About five minutes ago I was feeling rather sorry for myself. Alan is looking at my thesis as I type so I have a feeling of impending doom. This is made greater by the fact that the future is so unclear. I’m really not sure what to do next. However, I’d forgotten one very important fact: today is the eighth of July. The first ashes test starts in 40 minutes. I thought it started tomorrow for some reason. Today we get the chance to make amends for that 5 nil farce down under two years ago. Who cares about the future when the ashes are on? [spastic squeal of excitement]