A wee late Christmas present to myself this…

There is a cricket series going on down in Australia at the moment between England and Australia. These two sides have history, and encounters between them are always to be savoured. In my case this means ridiculously late nights, although at present England are being hammered into the ground.

William and I (who both play as much cricket as weather and family allow) often discuss what it must be like to face up to one of the fast bowlers, tearing in and trying (literally) to knock your head off. Anyone who thinks of cricket as a sedate gentlemanly sport should think again- even at club cricket level there are many bowlers far too fast for me and I have the bruises to prove it.

Fast bowling is about intimidation. Facing up to someone who has the ability to put the ball either at your feet or bouncing into your ribs at real pace is a test for anyone. Good batsmen always seem to have much more time- no idea where they get it from of course, as the ball will take about half a second to get to you from leaving the bowlers hand.

Abrasive motor-gob Piers Morgan, fresh from his spell as a news anchor on CNN (taking on the American gun lobby) fancies himself as something of a batsman. In fact, he has been slanging off the ‘pathetic’ England team for their apparent cowardice in the face of the Aussie quicks, suggesting that they should just ‘grow a pair’. He reckoned that he could manage just fine, so challenged the very quick former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee to send down a few at him.

Here he was on twitter beforehand;

I’ve only got a few teeth to lose, you’ve got a whole reputation that’s going to be shattered.

It did not go well;

He tweeted: “Full injury list post @BrettLee_58 showdown – cracked wrist, bruised rib, and massive egg on back of head from…the throw-down guy.”

He added: “For the record, I didn’t actually see a single one of @BrettLee_58 ‘s deliveries. But I felt 4 of them crashing into my flesh.”

Lee replied: “@piersmorgan that’s what happens when you talk it up.”

On reflection, perhaps I will leave facing fast bowling to my son.