Twenty-four hour party people

Being an England fan on tour should be classed as an endurance sport and not just because the team often make it a tough experience. It’s quite possible that some of the people watching the action on Sunday morning haven’t actually been to bed.

Saturday night in Barbados isn’t for sleeping – although I should add here that my evening ended around 11pm after a curry and a few beers [yeah right, Ed]. How boring, but I’m not a morning person at the best of times so a rough head isn’t a pleasant prospect when, apparently, I'm here to work.

Anyway, at breakfast a small group of lads were sat on the table opposite dressed in England tops, tucking into bacon and eggs. They looked a little worse for wear and indeed had got back to the hotel at 5.30am and woke at eight.

The efforts of the travelling contingent have certainly impressed the locals more than England’s bowling. “They have beer for breakfast, plenty through the day then top it up at night,” said Chris on the front desk. “But we rarely get any bother, they are just here for a good time.”

And that is a common sentiment. In the main, the locals enjoy welcoming England cricket fans to town. They certainly don’t arrive with the reputation that proceeds certain groups of football followers and it also means a bumper few days of work.

Our taxi driver after the third day’s play said he’d been a security guard at the Kensington Oval during the World Cup and had been asked to do it again for this Test. “But it’s more lucrative for me to drive my taxi and pick you all up,” he said.

There will certainly have been a high demand for taxis on Saturday night. You’ve barely been able to move down at St Lawrence Gap in the recent days as the visitors make the most of an island that is happy to open their doors to them. No wonder the stands were a little quieter this morning, but they’ll be back to full voice soon enough. Now, make mine a Banks.