Farewell, Pigeon

I felt somewhat emotional on Sunday morning. The unimaginable had slowly, almost unbelievably unfolded before my eyes as I watched Sky Sports from the early hours - England won the Commonwealth Bank one-day series Down Under.

This was a remarkable achievement, for so many reasons. Firstly, when it comes to the one-day version of the game of cricket, England tend to suck, and have done for quite some time now.

Secondly, in terms of on-field successes on this long tour of Australia - well, there haven't been any. Suggest to anyone with an appreciation of cricket but one week ago that we would have pulled off a 2-0 victory in the final of this series, and you would have been looked at as if you had two heads.

Thirdly, we were playing the best side on this planet, in their own back-yard, with what was arguably an under-strength side of our own.

Fabulous times. It feels like ages ago that I turned up at the Gabba in Brisbane for the first test, eagerly anticipating something resembling a defence of our Ashes crown. Alas, it was not meant to be. But it made me smile to see the Barmy Army hardcore, Jimmy (pictured) et al, bouncing around in the rain at Sydney on Sunday morning. The best fans in the world (not to mention the most resilient)? Of that, there is no doubt.

I'm not going to start getting carried away about how this may bolster our chances of success in the Caribbean during March/April's World Cup, but I'm sure pleased that we leave Australia with some measure of pride intact.

In closing, thank you, too, to Aussie stalwart bowler Glenn "Pigeon" McGrath, the man England fans love to hate, for providing me with some hilarious moments in his penultimate international game in Australia, as he prepares for retirement. Best of all were the dropped dolly of a catch that effectively gifted the first match of the final to England, plus his masterclass in fielding the ball with his head when attempting a stumping. Priceless :-) We'll miss you, Glenn, though perhaps not your bowling figures against England...

Here's a couple of funnies to finish with: Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara with some top-notch sledging in the world cup in South Africa, 2003, plus that old tart Mark Nicholas - professionalism (some might say cheese!) personified, he can't even bring himself to drop the theatrics for two half-cut lads' home video.

Wonderful viewing!

The roof of Africa

I had originally intended to further indulge my passion for watching the England cricket team overseas in Feb/March 2008, on their tour of New Zealand. However, I have recently decided to scrap those plans, and do something somewhat different with my time instead (bit of an understatement? I'll leave you to judge!)

In exactly a year's time from today, I will just have finished a climb to the highest point on the African continent, the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It's going to be exhausting, hard yards, but I've got this feeling that it may turn out to be the best experience of my life to date, God willing :-)

Why am I doing this? Well, principally to raise money for Scope, the cerebral palsy charity, who are committed to achieving equality for disabled people - a worthwhile cause if ever there was one.

If I am allowed a bit of self-indulgence too, I will then take time after the climb (and descent!) to do some exploring in Uganda and Rwanda, something I've been wanting to do for some time now, but haven't quite got round to yet.

All that remains now is the small matter of raising £3000 between now and November in order to qualify myself for the climb (gulp). However, I'm sure I have enough friends and contacts to make this happen, although not without a lot of determination and commitment on my part.

Should you like to contribute to the cause, please leave a note in the comments section of this post with an email address, and I'll be in touch...your kind donation, no matter how big or small, will be hugely appreciated by many people, of that you can be sure.

I'll keep you all updated with progress towards my target right here on the blog.

To close, a declaration from a lady called Maureen Gaunt, who has made the epic climb for Scope already:

"To climb to the roof of Africa is the most overwhelming, emotional and physical achievement of my life.

"It will never be forgotten."