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Cross Arrows Jack is still battling Old Father Time

Never mind Darren Gough being miffed. If we're talking about the selectors failing to make good use of experience, then what about Jack Hyams? A man with 122,500 runs and 1300-plus wickets - and his fitness record isn't to be sneezed at, either.
Still, it is not too late for England to think again. If the selectors want to see Hyams in action, they don't even have to leave Lord's: he plays there this Friday and again two weeks later, though Jack is only three months away from his 84th birthday.
Nearly 70 years after making his first ton, Jack has been picked to play for the famous Cross Arrows on the Nursery End ground.
"I could hardly believe my luck," he said. "I reckon I'm 20 years older than anyone else who has ever played at Lord's."
Not that Jack is going for the ride. He has scored centuries in seven consecutive decades (1930s through to 1990s) and the Billericay regular adds: "I haven't given up hope of scoring a century in eight different decades."
If it's not at Lord's and it's not for England then it just might have to be in Ibiza, Majorca or mainland Spain this winter. Jack's tours are already planned. Fancy a game, Goughy?

England will huff and puff

Even the indefatigable Jack Hyams might puff a bit at the prospect of England's Test programme next summer. There are not one, not two but three sets of back-to-back matches.
New Zealand will start at Lord's on 20 May before games at Headingley and Trent Bridge. The West Indies' four-game series will comprise of two doubles - from Lord's to Edgbaston then, after a 10-day break, Old Trafford to The Oval.
This summer's international programme may have seemed concentrated, but next year's has to be tighter still because England are hosting the ICC Champions Trophy in September.

Waugh of words backfires

Sourav Ganguly has added a bit of extra spice to India's meeting with Australia this winter by claiming that a Steve Waugh 'sledge' backfired on the world champions.
According to Ganguly, writing in a new book Ground Rules, Waugh told him "You've dropped the Test" in Calcutta in 2001 following a spilled catch. The remark fired up India, who dismissed Waugh soon after, as they went on to win a Test in which they had followed on and took an amazing series 2-1.

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