Hello, Is There Anybody There?

I've been gone for a while, stuck writing reports and giving presentations. How boring, how dull, how ever did I manage to keep my sanity I will never know. But I do know there has been a whole world of cricket going on, while I have been sat in depressing university classrooms there have been lofty drives and top of off stump deliveries happening all around me. Obviously not physically around me in the classroom, that would just be silly, and what would health and safety have to say about that...

So whats been happening,

1. Ravi Bopara has turned down a lucrative deal with the IPL to fight for his place in the England team. Well, if i had a hat on it would be off straight away, what a great decision he has made. True, he still eyes a cash prize later on in his career via maybe the big money games, but fair play, all the England cricketers deserve to share in the new found riches. But what was great was his aspirations were not to fill his pockets with notes but to fill his study with England caps.
2. Mahmood followed Ravi's lead and has stated he wants to fight for his England place, well bravo again. But he does have a much harder task at the end of the day. England seem to have a good set of pace bowlers at the moment and fighting his way into that could be an uphill struggle.
3. The IPL ploughs on, haven't looked at the results for ages but have heard it is still sending thousands of Indians delirious for a few hours as they pack into the stadiums to watch the travelling circus. Roll up Roll up!
4. Freddie is injured again, but to be honest it would have been way to quick for him to be playing in the Lord's test. Freddie if you're reading just sort yourself out ready for the South Africans, it will be a much tougher test series (no offence to any Kiwis, but you get my meaning) and we will need that little extra bit of pace in the attack.
5. Michael has still not been voted off of 'The Apprentice' which is a massive blow to anyone who is against complete assholes being on TV...sorry wrong blog
6. Hampshire continue to struggle in all forms of the game at the moment, no Warne, no Bond, No Udal and now, for at least the next few weeks, no Mascarenhas. Hard to see us getting many results this summer, but then we did beat Gloucestershire when looking more out of it than Bez on a night out

There has been huge amounts more of course, but I simply have taken my eye of the ball for the last few weeks. In many respects this is a feeble filler just to get the juices flowing once again, and for me to stop being so lazy and get on with it!