NEW YEAR 2012

1)  I have been picked up on this by Thelston Payne already, but my view from the other side of the Irish Sea hasn't changed… A win on the line from nowhere in a moderate race can be more exciting than a predictable victory in a top race. Yes, I know that finishing second in the 2nd division is not the same as the start of the decade, when we were winning the championship easily (1971 and 1999 were very special), but it seemed better to this correspondent! Before the Essex game, I was checking to see who Northants had in their last game of the season… and I voted for Jon Lewis for my champagne moment, for getting the wicket that stopped Northants getting an extra batting bonus point thus ensuring his new team would be playing first division cricket next year. I don't know whether Northants' supporters had the same feeling, but there was something inevitable once the Surrey charge got going.

2)  Obviously, the signings last year, particularly Ojha at the end won promotion for the side. The in-house fast bowling strength has allowed another overseas spinner to be signed for 2012. However, let's hope all these experienced signings do not get in the way of youth development, or worse still, allow us to start supplying other counties with young talent again, rather than keeping it for ourselves.

3)  The season starts earlier than ever this year, not sure if the freak springs we enjoyed in 2010 and 2011 will be repeated for a while. I presume they would start even earlier if it wasn't for the clocks changing at end of March! There will be three home games before the end of April, but I guess that fight was lost long ago. Perhaps they should try and complete half of the championship matches before the FA Cup final!

4)  India were hopelessly prepared for their tour to England and showed their true colours in the return one-day games on the sub-continent. It would have been interesting if there had been a couple of Tests as well.

5)  I was surprised by the severity of the judgements on the Pakistan players involved in the spot-fixing scandal. I never thought they would be given prison sentences. There is much talk about how many other players have been got at over the years.... but no mention, yet, of umpires.

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