Nothing yet to change my mind

Having been signed off work at the moment and put on a 'no talking' prescription by the doctor, my sign language skills are developing apace and I have watched a fair amount of the T20 World Cup.

I still haven't seen a better all-round side than New Zealand. Their batting isn't really firing, but there's enough talent down the order to post a challenging total. The performances of Martin Guptill once again show what nonsense IPL selection is. How he doesn't get drafted for megabucks is beyond me, as he is one of the best batsmen in the format and a standout in the field.

Indeed, the whole Kiwi side are athletes and they will take some beating. South Africa blow hot and cold, West Indies are too reliant on Gayle and Australia don't have the experience for me. England bat deep but don't impress with the ball, while India will probably make the final but will need to win the toss and bat first on a turner to win it. Cynical? Moi?

There was a truly awful commentary from Harsha Bhogle today, which gave the impression that he was sitting behind the stand and couldn't see the game. 'That's in the air' he cried several times, seemingly oblivious to there being no fielder within thirty yards. 'Hoho...Shahid Afridi' he exclaimed later, unaware that Corey Anderson was standing on the boundary waiting to pouch it. There were 'That's four' aplenty, when sweeper fielders were clearly going to cut it off.

Very poor effort, to be honest. To someone brought up on John Arlott, Jim Laker and Richie Benaud, who called boundaries successfully 99.9% of the time, it was disappointing. I switched the sound off eventually.

Closer to home and possibly a little cooler, the lads were outdoors for nets for the first time today. There is good footage over on the club site 

They all look resplendent in their new kit, courtesy of a deal with Samurai Sports. I'm sure the trousers will be able to cope with a few hundred full length dives as the season progresses.

More from me later in the week. Maybe I will have news of our experienced seamer then, which is all very quiet right now. My money at this stage is on a loan, as players will be signed up by this stage, unless outside the county game.

We'll see...