The sweetest thing ... for some

At the start of each day the Australians have been standing in a circle in the outfield inspiring each other with short speeches on their favourite Ashes memories. On the third morning in Worcester it was Shane Watson’s turn and, as he held a sheet of A4 to address the group, it looked like he might have been reading from his flight itinerary back home. Not so. He’s staying and his thigh injury is improving, but probably not in time to be serious contender for the first Test.

The coach Tim Nielsen, who led the talk on the final day, has had a busy match correcting some basic technical flaws in a couple of his first-choice players. Marcus North admitted he wasn’t watching the ball in his first three innings of the trip, but after some sessions with Nielsen he regained his focus. On Friday he started with a calming century and today he finished with a brutal blast against some declaration bowling to finish with 191 not out.

Brad Haddin chipped in with a bright 25, but his keeping is the discipline needing the greater lift. He lunged to miss two catches in the first innings and at the end of the third day was working with Nielsen on staying low and keeping his weight on his toes to help his footwork in both directions. At crucial moments on the field he had been on his heels and the remedial session continued on the final morning. It’s strange that even full-time professionals forget the basics.

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The sombre finish to the tour game could not even be sweetened by cakes from the ladies’ pavilion today. Fortunately we were warned that the tea enthusiasts don’t work on the last afternoon so we stocked up on the opening three days.

“It’s a calorie-free zone up here,” one of the women said during the week to make everyone feel better about their indulgence. It’s such a lie. There are cakes everywhere. It’s more like a cholesterol factory than a flour-stained old building, and at 3pm it was the most popular part of the New Road ground.

For three days the line dropped down the steps of the pavilion and moved slowly towards the sort of spread Homer Simpson dreams of when he falls asleep in church. Three types of sponge, cranberry scones, teacake, date cake, normal scones, chocolate cake, lemon twist cake and other cakes without names. All for 80p a slice. There seemed to be an unofficial limit of two pieces per person, but there were people with paper plates in both hands swearing they were fulfilling orders for friends.