India Series Starts Tomorrow

Wickman is as excited as a dog who knows it's dinner time. At 4am, when all is quiet, the India England series - which has sucked up more words than the last world Scrabble championship, kicks off. Actually, kicks off is wrong. How do you describe the beginning of a cricket series?

Forgetting that for a moment, the England team has been lauded to the rafters for returning to India. Good on them. Good on them too for remembering, with their generous donation of half a match fee (no seriously, no sarcasm), that cricket is not quite as important as life and death.

But Wickman's not excited by England. Oh no. Wickman just can't wait to get a glimpse of these Indian fellas. Wickman watched as much of the Boreder Gaviscon trophy earlier in the Autumn as time allowed and he liked what he saw. Mishra is beguiling. Ishant Sharma - a sort of fiery hatstand - looks class. Yuvraj - who has now played more one day internationals than the entire England team - doesn't look like getting out. Dhoni - perhaps the ugliest batsman in the world who seems to be playing shots that his muscles have learned on a forestry course - is back in the runs. Gautam Ghambir has, for no discernable reason, become world class overnight. And Viru makes Chris Gayle look like Geoff Boycott. And then there is the little master (and we aren't talking about Paul Collingwood here) who is creating records every time he goes out to bat. Wickman just can't wait.

And no one gives England a rats chance in a cat filled maze. Sigh. We've gone from a joyous Indian Summer against South Africa to a frankly horrifying Indian Winter which could end with armchair fans like Wickman fearing turning the box on in the morning almost as much as he did in the last Ashes.