And another thing...

Bumble on why Andrew Strauss is not a Twenty20 player and why Andrew Flintoff should open.

Bumble on pitches, catches and band names...

It is totally right and fair that Andrew Strauss is not in England's squad for the World Twenty20. As I've said in this blog on numerous occasions, a Twenty 20 cricket team is like a rugby union sevens team. It is a different format and you need different players. Twenty20 is not cricket, it is sheer entertainment; it just so happens that they use cricket equipment. Twenty 20 cricketers need to be two or three dimensional. They've got to be able to find the boundaries and they've got to be able to field like demons. That just isn't Strauss's game. Strauss is the England captain and he is doing a good job, but for Twenty20 cricket there needs to be somebody different, probably Rob Key. He is a good leader and can hopefully help them to reduce that 30-man squad to the right 15. There are three selectors, all of whom I know really well, and if they pick the phone up then I can tell them who the best Twenty20 players are in England - and it's definitely not the guys in the Test team. I'll name a few that should be in - James Foster, Graham Napier, Tim Bresnan, Dawid Malan and also Dimitri Mascarenhas (quite how he wasn't in the Stanford squad I will never know). I also find it quite unbelievable that they've picked the 40-year-old Shaun Udal. Shaggy is a good mate of mine, but I find that an incredible selection. Twenty20 is a young man's game - so why on earth have they gone for him?

Grounds for concern

MEMO TO TEST MATCH GROUNDSMEN: Can we have some proper cricket pitches this summer? No arguments, these pitches have got to have pace and bounce. They need to be of great interest to batters, fast bowlers and the spinners too. If the players can perform then spectators will see some terrific games. We must get out of this habit of rolling the life out of pitches so that the corporate boxes are full for five days. We need to produce an entertaining and thrilling sport, so chairmen need to keep their noses out of the groundsmen's business. As Roy Keane once said, sport should not be about the prawn sandwiches...

Filling my schedule

I got back from the West Indies on Sunday and celebrated with a jet-lagged trip to the dentist for two root fillings. At least I've got a busy summer of cricket to look forward to. I've just got my schedules and you'll be seeing plenty of me on Sky Sports in the next few months. There's England matches, plenty of Twenty20 and all of the county fixtures - plus I'm looking forward to covering the England women's team. They've just won the World Cup over in Australia and it will be great to see them play. There are some double-headers this summer where a men's Twenty20 and a women's Twenty20 will be played at the same venue on the same day. That's absolutely brilliant and I've no doubt people will be impressed when they see these girls play. Women's cricket should go from strength to strength.

Countdown and a conundrum

You'll be seeing plenty of me on the telly next week too, as I'll be appearing in Countdown's dictionary corner from April 13th to 17th. I was absolutely hopeless at the numbers games, but myself and Susie got by on the words. Tune in to see for yourself and I hope you enjoy a few of my stories. I've also been working on the second edition of Chimp magazine, which is out in Manchester and includes a hilarious interview with Mark E Smith. On the subject of music, I was having a conversation with someone the other day about abbreviated band names. The Stone Roses are known as the Roses, the Rolling Stones are the Stones and the Manic Street Preachers are the Manics. So what do we call Big Country?

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 FLINTOFF FROM THE OFF
David Lloyd says we've got no one with aggression at the top of the order, then why do the powers that be not have a go with Flintoff or Pietersen? These two are the only ones in the England set-up that have got the ability to hit sixes for fun. Come on give it a go. Dave Price. BUMBLE REPLIES: Dead right. I have floated the idea of Andrew Flintoff opening previously because I'm certain he did it in his Under-19s days. I've never spoken to Andrew about it, but I've mentioned it to people close to him and they've told me I'm absolutely mad. There seems to be a genuine reluctance from both Pietersen and Flintoff, they maybe feel they are better served down the order, but if I was in charge I'd try to change Andrew's mind. Sachin Tendulkar opens for India, Adam Gilchrist moved from seven to one, Brendon McCullum went from seven to one - but it doesn't seem that Andrew wants to take that step. DARREN SHAME-Y
Hello, I've long been aware that the "gentlemanly" side of cricket is dying, and there are many examples where a fine line has been trodden by players claiming dubious decisions, however Darren Sammy picked the ball up off the turf last Friday and claimed a catch. The ball has come to a dead stop on the turf, the man has picked it up and pretended he has caught it, it's a disgrace and a blot on his copy book for the rest of his career for me, I don't care what he does or achieves from here on in, in my eyes he will always be what he has confirmed himself 100% as... a cheat. Chris in Bromsgrove BUMBLE REPLIES: If it was a different player, I would go along with you Chris and say he should be branded a cheat for the rest of his life. There are plenty of doubtful players around and I can't stand cheating. But in this particular instance we are talking about a lad who is ramrod straight. I know Darren Sammy and he is a lovely, sincere chap, and he was involved in a very unfortunate incident. Knowing him as I do, I would say he was totally ignorant that it touched the floor (which can happen). I think this was an unfortunate incident to happen to a very straight character.