They haven't, surely. They have?

A morning of rowing, getting ready for the big race next week (except today was the first time we got the whole crew together), which first entailed me taking off my shoes and socks and wading into the river to pull the stages in, as everyone else is too wimpy to wade into a muddy English river in February which has been swelled by snowmelt. For some reason.

Anyway, this meant that I wasn't following the cricket, so imagine my confusion followed by immediate delight when after we'd finished training for the morning, we go to the pub to see on the screen a rather unhappy looking Ponting (I assumed it was Ponting as Ian Hislop doesn't tend to wear green caps or appear on Sky Sports), followed by a distinctly happy as soon to be drunk Freddie Flintoff.

So, I'll be catching the highlights tonight, and enjoying thinking about how all those gloating Aussies who have been declaring England to be hapless and pointless and doomed to defeat forever are now not *quite* so verbal.

Still, pity about the Ashes. Would be nice if one year the Aussies let us warm up with the pointless all-important one-dayers before the Test matches begin. As they get to do when they come to us.