Mike Selvey is right

*Everyone* apart from Adam Mountfield knows it. Job done.

[If anyone does wonder why it's gone pretty quiet here, it the usual workload excuses. Normal service should be resumed in about a month, maybe.]

Ahhh Stuey Stuey woahh ahh ahhh ahh ahhhh

Everyone hates Social Services right? Every so often some poor child dies due to alleged ineptitude within the home inspections and what not that they do. Missing some key signs. There's also the stories where there's some poor soul, normally about 13 years old, who single handedly looks after his / her sick / disabled mother, his little sister and still takes themselves off to school most days to get an education. And this sort of thing is allowed to go un-meddled with by Social Services as despite how totally amoral it is that a government organisation lets such a burden rest upon such small shoulders, doing so much that they shouldn't do. And it goes on because it's seen to "work" and costs an awful lot less than those in power actually doing something to improve the families situation.

A young developing bowler with a test batting average of 41.22 seems like a good candidate to be quietly ignored for all the wrong reasons. Until he's meaty enough to get that precious enameled All Rounder badge pinned to his shirt, he has to be protected more and be selected as a bowler and nothing more. Unless he wants to reinvent himself to a middle order batsman again. At present he has an awesome batting average as above, but has a bowling average of 49, so if you do the raw maths he is sadly not being "worth" it in the long run. Similar to many of the stats about Prior being too costly with the gloves, Broad is currently being too costly with the ball - in the narrow view at least. All that blocking up one end stuff has been useful, sure.

So look after him you bunch of incontinent money grabbing, Texan worships goons. If you don't destroy him by demanding runs, he'll win the ashes in 5 years, no probs.

I'd been meaning to write about the boy wonder since before the last test, and was still expecting him to play. Now he, and his batting average, did skip the 3rd test there's certainly some more confidence about his treatment. Such an odd change that did seem though. Broad for Colly - weakening your batting lineup by picking another batsman.

Obligatory Vaughan / KP post

Still got a blog remember... come on... you might be working at silly o'clock, doesn't mean you can ignore your public.

So Vaughan goes now, well OK I guess. Odd timing in many peoples eyes but it does give a "free" test to do all sorts of things like actually pick the right players in the first place. Over the year so far it's all been doubt on the ginges but when the captain's mantle is removed he was clearly in there too. People commented on Bell being a fair weather batsman which holds up well against stats, Vaughan seemed to have become a poor weather batsman. Rather than being able to get to 3 figures when someone else already had, if someone had just got out, he seemed to find it strangely easy to do the same shortly afterwards. If it was technically possible that he could arrive at the crease about 2 hours after the last wicket fell then I'm sure he would have reverted to his previous form and stuck around. Just needed an impromptu plate spinning extravaganza from Monty or Smith and Kallis to have a pie eating contest for a few hours on the square immediately after Eyeliner edges one and he could have been fine.

Can't see Vaughan coming back apart from someone really looking an arse in the middle of their own accord. Boycott is clearly livid at the idea of Virgil coming back to Yorkshire and using up one of their batting spots. He never used to get runs in county, and if he ever wants to be picked again surely that has to change.

Insofar as KP coming in, you hear a rule of picking the team and then the captain which seems like a logical thing to do, but then the reality kicks in and you think "but.... who???". The selectors were unanimous in voting for KP, well no shit sherlock, have a medal AND a biscuit. what other options *within* the usual suspects are there? KP, Bell (only still usual due to his recent 203*), Eyeliner (Maybe... only maybe), Freddie (Until he forgets to fill in a popping crease hole one over and *never* recovers), and Strauss (and that's giving a spot back in the short form, which shouldn't happen). It's hardly inspiring in terms of leadership. I just hope he keeps batting like a loon through this all.

I can see so many opportunities for the England side to step up to the marketing mens ideas. I bet there are plenty of Take On Me-like pencil sketches of KP and his new fashionable and very very beautiful squad hitting sixes with sexy slogans daubed all over them. I'm sure Cook will get his own brand of Manscara in the mix at some point.