The Australian summer begins today.  While it may be five days ahead of the calendar, why delineate the seasons by something as arbitrary as a calendar?  Why not make the change of seasons event driven and meaningful?  Let the first frost, or the first day you need to wear a jacket mark the first day of winter.  When the leaves start to turn, autumn has begun.  Or if you like, when the leaves start to fall from the trees, Fall has begun.  And when that first ball of international cricket is bowled, summer is here.

And for the Aussies, that is today, in Brisbane against the West Indies.  Of course, the New Zealand summer started two days ago as Pakistan began their Antipodean adventure in New Zealand.  This is actually a “home” series for Pakistan and I could not think of anywhere further from home for a Pakistan cricketer than Dunedin.

In a rare alignment of the planets, we have three Tests in progress at the moment (if you believe some recent press, we are lucky to have Tests at all).  The second Test between India and Sri Lanka has also seen two days play (and rather more overs).  I heard before the match that the pitch was going to favour the bowlers.  It is true that I am going deaf but I should have said “I read” the pitch was going to favour the bowlers.  Perhaps my eyes are failing.  Someone’s eyes were failing because it was more of the same with centuries all round for Gambhir (again), Dravid (again) and Sehwag, as India plundered another lazy 600.  The opening stand of 200 took barely 35 overs.

In Dunedin, New Zealand has cobbled together a score of just over 400, with two wickets in hand.  Top score was Vettori with 99.  It seems that Vettori wanted to share an experience with the greatest of all his spin colleagues, (Warnie, of course) and be stranded just one short of the century.  Then again, Vettori has a few experiences that Warnie can’t share with him – such as making a Test century or three.  And being the thinking woman’s sex symbol.

I would also like to welcome Shane Bond back to Test cricket.  It is just over two years since Bond played Test cricket.  I, along with most, thought we would never see Bond again due to his ICL misadventure.  But here he is.  Interestingly, this is just his 18th Test match.  His immense pace bowling ability has long been acknowledge and his status as a bowler is almost legendary, but due to a string of injuries (and ICL) he’s scarcely put together enough matches to count it as a career.  I hope he make it to at least 20 Tests.

The match in Brisbane kicks off at 10:00 a.m. local time (11 Sydney time), with Gayle in but probably without Sarwan.  I wonder if both of those things well help the Aussies.   The pitch looks good and so does the weather.  And remember, you can start following the Test cricket action 90 minutes before then (barring rain) by picking up the match in New Zealand.  And that begins 13 hours of continuous Test cricket action as the India v Sri Lanka match resumes just before stumps in Dunedin.

Yippee.