Smiles for some

The first day of summer... it's a long time since I've been able to say that. I think I've forgotten how to cope with hot weather, but I'd rather have it than the heated events of the last week in Mumbai.

As terrible as they were, they didn't disrupt the continuation of the Trans-Tasman Trophy series. Once again, the selections were interesting. Shane Watson doesn't approve of the "horses for courses" philosophy that saw him dropped - but surely it was the main reason he was in the team in Brisbane anyway?

I can only wonder what Nathan Hauritz thought, going from opening the batting for Randwick-Petersham because he couldn't make an almost second-string NSW XI, to playing for Australia, only to suffer a similar injury to the guy he was replacing. In the meantime, Beau Casson, on the other end of the conflicting messages from different selectors, has injured his hand and might have trouble playing for anyone.

As for the game itself, it was enjoyable. It was more a case of a NZ team below full strength looking not quite up to the task, than anything spectacular from the Australians. It was a good chance for several to put in solid performances, get over the last tour and prepare for the South Africans. Lee and Haddin in particular should have smiles significantly less clouded than the one in the sky tonight.

The storm starts in Brisbane

Watching a Test match at the 'Gabba has the feeling of a much anticipated event, just like the start of a storm after a hot summer day. For quite a while now, Brisbane has hosted the first Test match of the Australian summer. As a result, even though the Aussies have been playing in India so recently that they didn't fit in any decent preparation for this match, there are enough memories to build up an electric atmosphere.

The 'Gabba has answered my anticipation and that of the nation in many ways over the years. One big memory is listening at midnight as one of the most waited for series of recent times satisfyingly began with a wide going to second slip. The match has abandoned as draws, with the highlight being the amazing images of electric storms over the ground. At other times, a result was achieved only because the bowlers were able to use the conditions to take 20 wickets in a fairly short time.

The big storms that have been hitting Brisbane this week, damaging one of the stands at the ground have had an impact on the pitch and conditions. The batsmen haven't coped well. But it's actually fairly common for the 'Gabba Test to be interrupted more than this one has been. Obviously, scheduling is a tricky business in these days of so much cricket, but there was much more reason to start in Brisbane when the first Test was held in October. On average, the city has half as many rainy days in that month as it does in November!

A Tale of Two Summers

Here are five differences between summer in London and summer in Sydney:

Temperature: There is a reasonable chance that the maximum temperature for a summer day in London will be similar to the maximum the same day in Sydney, where is it winter.

Day length: The sun setting around 9pm even a month after the solstice is one of the highlights of the London summer.

"Football": In Australia, the top soccer (football to the English) league now plays in summer. In England, summer is the time for professional rugby league (football to most Sydneysiders).

Ice Cream Vans: In summer, the ice cream vans come out no matter how warm it isn't, and here, that means many different tunes floating down the street. As I remember it, ice cream vans in Sydney generally all play the same tune.

Parks: While I have been pleased to see many people playing informal games of cricket, the parks in London lack public barbecues. Instead, whenever the sun is out for an hour, the locals seem to head to the park to strip down, lie down, and roast themselves.

I may as well give 10 points to the first person to name the park in the picture

Summer games

After the warmest May on record throughout much of Australia's east coast, it is now winter there. Despite some almost wintry weather here in London for the long weekend last week, it seemed like summer had finally come this weekend. The view on long train trips is that much cheerier after the spring growth, and the greenery combined with some warm sunny weather made it a great time to go walking, cycling or playing cricket.

The cricket was even more enjoyable because we won by 297 runs, despite starting late after waiting for the other team and reducing the match to 30 overs a side. It would have been nice if the opposition had had more than eight players, but when you need a net run rate of more than +3.3 from one game, you don't complain too much about a lopsided contest. The only thing that might have made it better would have been the short mid off holding on to the two near catches from my bowling!