England v Australia: The Ashes

I'm back! I'm afraid that, rather like the English Cricket team but for a considerably shorter period, I have been performing below par and I've not felt like blogging. That in itself should have been an indication to me that all was not as it should have been. Anyway I feel ok tonight and am back on blogging track. And my chosen subject? Cricket. Why? Well that's interesting because it is a while since I was an avid cricket follower. But I now have two persona when it comes to cricket: as an England supporter and as a New Zealand supporter. The thing that both persona have in common is a wish to see Australia beaten. So on Monday 20th July when England won (and Australia lost!) the second Test at Lords there was great celebration and I was amongst those happy with the result. The first Test had been drawn.

Peter Siddle (Australia) loses his middle stump and England had won

England's Andrew Flintoff's team-mates mob him after his removal of Peter Siddle

Now I appreciate that many readers of this blog will find cricket to be a closed book and a rather curious game played by Countries of the now long gone British Empire but even those who are in that category may find the following of interest. The Ashes is played over five matches in five locations within either Australia or England. This series is being played in England (and, just to complicate matters, Wales). When England last beat Australia in an Ashes Test at Lords (many would argue the spiritual home of British cricket) the world population was 2.2 billion. Today it is 6.7 billion. The land speed record was 272 mph, now it's 764 mph. The average house price was £515 and now it's £189,000. So when was the last time England beat Australia at Lords? Seventy five years ago!

So here's hoping for a good result at the next Test starting on 30 July.