Good...

...this Ashes stuff 'innit?

Hello old boy, not seen you around for a bit.

JKL.

Holidays, busy as fark at work, playing lots of cricket (having a really enjoyable season), watching t'Ashes and doffing my cap occasionally amongst that little lot to paternal duties means that I've not had much time on my hands over the last month or so.

Also been sh*t scared that I'll spend far too much time on here with all the excitement of this series if I dip my toe in.

Oh well, I'll find out now I suppose . . . and it's going to p*ss down tomorrow so will probably lose my first Saturday game to the weather this season, and will be able catch up as I watch the rain sheet down!

I have to say that I actually feel confidence this time around and have faith in several of our team. Feelings that had left me for quite a while after 2005.

I'm particularly excited by Swann, Anderson and Onions and Strauss is leading well from the front. The Lord's win made me feel very emotional and will stay with me for a long time.

Pity the umpires are letting us all down but I admire the reactions of Ponting, first time ever!

It's going well, isn't it?!

Aye - echo much of that, Dem.

Sent my mate a text once we wrapped it up at Lord's that I had that 2005 tingle creeping up my back again!

Long way to go, but just glad we're competitive for the moment . . . even if it is against a pretty poor Australian side.

Their worst Ashes side since the mid 80's by some distance I'd say in fact .

Did you happen to see Prior's catch yesterday, Bob?

Henry wrote:Did you happen to see Prior's catch yesterday, Bob?

Should've left it to first slip...

Yes, Trev - very good!

If I was being hypercritical I'd say it was Strauss' catch, and he'd have looked a clown a la Grunt had he grassed it, but he didn't so I'm not going to.

He's done ok with the gloves so far this series, some shoddy byes still slipping through, but he's fully justifying his place at the moment, and I'd give him the confidence of making him England's first choice keeper in all forms of the game for the foreseeable future and see how he goes.

Interesting observations they were making on Sky with regard to the modifications he's made to his general technique and how he's now taking the ball on the inside in the 'Australian' manner.

He does appear to have made some strides in improving his keeping, when I genuinely believed that after years of work and getting nowhere, his glovework had plateaued . . . somewhere around sea level!

Well done him.

(Still don't like him mind you, and think he's a thick oik, but I don't have to like him to recognise he's doing a job for England for the time being.)

Given how wafer-thin our batting is now, we need Prior - iron gloves or not.

I'm sure he's due a howler somewhere in this series, mind...

Yip and yip.

And may I also add what a shite fielder Ravi Bopara is.

And Flintoff's slipping is way overrated too.

That's all.

Ravi - aye.

Fred? Certainly no Beefy in the slips, but that was a hell of a tough chance he shelled today. There's no way you could anticipate that ball coming your way with the way Clarke played it.

Well, I've been catching up on my 2005 Ashes DVDs and have Freddy shelling a gimme at Lord's fresh in my memory.

Therefore: he's shit.