Bumble, I live in Toronto, and I enjoy watching you and your comments on TV during the series with SA. I watch all the games of cricket and am really enjoying England's success under Pietersen. Long may it continue, and also your true and honest opinion, amusing at times. The banter among the English commentators is real fun, and makes the game of cricket even more enjoyable to watch.

As much as I'd like to believe Collingwood when he says that he wanted to resign before Vaughan did, I sincerely feel the powers that be, had a quiet word in his ear after Michael Vaughan resigned, as the chairman wanted to have one captain in all forms of the game, and since they already had Pietersen in mind for that, Collingwood had to go. Collingwood did a fairly good job while captain, but after the NZ series, he was not very popular with the press, and the pressures were building, and maybe it was a blessing in disguise for him to go, as he is now performing much better.

In my previous blog, I stated that India's population was 1.2 million, when in actual fact I meant 1.2 billion......I apologise for the oversight.

I don't think Pietersen can compare the job of the Indian Captain to that of England Captain. For a start, there are 1.2 million followers of cricket in India as opposed to 60 million in England. In India, they eat, drink and sleep cricket, and the pressures are ten times if not more, on the captain. In England the main sport is football, and there are definitely more followers of this sport than cricket. Furthermore, Pietersen has only seen the good side of winning at the moment, and is enjoying it as he rightly should. After he has his baptism of fire in India we will begin to have a true picture of him as captain. Let us all wish him well, and seeing the start that he has had, I am sure he will strive to keep the flag flying.

The way Kumble bowled in the just concluded series against SL, he would have been hard pressed to get Geoffrey Boycott's mother out!!. His 'sell by' date has definitely been reached.

Whoever made these rules must be daft!! If technology like Snicko and Hot-Spot are available, we should go the whole hog and get the right decision. This is a real farce. It is neither here nor there. Instead of making life easier, they are making it more complicated. So much for the ICC._

Nasser, never a truer word said. You have hit the nail on the head. When some teams do badly, some captains will always look for a scapegoat, rather than blame themselves for the fiasco. Let's all hope that England put up a better performance in the next test. One thing I have noticed, whenever Pietersen is dismissed cheaply, the team flounders. Am I right in thinking that?

I don't know what all the fuss is about. SA was right in telling Amla to stay on the field, just as England told Pietersen(India series) to stay on in spite of being given out by the best umpire Simon Taufel. The decisions in both cases went in favour of the batsmen, and that is the end of story. I say if technology is available, it should be used to the fullest extent, as this will ensure the better team wins(fairly), and we will not have endless discussions on the matter. I am happy to note that India and SL have agreed to the referral system for their upcoming series. I am sure it will be a success.

Never a truer word said, Donald. Hopefully, they will perform better in the next test after learning from their mistakes. The next test promises to be a cracker, fingers crossed!!

Brilliantly put Tim(in a nutshell). This SA army is in complete disarray, and England should pounce while the iron is hot or should I say 'the going is good'. Put the boot in for good measure while the opponent is down, and shake hands off the field. No quarter should be given. This is the best chance we have of beating SA, and let us not allow this to go begging. Go England Go.

I think Micky Arthur has had to eat his words regarding Bell. I feel he should keep his big mouth shut and wait till SA starts performing before opening it again. SA is indeed a good team, but when the coach starts predicting things before they are actually successful then that invariably puts pressure on them, and we have all seen the results so far!!

Only grouse I have with you Tristan, is that in the very beginning of this article, you stated that England drew with SA and India, but that is incorrect, as the last series played against India in England was won by India. Otherwise wonderful reading.

I fully endorse OldNick's comments. KP is a big mouth and wastes no opportunity to babble about all the bad treatment he was accorded in SA, and that is why Smith gets his hackles up whenever Pietersen's name is mentioned. I for one(in addition to millions of others) are eagerly looking forward to the sparks on the field(not verbal I hope) when these two teams do battle in the first test.

Aurthur's praising of Vaughan is intentional. He wants Vaughan to fall into a false sense of overconfidence and think that he is 'all powerful', and that will inevitably lead to his downfall. Psychology, psychology!! We have all heard that before. The Aussies are masters of it. Let us all wait and see. Time will reveal all. Let the first test begin!!

West Indies have done it again. Pulled off a defeat from the jaws of victory!! What more can I say. Typical WI. Sad, but true to say, they have no idea how to pace their innings.

I'd love to think otherwise, but unfortunately, this team just flatters to deceive. They had Australia by the scruff of their necks, and they just had to 'put the boot in', and what happens? Symonds recues them like he did in the first innings!! This is a very similar scene, and I'm afraid until I see different, I will have to give this WI team the thumbs down. They are certainly trying their best, but that is not good enough for these tough Aussies. I would sincerely hope to be proved wrong.

I have a strong feeling that people will be watching Darrell Hair more than the cricket for the first couple of hours!! Any mistakes will be highlighted immediately, by the media ofcourse. However, I feel now that NZ have acclimatised themselves with the conditions, a better show is at hand. Make no mistake, NZ have always been a fighting unit(even though they have never had too many well known players like other teams have), and have always given it their best, and I am sure they will continue to do so. Having said all that, England will still start as favourites, and hopefully will put one across them. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that happens, but nevertheless looking forward to a good game.

Though I would love to be proved wrong, I feel Nasser has more money than brains in backing Michael Vaughan to score a century in his first game at Lords!! I would start with a fifty score for Michael and go from there.

I sometimes fail to understand why our selectors pick unfit players for the team. It is not that we are short of players vying to get into the team on merit. Since we are so confident of beating NZ(from all the comments by Vaughan et al), why can't we do it without Collingwood? Let him get completely fit as also Freddie for the sterner battles that lie ahead (SA). It seems that we just cannot do without certain players in the team, and feel that we will fall apart at the seams if these players are not in the team. It is about time, Vaughan, Strauss, Pietersen, Cook, Bell etc perform to their true potential, which will in turn allow us to experiment with some new, young budding players. England, are you listening?

I fully endorse Ather''s views. Sir Ian Botham has also concurred on this. It makes sense to get Freddie completely fit and raring to go when the South Africans arrive, as that will most certainly be a much tougher series than the one against NZ, with all due respect to them. We all seem to be writing them off, but as we also know, some teams perform their best when people belittle them. A wounded tiger is always a dangerous animal, and NZ are known for their tenacity. So who knows, maybe we will see a very engrossing series. Looking forward to it.

This is a load of codswallop. If my recollection is correct, I remember Pietersen saying the same thing about a couple of months ago, and all the 'loyal to England' part of it, and then a few weeks later, was the first player to bleat about being left behind when all the goodies were on offer in the IPL.. I still recall all the comments on a BBC website where most of the readers were commending him for his loyalty, and then we all know what happened after that!! Unfortunately, money is such a thing, that human nature being what it is, most people can't refuse a good offer. If this Stamford deal doesn't materialise, then I'm afraid we will see a lot of defectors to the IPL, and England will be the loser. It will indeed be a shame if this happens, so I feel, the administrators should ensure this doesn't happen, and that the players are well looked after.

Harbhajjan is an idiot, and for what he did and his past records, should have been banned for at least a year if not more. I agree wuth Steve's comments. He hs become too big for the game, and has come to the point, when he feels that he is God, and can take things into his own hands! I hope BCCI also punishes him accordingly, as this will send a clear signal to all other cricketers, that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated, period.

I fully endorse Peter May's comments regarding Michael Vaughan. Only he was slightly incorrect in stating that of the modern day captains, only Mark Taylor opened the innings for his country. Graeme Smith Captain of SA, opens on a regular basis, and is indeed very successful in all forms of the game.

I do feel sorry for Harmison. But then that is the life of a sportsman. When he was performing, everyone was praising him to the skies, and literally, 'the sky was the limit'!! However, he should realise that when he is not performing like he should, the knives will be out. It is the same for all sportsmen all over the world. The media is meant for that. That's how newspapers are sold. Hopefully though, this criticism will act as a spur, and he will be back to his best pretty soon, and if he does, England will be quite a different side to what it is at the moment, make no mistake.

Clarke is speaking a load of rubbish. If he sticks to his guns, you can bet your life a lot of the English players will be taking decisions that will certainly not benefit England. The exodus of players will be so great that England which has just started to get things right, will be thrown right back on its haunches! All other countries are trying their best to come to terms with this situation of the IPL, and it's about time England did the same. The money is great and players are human, and if they can spend more time with their families and still have a better lifestyle, then so be it. Just a short comment regarding Pietersen( I hope I spelt his name right). A couple of months back if I correctly recollect, he was baosting about being loyal to England and stated very categorically that he would not be lured away for any amount of money offered. He stated money was not everything, and he was already being paid sufficiently by ECB to even contemplate joining IPL. And now he is the one who is complaining the most. What a turnaround!! Money talks, that's all I can say.

Very well spoken, chinaman. I thoroughly endorse your views. Australia without sledging, are half the team they are!! We all saw that in Australia in the third test which India won. If sledging is brought down to a minimum level, Australia will be ranked in the middle of the pile, make no mistake. This was always a gentleman's game until the Aussies changed the rules. Let us get down to showing proper skill and winning because of it. Small banter from time to time is acceptable. But the Aussies have taken it to a different level, and when India matched them, they were completely bemused and did not know what was happening, and hence all the comments on and off the field. Let us play by the rules, and I'm sure all the other countries are feeling upbeat that at last things are being done regarding sledging. Never too late. The class players will still succeed, but Australia will feel it the most if sledging is curtailed. CA has also strongly rejected a ban on sledging, and no guesses for why they have done so!!

While I agree with Peekay2000, I feel Boycott should tone down his remarks a bit, as Harmison, though performing badly, is still human, and does feel hurt like anyone else. However, Harmison should use this as a spur to try and get his form back and earn his place in the team. At his best, Harmison is a terrific bowler, but then again, have we seen the best of him? I sincerely hope not.

I agree with what Sehwag had to say. India is exceptionally strong in India, and very few teams, except Australia the last time they toured India, were able to succeed. I personally can't see SA winning against this strong Indian team that performed so admirably against Australia(even the Sydney test would have been won if it wasn't for the awful umpiring decisions that mostly went against India). They are on a high, and playing at home, and with Tendulkar performing at his peak, there can only be one winner, and that is India. Make no mistake, the series will be well fought, as SA is a fantastic team, but they will certainly miss Pollock and Nel. And furthermore, after all this ruckus involving involving Nel, Langevelt etc, the team can't be in the best frame of mind, which is a pity. Let's all hope for a good and well contested series.

As much as I would not like to stick the knife in when a player is down, I feel since this is only a three test series, there is no time for a second chance, and Broad should be given his opportunity. He certainly can't perform worse that Steve, and his batting and fielding is definitely superior than Steve's. Let's also jettison Strauss and replace him with Shah. And finally, and most importantly, let's play positive cricket and give the fans something to cheer about. Even if we lose, let us go down fighting, and not whimpering like we did the last time!! I rest my case.

Let us all hope that Chris Gayle and his merry band of West Indians perform to their true portential, and we will all have a wonderful series. West Indians in full flight(no pun intended) are a wonderful sight, and we haven't seen that in a long time. Go Windies Go!!

Australia has always been used to giving it to the opponents and not receiving it back. But India has given it back in equal measure, and Australia is not used to this. Hence all the complaints. Also if it had not been for the umpires in the Sydney Test(as we all know), India would have won that as well. Kudos to India. In fact all this hassle was always started by the Aussies...even when Symonds said something nasty to Bhajji(sydney tesy) when Bhajji applauded Lee with the bat...I am glad that at the hearing, he was put in place by the judge who even passed a comment saying words to the effect, 'I am glad all other professional players don't think like you(Symonds), or this would indeed be a bad day for cricket!! Australia has learnt a lesson, and all the other teams have taken note of what India did, and I am sure we will all see results of this in the future.