I know I frequently say this blog (in my posts) is written to represent my views only. I don’t wish it to be representative of anyone or anything. But I have to recognise there is a loyal band of readers, and that I need to keep interesting stuff coming to maintain this blog. So I had a number of questions.

Who, or what are we? Why does this blog continue on its path? What is there for people to discuss now the KP reinstatement debate is closed for good.

We’ve lost, haven’t we? As evidenced by….

• There’s a major international competition going on, and yet the key theme here is that people cannot be bothered with it due to ECB/ICC stuff.
• There’s an England team that has just performed the remarkable, chasing down 11 ½ an over to win a World competition match, and people are still talking about a batsman who isn’t there.
• There’s a world competition going on, but people on here are talking about the teams not there, the organisation, the scheduling and the weather.
• There is now a relative calm around the England team and the media feel it, but there’s still anger about key reporters, their “agenda” and their actions.

It’s March 2016 and not January 2014. These issues are still there, even if they are wished away.

This blog has discussed to the extreme what has happened in the past 26 months, in both its guises (HDWLIA and BOC), and seen an ignored writer (I’d been blogging for years) pick up “followers”. It has responded to every setback with an anger that can make those outside believe that its fanaticism, for want of a better word, is dangerous, pathetic, sick even. I’ve picked up critics, of course I have, but their vehemence against “us” did surprise.

I don’t see this as a cricket blog. Not in the sense those outside want a cricket blog to be. They want it to be about nice things, positive things, lovely things, places where you aren’t challenged, places where you find “writers” not bloggers. I find much of that writing tedious, but fully recognise that there is a wide audience out there who lap up those sort of articles, playing on their nostalgia and glorious memories of the past game, and reflecting it in the more brutal crash, bang and wallop of much of today’s cricket. Some are truly magnificent at this genre. It’s not for me. I wouldn’t go on their blogs to tell them. I recognise that there are all sorts out there. There is lots for all tastes.

I see this as a blog about someone who watches cricket, loves the sport, but who can see not much good in it at the moment, and in that I share some of the looking back to the past that others focus on. I see this is a blog that widened its scope from one decision in January 2014, to a look at those making the decisions, those reporting the decisions, and those authorising the decisions. We do match reports, we do match previews, but we’ve not the time, or the inclination, to try to emulate other blogs who go the extra mile, or the dedicated sites that do this better than us. I work five days a week. I spend four waking hours at home each night. I have other interests. Cricket is competing for space. In not just my life, but other people’s. Weekends are to do the jobs we can’t do in the week, or to go out. Running a full time blog requires dedication and motivation.

It seems to me that we need to think about the direction the blog should take. Chris and I had a discussion about this a month or so ago, and came to few conclusions. We react to events and give our take on them. I was much more pushing the KP line over the past two years, but Chris and I both agree that’s pretty much over. His treatment will always be raised, but what happened with our media must not be forgotten. That line, though, doesn’t lend itself to a continuous blog writing experience! There needs to be something more.

I have watched, and read, the numerous comments on this blog recently over the BTL comments in The Guardian. At the start of my ever so humble rise, I did go BTL, especially as Clive and NonOx were linking me on there. I stopped pretty much after Bertie Wooster described my posts as having poor grammar (you know my rule, draft, post, polish), which is fair enough. My writing style has always been Marmite, back to my school days. It isn’t going to change now, and my former English teacher is an occasional reader and hasn’t told me off for it yet! But Bertie also said he couldn’t read the posts for the bile on the screen. And that’s been a really convenient hat to hang on me. I’m bilious. It’s all about the bile. From that moment on, I thought it wasn’t worth it. I may have the occasional sortie on there, but I honestly can’t remember them. Bilious ain’t my style. Persistence is.

Since that date the schism, a word I love, has been stark. Those that still believe not a single thing has changed in the decision-making process that is the ECB, are given the KP Fanboy tag as a reason to explain away the miscreants in their midst. As if wondering how an England cricket legend, and he is, could be sacked and no-one told why, is something for blind rage and anger management patients only. By challenging the status quo, and the unforgiveable lack of inquisitiveness in our normally nosey keyboard clankers of the press, we’ve been labelled all sorts. Just the mention of a review of the media in these here parts has some outside wailing, insulting, denigrating the work. Even before it’s written, in some cases.

When I set out on the KP path, it was very much press focused. I reacted to piece after piece. I don’t really do that any more. I was thinking of starting it up, but in a much more thorough way, but then decided not to after the incident earlier this year when the groundwork was too much to continue without having to deal with extraneous matters. It was also very boring for me.

I have, though, been following a lot of the BTL stuff with amusement and amazement in equal measures. It is clear in the eyes of some that they have “won” and that the “KP Fanboys” can now just shut up and form whatever odd little tribe they like. Because the ECB and their compliant press have managed to weather this out (and I’ll bet when they started they didn’t think it would take two years) they are now “in the right”. It’s unedifying, and it’s also wrong. It is a Pyrrhic Victory, just as getting KP back into the side would have been. The damage to English cricket support may not be great in terms of numbers, although I think the people this has alienated are passionate fans who no sport can do without, but it’s a deep wound inflicted and there’s little sign of peace. Now a number of our gazes are at Mike Selvey, his words and deeds, his defenders and his critics. There are many on here who probably cast Selvey above Clarke as our Number 1 “enemy”. There are a number who are saying this pro-Establishment line is typical of the “new Guardian” (in the words of Chris Morris, who said this of Mark Thomas, I think the Guardian are more the harassers of the office secretary than true authority). I’m not sure. I don’t know why this has happened, but it has.

Mike Selvey utterly bemuses me. It’s not anger I feel, at all. It’s contempt, and that’s apt because that’s what he shows to anyone who goes up against him. I’ve taken the advice of those who said that I should stop reading Paul Newman if it upset me that much, and applied this to Selvey. He has nothing to offer me. I know he has let down many of you, who thought he was “more than this”, and that’s reflected in his dominance in our “Worst Journalist” poll. I don’t tweet him, I don’t read him, and only react to the comments on here when I need to. I did, for example, read his piece on T20, which was, frankly, something we could have all done with the access. And that’s it. He has the access. Not many of us are mates with a former England bowling coach. When it’s raised to me that I don’t know how journalism works, I do smile.

But Selvey and the Guardian’s frankly moronic comments policy (and the ludicrous reactions of the journos when criticised) aren’t enough to sustain us going forward, are they? And this is where I begin to get concerned. I’m nowhere near as enthusiastic as I was. About the game, about what surrounds it, and about writing about it. At this stage, the critics will be more than pleased, because they’ve done little to put a case to us, let alone persuade us to change views. It hasn’t been a dialogue of mutual respect, that’s for sure. But at some point, as I said when I gave up a voluntary role a few years ago, if you keep banging your head against a brick wall it does start to hurt.

I don’t want this blog to ever be boring to its client base. I don’t want to mail in posts more frequently than the current rate (20 questions being a case in point – a whim, a post, and lots of response). I respect the core readership much more than that.

I’ve rambled on and on as usual. I think you get the picture that the future isn’t clear. It rarely is. I don’t want this to be just a rant at the press, anti-Cook blog. We need to be more constructive. I’ve said it countless times over the past two years, if you want to write, and it fits what we want to do, then fire away. We don’t do satirical stuff, we don’t do poetry… I’ll leave those to SgtCook and the Bogfather! But how you feel, yes. We do that. What you think. We do that. Challenge us, we’re more than fair about it. I had a discussion a few weeks ago with someone very close to Andy Flower – we never came to blows, never even rowed. I’m not some obsessive, and I’m also going to stand my ground if I feel fit. I had a drink with him. We got on! I think some people need to realise that.

The blog won’t be going away. It just lacks a focus at the moment. One thing that the last two years has taught me is that something to concentrate on is never ever far away. We’ll be here to comment.

Game thread for tomorrow’s fixture to follow.

I’d like to thank Sean B, aka The Great Bucko, for his excellent post and all of you who contributed to the discussion. Sean even got some old faces back! Really pleased it went down so well. I’m not sure a post coming up linking events of yesterday together is going to work, but that’s the joy of this. More importantly, anyone noticing the new photos on the Header?

I write this blog, in conjunction with my co-editor and guest posters, as a personal record of both my attitudes to the sport and also to the developments within the game. It is also here to reflect a little on what is going on with me (other writers can feel free to do the same) and events related to the blog that I experience.

Yesterday there came news that Giles Clarke would have to resign his role at the ECB in order to complete the end game of his master plan for world domination. I was reading an old edition of The Wisden Cricketer which contained the news of Clarke’s appointment. It was not without rancour. He went up against Surrey’s Michael Soper and the initial election finished 9 votes each. When it was re-run, Soper was bitter that three people who said they would vote for him turned and voted for Clarke. I wonder if those three would want those votes back right now! Of course, within a year of this election we’d be going through Sanford and all that and Teflon Giles was born.

Reading yesterday’s news was interesting. India are clearly changing the rules of the game just as the prize is at hand. The machinations that came about from the so-called stepping down from the head of the ECB last year look to be in jeopardy. A view from a source I speak to said that Clarke knew he would lose, Graves knew he would win, but both knew it would be a bloodbath to get to that spot. The messy compromise was that Graves knew next to nothing about the international organisational foibles, and that if he stepped down he would take that part of the job on – unpaid of course – while Graves could be the new man at the helm. This was, of course, very true. Clarke knew the then head honcho of Indian cricket extremely well. He was there to be Srini’s partner, and a new man might not have the chops to take the situation as it was. We should be grateful for the man’s foresight and equanimity.

Of course, this means some interesting organisation watching coming up. Clarke is going to gauge if he is going to win. If he thinks it is hopeless, then he’ll not put himself forward and keep his nice position at the ECB. If he does think he’ll win, he’ll resign (but probably as late in the piece as he can) but one thinks he needs India on side first and foremost and I don’t think many people know which way things are going. There are promising noises about ending the big three stitch up, but I’ll believe that when I see it. The U19 World Cup is proving, in a small way, the nonsense of the World Cup carve up.

The fact is though, with poor ticket sales on first viewing, for this year’s test cricket in England, the need for the big three revenue (we include South Africa who have been a big attraction over here) remains. In their own annual report they talk of the four year cycle. That revenue from tests is almost taken for granted by our authorities. The support of the England paying public will provide the revenue for the national game, and our prominence world wide should be rewarded on the global stage.

Sean’s piece on Friday night, and as I mentioned in Schism last weekend, emphasises that despite our despair at the ECB we still love the sport. But is that love taken for granted and would people walk away from the game if it became too much. Maybe yesterday for me proved that you can. DeNiro’s character in Heat comes up with that line about never getting involved in something/someone you couldn’t leave in 30 seconds. It’s not quite like that, but when the split is made, it’s hard to get back.

I was a football fan. Absolutely besotted by it for over three decades of my life. As soon as I got on a payroll, it was used to watch football. I went home and away. I’ve been to most grounds in the country, many of them no longer with us, including my team’s old home ground in 1993. I had the same seat in the new stadium from its opening until 2013. There were great highs – seeing my team run out against the great Liverpool team of the mid-to-late 80s and take the lead at Anfield would be one – and awful lows (Stern John, riot) but it was a story of life. We produced top talent and it was sold on, as the laws of economics dictate. But it was fun. It was really brilliant. It didn’t matter if we were on the up, or on the way down, I went. During that time I could never envisage packing it in.

I packed in my season ticket for a number of reasons. The traffic getting to the game was a nightmare. My brother, who went with me, had four kids and it took a fair bit of cash out of his pocket (and although he wouldn’t want me to use that as an excuse, it was a part of the decision). It wasn’t expensive but what we weren’t getting was entertainment at all. It was defensive, boring crap, played with a large coterie of transient footballers getting an end of career payday or loanees, and without that one thing any club needs. Hope. We were defeatists. Not for us Bournemouth… we didn’t have the nous for that. And no, I don’t quit on clubs not playing well, I quit because it was becoming an ordeal. I didn’t enjoy it.

I went to my team’s home game yesterday. Since I gave up my season ticket in 2013, I’ve returned to the ground once. My mate had a ticket for £5 and so, for reasons I still can’t quite fathom, I went (well, good to see some old mates was the best one). I found it sad. It’s the same old sport. Same old team walk-out of the tunnel. Same ground. Same turgid football, but I found it bereft of hope. 90 minutes dragged. I’d lost the connection to the team and it was never going to return. I still follow all their results, but it’s not got my emotional investment any more. I don’t think it ever could. Ironically, as I’m writing this Cristiano Ronaldo has just scored an amazing goal for Real Madrid, and they are hammering one of the cannon fodder in that league. It’s fine if you like these teams, the top ones, but the rest exist just to provide the entertainment for the show. If the understudies get too good, the big ones just nick their top players. There is no connection with clubs.

So could that happen to me with cricket? Well, I’ve taken an initial step and stopped getting test tickets for England matches at the Oval. We’ve been down that road before. The county game is still great fun if you get the right day. I can’t be arsed with T20s. But there’s the international game, and this blog, that keep me going. I have a Sky subscription for the cricket and NFL – I can take or leave the football – and now they have all the Majors, the golf. BTSport cover my baseball and basketball fandom. I can take or leave tennis, and darts and pretty much all else. International football perhaps would be an influence if it wasn’t on terrestrial.

But let’s face it. There’s no Brian Laras out there. Not really. While there is a lot of pomp and circumstance over the Big 4 batting titans (Kohli, Smith, Williamson and Root), there’s massive appreciation but for many reasons, not that certain something that gets you out of your seat. Well, my seat. Like it or not, KP had it. AB has it when he’s on form. I was checking some old photos yesterday and came across loads of a Hashim Amla masterclass against Middlesex on a rampant bunsen, and that resonates. It may be the blog, it may be the ECB, it is probably me. That connection, while still strong, isn’t unbreakable.

I’ve tried to steer away from the debates we’ve had this week on here, and reflect what yesterday meant to me – that’s what blogs are for, and I don’t pretend that I represent anyone other than me. But I do believe that an all consuming passion can burn out if care is not taken to preserve what creates that passion. There are still great things I love about this game, and just how much I do will be tested to the utmost in the not too distant future. Cricket is at the crossroads internationally and utmost care needs to be taken. We may see one of the main sores cured if Clarke doesn’t get to his dream job and the ECB is free from his influence. I don’t think it will happen. For the world game, and the future of many us who support cricketers from everywhere, this might be the best thing. It might.

Have a great week, and we’ll be in touch!

By Dmitri Old / Lord Canis Lupus

The end of 2015 is nigh, and although I’ll continue with the Dmitris and the review of the year into 2016, this is a time to give my thanks to all of those who have made Being Outside Cricket what it is. What that is, I have no idea….

My main thanks, of course, has to go to The Leg Glance. Chris offered his assistance at a time when I was really struggling with a change of job and some personal issues. He has been an absolute bloody tower of strength, a fantastic contributor to the blog (and no, he’s more than that, he is every much BOC as I am), and more than anything, a bloody good mate. We sealed the friendship over Krusovice, and no doubt we’ll share some more. I think one night in August, when a very well lubricated Dmitri entered into Twitter combat with a journo was when I was most thankful. Cheers, squire.

Then there are those that have contributed. Sean B, aka The Great Bucko, has put some really decent stuff out there for you, and I hope we’ll keep him from his own blog, and get his stuff on here. Also thanks for Philip for the batting piece in the late season. Again, really thought provoking. Thanks to both for the Ashes Panel too which brings me on to…..

To all those on the Ashes panel not already named, I can’t thank you enough. Keyser Chris (a great pleasure to meet you at Lord’s – let’s do that Adelaide piece one day), Man In A Barrel (despite the problems you caused 🙂 ), Cricketjon (how many names/emails you had on here 🙂 ), Paul Ewart (my main man in Finland!), The poet supreme that is The Bogfather (cut out the filth),  AndyIn Brum (my PoI fellow fanatic), Metatone (where you been, man?), EoinJPMorgan (what’s happened to Hillel), Andy Cronk (Oscar da Bosca), Dr. Melf (cheers for the support on Twitter as well), Rooto from the Cote D’Azur, Colonel Blimp (our man for the Windies) and Martin Payne (a Hammer, but I’ll let him off). The Ashes Panel went down really well, it was tough for all of you, but you responded superbly and made it what it was. Thank you so much for that.

To my constants for the last couple of years. Arron, who was there at the start of this blog going “big”. You know both Chris and I would love you to write more on here, but understand your desire to stay as a commenter. Simon H, Mr Stats, Mr News, the man who leads us to the stories – again, this blog would be a lot poorer without you here. Mark, the raging light that never goes out, who will say what he wants when he wants. I love a “Mark” response. To D’Arthez – again, we appreciate all the effort you put in, and understand the waning passion. Keep posting. Zephirine too (maybe one day I’ll learn to spell your name, but you taught me a lesson – never assume your respondents are male) – constant commenter, loyal follower. Northern Light, who has also been a big supporter over the last couple of years, as has Simon K, my local neighbour, who ruined my May with his tweets on politics!

To all my commenters this year. If I miss you out, it’s down to my error. So let’s go.

Iron Balls McGinty, @pktroll, AB, Ali Martin, Amit, Alan, Alec, Andrew Nixon, Andy (if not covered by Cronk or AiB), Angst (my man in Hong Kong), Ann Weatherly-Barton, ArushaTZ, Benny (great to meet you at The Oval, let’s do it again next year), Badger, Bags of Smoke, Belgianwaffle, Bertie, BigKev 67 (I think we’d get on better without this cricket lark), Blamcrambello, Bob, BoerinAustria (a perennial star here – thanks for the support over the last year and a half), Boz (hope you are well, long time no hear, drop me a mail), Brian Coleman, Burly (another one dropped off the radar), Cato Junior, Chateleine, Chris Stocks (appreciated the reply), Chrisps (like our Master In Charge, keep ploughing on), the tour de force that was/is Clivejw, Craig, Critihas, Culex, CustomCopyWriting (we’ll get to you later….), Dan, DanDanBoom, Danno (hope you and the family are well, Chris), Danny, Dark King (maybe Culex), Dave, DavetheVet, David Hopps, David Mutton, DLPThomas, Douglas Green (one, very odd, response), dvyk, Ed, emasl, Escort (up the BBC!), Footydoc, Fred (miss you on here, sir), FICJAM IS ON AGAIN AAAAGH (Must be someone else, but can’t match the mail), Fungineer, FustedBlush, Gambrinus (keep a welcome in the hillsides, squire), geoffboycottsgrandmother, Gonthaar (sorry for wordpress asking for your mail), Grenville, greyblazer, Grumble (or Jomesy as he is better known), Grumpy Gaz (another missing for a while), hatmallet, Ishallremainanonymous, Ian, Ian Jones, infrequent commentator (incredibly infrequent – just the once), Ivon Ivonovich (oh yes indeed), Jack Ballard (aka Ross), James (aka Larry David Niven), James Morgan (mentioned him already), Jamie, Jayman, JennyAH (who can see the nice in all of us, wish I could), jbkingsangler, jegmeister, Julie Gould (KP’s #1 fan, I’m just a jobbing amateur), JoFo, John Etheridge (still no), John Owen, Jomesy (again), Josh, Jrod (aka Jarrod Kimber), Lawrence Booth, LarryC, Leplayboy, Lezza44, Liam Desmond, Lionel Joseph, Lord Clarke of Paraguay, Lydia Thayer, Maggie, Marees, Marge, Maxie (we’ll get on to him later), May, Mike, MM, Moggy, Moosyn, Muzzleford, Narelle, NE Mike, Nephilim, NJH Cricket (I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. PS I know, have done for ages), Nicholas, Nick, Nick Atkinson, Pam Nash (ha ha ha, as if), Paul, Peeking Duck, PepperSydney, PhilA (need your help on the glossary, sir), pluckywingate, Pontiac (Nathan Lyon’s #1 Fan), Poultz24 (our newest contributor), Sherwick, Rich (aka Rich77), Richard, Rob, Roger, Rohan (thanks for all the contributions, and support), Ron, Ron Walaron (long time no hear for Ron as well), Rufus SG, Ross More (though I might have done him before), Sarah, Saxophone Alex, Scrim, Silk, Sebsmar, Shaun, SimplyShirah, Sir Peter (getting pangs for Cape Town, mate?), SNML, Steve from Oz, Steve, Steve T, SteveTuffers, SubtleKnife, THA, The Nibbler, The Vickster (back after 7 months!), Timmy, Tom (from a pacificview), Tony Bennett, Topshelf, Tregaskis (we’ll get to him later), Trevor, Tuffers86 (might have had another name), Tybalt, Veturi Sarma, VinnieMac, Volkerelle, Waikatoguy, What What, Wrongunatlongon (long time no hear – the bloke who inspired me to go that extra mile at the start of 2014), Yossarian 1977, Zero Bullshit (one of the great misses. Sad about this one) and Zeitkratzer Stockhausen (Toby Roland Jones…..)

I have a couple of questions. Who is my visitor in Chile? And the one in Joinville, Brazil? E-mail me on dmitriold@hotmail.co.uk . Also, the visitor who might register from Templecombe in Somerset. Could you also drop us a line. You were a key visitor!

To supportive blogs like Dennis Does Cricket. I had good fun with the Ashes previews. Let us do it again, if we are still doing this next time around.

I’d like to pay tribute to the work of Tregaskis this year. When he posts, we listen. An inspiration in terms of depth, research and turn of phrase. Glad we are on the same side.

I was really gutted to see the end of The Full Toss, and the hopefully temporary hiatus in the output of Maxie. Another inspiration to me in particular, Maxie and James had a great thing going, and can see why it got to where it did. I’ve had my own doubts. Best of luck to James in his new venture.

To those journalists willing to engage, thanks. We don’t bite. It’s passionate, I know, but you take that away, you see those who the country depends upon to keep the fires burning turning their backs on the sport. I’m sure that’s never been in the ECB’s heads. There’s been less interaction this year, but the Ashes solved many issues in many eyes.

To the ECB. The Ashes didn’t solve a thing. While Giles Clarke has an official role with your backing, then it cannot.

To Jarrod and Sam, thanks for access to the film. Good luck in your ventures, and we’ll support it how we can within the confines of the blog. There are some, you know!

For the record, some of my best ofs for 2015.

My England innings of the year was Alastair Cook’s 162 at Lord’s. This isn’t me pulling my punches. It’s acknowledging that he played a truly special knock that played a huge part in us winning a fantastic match.

My favourite commentator this year was Mike Atherton. He has zoomed past Nasser Hussain who went downhill rapidly – maybe 2016 might bring redemption. Sky should also think of promoting Mark Butcher (although given his behind the sofa comment, which Cook raised at the end of the Ashes, and the close relationship between ECB and Sky, that’s a reach) and Robert Key. I think they only employ Dominic Cork to troll their viewers. TMS is much the same with Lovejoy. If you also have Sky, one minute of Brayshaw is enough to have you scratching your eyes out.

My favourite moment of last year was seeing Toby Roland Jones make his first hundred at the end of a great day at Lord’s. It was a joy to be there. And I am a Surrey man.

The best bowling was Broad at Trent Bridge, how could it not be?

Finally, I want to thank all those who have been so supportive on here. I’ve met a few of you this year, and I’d like to meet a few more. How this blog will go next year is anyone’s guess. If you stick with us, I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. As I said, I was having major doubts at the end of the Ashes, and then again earlier this month, but I’ve rediscovered some of the fun in doing this again. My friends at work, overseas and the long-suffering beloved have been great this year. I should thank the wife for her patience, her listening to me wittering on about this thing, and being very supportive. One in a million.

Not sure how long it will last, but I hope this mood remains for a while yet.

I wish you all a Happy New Year. Good luck to you all.

Dmitri

 

Hello all. This is a personal blog post, so please forgive me.

It has been a week of huge change for me. This time last week I was preparing to represent my employers in Hong Kong for a major event, and yes, it was an exciting but also daunting prospect. I appreciate the opportunities, and welcome the challenges it proposed. You’ll forgive me if blogging took a decided second place! I met people I hadn’t seen in a decade, I met a great mate who emigrated and is a massive success (and I’m proud of what she has become) and I travelled with a top bloke too. I even ticked one off the bucket list with a flight on an A380! I came back on Thursday, had a wonderful night out with my longest work friends last night, which got quite emotional (and I do emotions) because 2016 looks a year of immense change.

So it was a time for reflection and decision. I will be honest with you, I’ve had thoughts of phasing the blog out. I find I lack the sheer energy I had a few months ago. You’ve heard this refrain a bit, I know. But what keeps me going is the energy in the comments, the sheer love of the game from you lot, the sheer despair in your voices as you see the game waning inexorably in front fo your eyes. TLG’s brilliant last piece should be read by the cognoscenti. It captures a school of thought that may not be universal, but is the preserve of a lot of us. We’re sick and tired of being told that cricket is in rude health when in England it patently isn’t. We’re sick of the international game being vandalised before our eyes. And we notice what is going wrong beneath the surface, beneath the England cricket team. It’s more, much more than a KP Fanboy rant-a-thon, but a cry for help. A wail of hopeless despair. While the ECB release their fan figures and congratulate themselves on record numbers, the game disappears further from the public eye. It’s going to turn what was our second or third largest sport to a minority one in a decade.

But this isn’t to replicate TLG’s piece. It’s to get to the heart of what I feel this week.

I’ve not been a happy person for a while now. It’s not in my nature to be particularly happy at the best of times. The blog isn’t a place to cheer me up. But on landing in Hong Kong, and after meeting a great old friend who has done so well for herself since she left the organisation I’m with, I thought that it must be more important to do what you want, as much as you want. Great friendships are precious, and through this blog I’ve already met some top people. So in the hope I’ll meet some more, I’m going to continue to do what I can. But also, I am going to write what I want, not what might play to some mythical gallery.

TLG and I went for a beer a couple of weeks ago. What came out of that discussion is that we remain committed to this project, that we would do our best to be at our best, and yes, we’ve some long-term projects that we’re not sure how to play at this time. I will also not be meeting any journalists, not that they give a shit anyway.

In an interview I read a few months ago, a prominent player said that he knew that a large percentage of people hated him, and that a lot of people liked him. He’d spend his time on the latter and not give a shit about the former. This blog seeks to be a forum for the disaffected. A place where international cricket is debated and pulled apart. It is a place to put our views on those that run the game, or report the game. Want to be a fanboy, an apologist, then good luck. Bring your A game.

This is not a post to invoke “please carry on” because you lot wouldn’t do that. It’s for some understanding if gaps between posts are a bit longer than they used to be.

Dmitri Award #2 will be with you shortly. And I lied……