With Afghanistan in our group surely it makes sense to prepare against someone of similar standard?

Exactly. So we should have played someone decent like Bangladesh or Ireland

Pietersen out of the India tour. Root and Compton in.

Australia asserting their authority in the race for that coveted number 9 slot in the world t20 rankings by giving Ireland a good seeing to.

And Ajantha Mendis yesterday. Yes, the Zimbabwean batsmen looked as comfortable as a penguin in a microwave, but six wickets for eight runs.... Remarkable.

Lancs have released Saj Mahmood.

Into the wild?

One can only hope.

Flung aside like one his leg-side wides....

Wonder if that's a sign that Shahzad's move is to become permanent

And now Cumbes' replacement has been announced, meaning his retirement is definite this time around.

And Eoin Morgan recalled on the back of a Championship average of 18 since he was dropped for being hopeless on last winter's Pakistan tour.

Just to put that into perspective, Rikki Clarke scored three Championship centuries this year, playing every match for the county champions and averaging 45, as well as taking couple of dozen wickets @ 27. Eoin Morgan is now aged 26 and has scored three Championship centuries in his entire career.

Having spoken with him a couple of week's ago it would appear that it is dependant on where James Harris decides to go. Can't for the life of me see Harris choosing 2nd division Lancs ahead of moneybags Notts so Shahzad to join Lancs permanently I would say.

ICC super-schedulers strike again.
Why not get the bigger teams in the group playing each other first? The way it's going, the little side will be out of it before the major nations meet, rendering all the group games irrelevant. A simple change to the schedule and the games between the full members and the associates would at least have some jeopardy attached.

Why do they always feel the need for two group stages? Why not just have two groups of 8 and the top 2 from each go into the SF?

TV coin, innit. Guarantee a certain number of games featuring the big teams - well, India - to the big broadcasters.
They got burned by India and Pakistan getting knocked out of the 2007 World Cup early and are going out of their way to make sure it never happens again.

First proper massive knock of the tournament as Bazza McCullum smacks 123 from 58 balls. Trial by spin? Tell that to the buggers sat on the bank avoiding the shelling.