The article on cricket statistics is now online, for those of you who are interested.

Meanwhile the Champions Trophy qualifying stage is well underway.

Sri Lanka have made an excellent start, having comfortably beaten Bangaldesh and (at the time of writing) being well on their way to disposing of Zimbabwe. While Jayasuriya and Jayawardene have bene expected to star with the bat, it has been their young opening bat, Upul Tharanga, who has caught the headlines. With innings of 105 against Bangladesh and 110 against Zimbabwe, he is clearly a man in form.

West Indies have made an even better start, destroying Zimbabwe in their first game. Chris Gayle and Brian Lara were both in sparking form with the bat, although as their bowlers had already done the hard work they didn’t have a lot of runs to make. What the stats don’t tell you is the contrast in style between the two men. Gayle is very tall and bats like someone angrily swatting mosquitos. Lara, in contrast, bats with an understated elegance that makes it seem that he’s not putting any effort into his shots, but they travel just as far and fast.

No one expected Bangladesh or Zimbawe to do well. they are in the tournament as a courtesy and to provide them with much-needed practice against top class opposition. The Bangladesh side is starting to get the hang of playing at the highest level, as evidenced by their startling win over Australia in a one-day game last summer. Zimbabwe used to have a very promising side, but the political unrest in their country had led to all of their top players (of all skin colors) seeking asylum elsewhere. The current team includes a lot of teenagers.

The first big match of the event will be on Saturday when Sri Lanka play West Indies in the final qualifying match. The winner will avoid having to play against India and Australia in the Group stages. This is then followed on Sunday by the grand opening of the tournament proper – the match the home fans have all been waiting for: India v England.