa take home the trophy.

In another corner of the galaxy...: Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz stave off the challenge of the magnificent Makhaya Ntini as Australia eke out a two-wicket victory in Johannesburg. The 3-0 series whitewash gives them a ninth win in 10 Tests - including the ill-fated Super Series - in the wake of the Ashes surrender. Michael Hussey has slotted in seamlessly, while both Damien Martyn, whose brilliant century anchored the Wanderers triumph, and Matthew Hayden are back in the runs. Before the tour of South Africa, The Guardian wrote that they "won't be asking the Australian side for birth certificates, they'll want carbon dating". With Glenn McGrath missing, the other fossils haven't done too badly.

Headingley, here I come: Match-winning spells against your arch-rival are usually a good way to announce your arrival on the big stage. Having left his calling card in the 341-run demolition of India at Karachi, Mohammad Asif hasn't looked back. The most exciting pace-bowling prospect to emerge in a fair while, Asif routed Sri Lanka with figures of 11 for 71 at Kandy. His ability to hit the seam on a good length, and the way he uses his wrist, are reminiscent of a young Glenn McGrath, and the dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara in Colombo - two balls slanting across, three shaping away, and the last darting back to dislodge the off bail - was a six-ball masterpiece. On seam-friendly pitches in England, he might just be unplayable.

Palms and the man: Sanath Jayasuriya's Test career ended in defeat and a dislocated thumb. And while he remains eager to play at the World Cup, it's unlikely that he'll be consulting the palm reader at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel. On Monday, Jayasuriya, one of Sri Lanka's most superstitious cricketers, had sat before her wanting to know about his future, a world without Test cricket. As Charlie Austin wrote on these pages, "She'd confidently predicted a successful future. But she'd not seen his tragically sad injury the following day. Needless to say, business was not swift on Tuesday night." Ouch.

Telephone numbers and keeping faith: In his last seven completed ODI innings, Mohammad Kaif has managed scores of 8, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 5. Though undoubtedly an asset when prowling the cover region, his inability to snap out of single-digit mode has intensified the pressure on the team management to drop him. India's best one-day batsman at the start of the season, and the saviour in the Nagpur Test with a gritty 91, Kaif appears to be where Yuvraj Singh was earlier, unsure of his role in the bigger scheme of things. Unless things perk up in the next fortnight, the lifeline thrown at him by a patient team might just be disconnected.

Mobile breakfast: Having taken a full-strength side to Bangladesh, Australia have had to resort to unusual measures in the build-up to the Fatullah Test. Traffic congestion has meant that it takes up to an hour to reach the stadium from the team hotel, prompting the think-tank to take the decidedly unusual step of arranging breakfast on the bus.

"It will be a first for me in terms of a lead-up to a day's Test cricket," said Ricky Ponting in The Australian. "A special breakfast box packed by the hotel staff so we can save a bit of time before our 7am departure." After the way Bangladesh started, he probably suffered a bit of indigestion too.

Quote-hanger: "Get people in authority who have the backbone to do what is right, and not what is politically expedient"- Michael Holding. If others involved with cricket at the highest level had similar vertebral strength, the chucking scandal - the biggest blot on cricket since match-fixing - might yet go away.