BUMBLE AT THE TEST
ALI: GOOD PLAYER, GOOD MAN
IT WAS great to see Moeen Ali back in form. At the Ashes you couldn’t see where his next wicket was coming from. By his own admission, he couldn’t understand why they kept picking him. But he continues to impress, not only as a cricketer but as a man. He is very impressive on and off the field.
... I’D HAVE HIM AT No 3
CHETESHWAR Pujara is the modernday Rahul Dravid. Very pleasing to see his first Test hundred in this country. He is the glue of the team, like Jonathan Trott was for England — and they are still looking for the new Trott. I think Joe Root is a bigger asset to the team at No 4 and England need a specialist No 3. Could this be Moeen?
KEY’S A REAL LANDLUBBER
I WAS out on the ocean yesterday morning on a 37-foot yacht. The skipper let me take the helm and I had Rob Key (left) with me, who’s an absolute townie. I was talking port and starboard, he only knew it as left and right. And he suffered from seasickness. He got squeamish when I told him the Titanic set sail from Southampton.
NO KARAOKE THIS TIME
I WENT to a modest pub on Thursday night — The Old Vine, near Winchester Cathedral. I was thinking of giving them a rendition of that popular ditty by The New Vaudeville Band, but felt it was a little dated now. And I wasn’t sure the young whippersnappers I was with — Atherton, Hussain, Harmison, Key — would have a clue.
A YARN ABOUT BABY BLOWERS
I WAS pleased to listen to Henry Blofeld on the Jeremy Vine show this week, talking about how cricket formed his life. But the best bit was about his nanny. She would take him in at six o’clock to be read a short story by his father. He would then play patience for 30 minutes with his mother before nanny took him away while his parents got on the whisky.
STAR-STUDDED SPECS
I NEEDED a new set of bins… and up pop Specsavers. I now have five pairs, one for each day of the Test — and very natty they are too. One style is called ‘Will.I.Ams.’ Then there’s the ‘Jeff Banks’ — they’re designer specs. But I’m saving the best until last: the ‘Kylie Minogues’. They’ve got pink lenses. They’re like garlic bread: the future.
LET CAT LOOSE IN THE FOREST!
I WAS delighted to hear that our new friend Bob ‘The Cat’ Bevan, in his capacity as former Kent president, stayed down in the hotel last night as a guest of Shaun Udal. Bob ought to visit the New Forest, where back in 1100 William Rufus had a nasty accident with a bow and arrow. If the Cat had been around at the time, I suspect he would have been a personal friend…