Wonderfully hilarious read throughout. Hafeez is almost everyone's favorite mystery spinner these days apart from a couple of opposing left handed opening batsmen. And the umpires and their light meter obsessions are simply superb. Thank you Sir.

Really Funny :)...All of them, the rotation of batsmen bit and umpires taking out light meters in dark, and then Bangladesh remembering that they are Bangladesh!

Your articles keep gettin better n better andrew, just like Dravid, Laxman, Sachin, Kallis n co... U r the page 2 legend...:P

"Bangladesh remembered that they were Bangladesh, and crumbled to 119 all out"

That was my favourite bit.

Hi there, I read your intermitently interesting diary this morning, and it leaves me with yet another prpoblem.
Do I continue to follow you in the hope of an odd smirk appearing on my face and the fun of reading something untaxing and easily digestible, and while doing so can I ignore the fact that you probably would have a supercilious sneer on your face and be astounded that Top Gear fans can actually read and possibly even reason.
Here is a thought! Maybe I can forge a career out of pointing out to the general public just how many people who are 'right thinking' and knock the programme and its main presenter yet still jump at the chance to drive their resonably priced car around the track and get 5 minutes of self promotion.
Have a nice day

p.s. the 'sous chef' thing with Mr Hughes? Doesn't pan.

Hilarious, Andrew!.. The comment about Billy confiscating his wife's bedtime novel on the grounds of bad light was the best!..

I seriously wish that the ICC, instead of crying hoarse about dwindling cricket fans at the grounds, gives a nod to playing tests under the lights. Calling off a match 'cause of bad light inspite of heavy duty flood-lights present all over the ground is as bad as taking a child to a candy store and then forbidding him to chew on one!....

We fans, at the end of the day, feel cheated and let down.

The one with Asad Rauf and Mrs.Bowden is very hillarious. Thank you so much Andrew.

"Bangladesh remembered that they were Bangladesh, and crumbled to 119 all out." LOL Well said Hughes

Hi Andrew,

This is a good article depicting the current state of cricketing affairs across the globe. For all leading cricketing nations, having a Rotation-policy is important and imperative. For Australia, this is a transitional phase. It is unfortunate that the team has got a sudden spurt of injury list especially when Clarke is settling very well as a captain. From a bowling perspective the team has brilliant bowlers such as Bollinger,Hilfenhaus,Pattison,Ben Cutting, Starc,Johnson,..etc., who all could surely fit into the scheme of selection for the Test team with proper planning and diligent rotational policy. From a batting perspective, there should be a consistent policy in choosing the heir apparent to Ponting's position (Usman Khawaja should be given the confidence. Also one wonders why he is being forced/coaxed to be a fielder for Short-leg or Silly-point)

Cheers,
Rajesh Rajagopalan

last line is superb "eventually the lights came back on, Bangladesh remembered that they were Bangladesh, and crumbled to 119 all out.
" :) :) very well written

"..if batsmen in form shouldn’t be rotated and batsmen out of form shouldn’t be dropped, then the only ways out of the team would appear to be retirement, insanity or imprisonment. The Australian batting order is like the mafia, only less efficient and with more silly green hats." - Fabulous! Grazi, Signori Hughes.

We never needed a rotation policy before when we had Hayden, Lehman, Gilchrist, Warne, Lee, McGrath, etc. We just selected the best 11 players available to fill the roles we wanted them to. The great WI team of the 80's never did. Even the top3 teams of today SA, India England don't use a rotation policy. England have a group of bowlers but they select the best bowler for those conditions. The Argus review recommended a performance policy, so where did this rotation policy come from? Get rid of Arthur while we still can.

Anyway, eventually the lights came back on, Bangladesh remembered that they were Bangladesh, and crumbled to 119 all out. beautiful andrew, had a hearty laugh on that.

"(his compulsion to play the cut shot regardless of the state of the game, the position of the fielders, the length of the ball or the direction in which he’s facing)"- Hilarious.... revisiting your blog after a hiatus... not disappointed... marvelous...

Hahaha - the best bit was the description of phil hughes' technical flaws

I am just glad to see that someone else beside Pakistan and Bangla fans are watching this series... hopefully Hafeez deliveries will turn more often in the next series or not - I guess you and the batmen arriving early next year in the sunny UAE can keep guessing.

'If Asad Rauf were to feature in an episode of Scooby Doo, he’d be the one left behind in the spooky corridor of the haunted house because he’d stopped to take another reading. Mrs Bowden frequently has her bedtime novel confiscated by Billy on the grounds that his light meter says conditions are unfit for reading and the bedside lamp is casting dangerous shadows'. HAHAHAHA...hilarious

nicely written

Nice read, loved the bit on hughes playing the cut shot and the umpires. and obviously you're joking about topgear. coz Mr. JC's humor is as good if not better than you/pg2/elsewhere..

Very funny, so true about the Aus batsmen and their love of watching the bowlers suck it all up.

Love the bits about the light meters as well.

lights came on, bangladesh remembered they were bangladesh and crumbled to 119. ROTFL!!!

"Rotation Policy" is a modern way of saying, 'go back to State cricket and get some runs'. The best way of avoiding rotation is to perform. Do you really think Huss will be 'rotated' if he gets another hundred? With blokes like Marsh and Watson breaking down, Hughes' dodgy technique and Pontings impending retirement, I don't think Mr. Cricket needs to worry too much.