Thanks, but no Yanks!

Bumble is enjoying the Stanford Series, but feels Sir Allen could do with an image makeover.

Sir Allen needs better advice - perhaps Bumble is his man?

Overall I have really enjoyed the Stanford Series so far. We've seen at least two great games of cricket and the ground itself is terrific. But in my opinion the whole thing needs a few tweaks to improve it for next time. Sir Allen Stanford is clearly good-hearted bloke and he's thrown an enormous amount of money at this, but there have been a couple of negatives that need to be sorted out. In a very typically American way, Sir Allen has surrounded himself with his "people" and it's about time those "people" started giving him better advice as to what produces a good cricket match. They need to look at what's gone right and what's gone wrong in this past week - and the principle wrong has been the pitch. The players have found it difficult to play on, the outfield's too long, the ball's not travelling to the boundary and it needs a heck of a lot of rolling to make it more slick. The solution is simple. All they need to do is to produce a pitch somewhere else and drop it in for the next tournament. They could alternate one-in, one out, use soil content from somewhere else and ensure that they have a better surface for such a high-profile event.

Not the American way

Sir Allen also needs better advice on how to produce a better product for his main audience - which is the UK. The British audience has not appreciated the way he has been carrying on. His behaviour with the players' wives and girlfriends is not customary for us Brits and I've received so many e-mails and texts from people hammering the bloke. I assume he's a decent fellow but you can tell he's been doing things in a very American way. He's doing some great things, but while Americanism might work in some parts of the world, it doesn't go down well in England. For the tournament to be seen in the best possible light, he needs some better advice - and if he wants some, I'm in the area. I've been doing these since 2003, I speak my mind and I could help the bloke out. I'm sure he wouldn't have a clue who I am, but I could tell him what English audiences want and how to improve the tournament. The British public would rather there was a bit more mystery about him. If you didn't see him all the time, then people would be intrigued and there might be more goodwill towards him. We had a very fine cricketing philanthropist, who is sadly no longer with us, in Jean Paul Getty. You never saw him anywhere and I'm sure Stanford's image would be better if he behaved more like that.

Let there be light

One thing I don't think has been a problem is the floodlights. People have blamed them for all the dropped catches we've seen, but personally I don't think there's anything wrong with them. Before the tournament started, there was no time for the players to practise under these lights. As the week has gone on, less catches have been dropped because the players have been out there practising every night. Paul Collingwood summed it up when he said you need to practise under the lights, wherever you are in the world. The angles, positions and heights vary from ground to ground and you can only get used to it by playing under them. He's absolutely right and if all the teams had practised at the ground prior to the tournament we wouldn't have seen as many catches dropped. To be honest, it's great fun when they drop one because it adds to the spectacle. As soon as one goes up in the air, the fielder underneath it is thinking "oh crap" - which is great to watch. They'll all be thinking about Saturday evening because if any of them do it then, they'll be dropping their new house!

Fighting fit

England have had illness and injury all week, but I'm sure they'll get over it by Saturday. I'm dead sure the guys with stomach upsets would go out and play with nappies on if they have to. As for team selection, this is definitely a two-spinner pitch and I feel you also need seamers who will hit the pitch hard. The talk is that the four to miss out will be Alistair Cook, Jimmy Anderson, Ravi Bopara and Ryan Sidebottom. That leaves you with three quickies in Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Stuart Broad plus three spinners in Samit Patel, Graeme Swann and Pietersen. There's also Collingwood so you've got plenty of bowlers. There is also a question mark over Luke Wright, who is not batting or bowling at the moment. Similarly Swann has not been batting - so if it was up to me I would send them in early. They both bat in the top three for their counties so I would send Wright out with Matt Prior and Swann at three before all your batsmen. You might as well send them in against the fielding restrictions and let them have a big swipe early on. To me that makes perfect sense, but I'm sure it won't happen.

Revving up

Finally this week, I'm learning to ride a motorbike. I'm going to take my CBT test when I get back from Antigua as I have a one-week window before we head out to India, but I won't be able to take my theory test until the New Year. People ask me why I'm doing it and I'll tell them it's because I'm a 60-year-old who thinks he's 25. Andrew Flintoff, who has a big Harley Davidson, has been helping me out with a few hints and he'll be giving me a few more tips when I get back. I'll be letting you know how I get on in this blog over the next few weeks...

Bumble answers your questions...

Send your questions to Bumble by filling in the feedback form below. Or you can mail them in by e-mailing skysportsclub@bskyb.com BAT TO BLACK
Can you answer a question about the bats being used in the Stanford 20 for 20? Are the bats all the same make, with individual players sponsors' on them, or are they the player's usual bat painted black? This would finish a heated debate between my sons and their dad. Thanks, Helen Morgan-Jones BUMBLE REPLIES: This is a great question because I asked them exactly the same thing. I can tell you that the players are using the individual bats that they always use and they've had them painted black. The players have a rack of bats and they've picked out one or two that they feel might be on their last legs and they're the ones that get painted. Of course, they won't be able to use them again because they're illegal. In fact, one of the boys has very kindly offered me one of the black bats to use to raise money for my cricket club. SPITTING GAMES
As a long time cricket fan could I ask one small favour - please, please ask the England boys to quit spitting and the cameramen to stop picking on the spitting players. Remind them it's a gentlemen's game and they have a vast audience of young fans who will be inclined to copy all of their actions. I am sure it will make for better viewing and better behaviour. David Faithfull, Clevedon, North Somerset BUMBLE REPLIES: Well David, we will have to beg to differ here. To suggest a cameraman knows when a bloke is going to spit is ludicrous - and the players obviously don't realise when the camera is on them either. We try to cut away pretty quickly when it happens and we don't make any reference to it on air. We didn't notice it years ago when there were only five cameras at the ground, but here in Antigua there are 30 cameras and they don't miss a thing. Spitting will always happen in what I call "active" sports - tennis, football, rugby, cricket etc. Fluid accumulates in the mouth and it has to go somewhere sadly. I hate to see it myself, but it's unavoidable. In an ideal world it would go into a handkerchief but that's unrealistic. I agree with you that spitting is deplorable, it's the worst habit that there is, but I feel it's a necessary evil in these sports.