Captain Grumpy Mike Atherton finds out that cricket is back in full gear this season. Sadly, he is not there to enjoy the perks but he is still earning a fat sum commentating on Sky. Any regrets huh Athers?

Cricket equipment sales in the first quarter of this year are up 44 per cent on the whole of last year; the DVD of last year's Ashes series has sold 630,000 copies making it the biggest-selling sports DVD of all time, and a YouGov poll commissioned at the end of the one-day series in India reported that 82 per cent of those asked felt proud of the national team, up from 16 per cent two years before. The ECB's aim was to have three players recognised by 10 per cent of the population by 2009; the YouGov poll suggested that figure already stood at 43 per cent, three years ahead of schedule.

Let the good times roll for English cricket. All of which makes it a bad time for the England team to be going through a slump. All these good things trickle down from the top and if the success of the national team dries up, then it is a drought that will eventually affect the whole game.

I agree with you Athers, the last few months haven't been the best for the England cricket team, but I don't think they'l ever compete with your team of the 90s. By the way what was your success rate?...lol..just joking, thankfully you are a great writer, so all is forgiven.