Rule, Britannia!

Australia's Captain, Ricky Ponting is bowled out and leaves the field with his head hanging in shame

A wicket taken by the Aussies

What an upset!

When we first moved to the UK I thought cricket was about as exciting as watching paint dry. But as the years have passed, I have begun to enjoy it almost by osmosis. We have a lovely cricket ground in the heart of Bath and it is a wonderful way to pass a few hours.

The sport is rather slow, like baseball, and is quite strategic. So, in watching a match, you find yourself able to think about what is happening on the field with enough time left for an occasional nap. Great stuff.

Anyway, the match at hand was Australia v England in the Tri-Nations One Day Internationals. The 'tri' of the nations was New Zealand, the first team to be eliminated. Ten days ago, England were longshots 200-1 to take the title from the Aussies. But unbelievably, the Brits won the best two out of three series with one game to spare. Sadly, I didn't put a few quid on the match! The matches were held in Australia, so they began in the middle of the night here in England (11 hour time difference).

I caught bits of the matches on the TV and Radio between domestic duties, church duties and worship services!