Bumble looks ahead to the World Cup - and enjoys some time in England before jetting off to Asia.
Nearly time for the talking to stop, says Bumble
Lots of teams are shouting from the rooftops about how they're going to play at the World Cup.
Looking at the headlines on the cricket websites, I find it all quite a chuckle...
'We're not chokers' - de Villiers
'We're going to play youthful, attacking cricket' - Sangakkara
'We're trying to take the pressure off' -Dhoni'
'6-1... that's not a problem' - Strauss
They're all trying to talk a good game, but it will soon be time to stop talking and start playing.
In theory, the first month will be an exercise in getting rid of the lesser teams. You want to be playing good cricket by the time the quarter-finals come round when, if things go as designed (and I'm not saying they will), you'll be playing the top eight teams.
You need to peak at the right time and then win the quarter-final, semi-final and final. The team that has been the master of timing their run has historically been Pakistan.
But Australia have won the last three World Cups and you can't help but be impressed by a 6-1 win over England. They know how to win, so you can't discount them.
Doctor's notes
I'm on the ICC Technical Committee, which looks into any problems with players ahead of the tournament. That means if someone gets injured, they basically need to provide us with a doctor's note and then we can sanction the team to call up a replacement.
So once Michael Hussey or Eoin Morgan were declared injured, we allowed the relevant teams to bring in Callum Ferguson and Ravi Bopara. But the rule is that they can't declare themselves fit again. That's it for them.
I must say, there have been an unbelievable number of players being replaced for the World Cup. I think that justifies
my last blog when I said there was too much cricket and we're wearing the players out.
It's real sad for Morgan to miss out. Sometimes you pick up an accident and it's tough. He'll be a loss to the England side.
But I was pleased to see Bopara called up (I'm sure Nasser's right behind that decision, too) and I hope he gets his chance. He's a really good cricketer and he also fills a void with his bowling. He is perfect for playing over there.
Back home
I was pleased to get home from Australia and it's nice to get back into a routine for a couple of weeks before I fly out to the World Cup. I've been visiting my family and catching up with my mates in the Hesketh (which, by the way, is divided down the middle ahead of the Manchester derby).
The first thing I did when I got home was go to sleep. The second thing I did was to go out for a Lancashire hot pot with red cabbage and pickles.
We were in a nice village called Waddington, just outside Clitheroe in a great pub called the Lower Buck. I enjoyed a cracking local tipple, Bowland Beer, and it was nice to have a proper drink after all that weasel water I had to put up with Down Under.
Apologies if that offends any of my Australian friends, but they're never shy to have a pop at our "warm flat beer" are they?
Northern delights
If you were watching Sky Sports earlier this week, you might have seen our Australian tour review programme.
We filmed the show in a very plush restaurant in Perth called the Boat Shed. Imagine my surprise when the head chef walked over and started chatting to me in a really strong Lancashire accent. His name was David Lambert and it turns out he went to school with my son Ben. He was even asking about his dogs!
The restaurant was in a very swish area by the river, but it seems they get all their chefs from Lancashire! The next restaurant along was run by a chap from Rising Bridge, a tiny village about a mile outside Accrington.
Imagine my delight to see some of his selections on the menu: a very posh black pudding and some Lancashire cheese!
Seems you can take the lad out of Accrington, but you can't take the Accrington out of the lad!
