A lot has happened in the world of cricket since my last post. A lot has been written. What could I add? I haven’t seen a ball of the IPL, I don’t really know what to make of Peter Moores, and I can’t pretend to know what is going on with Indian cricket governance. But I saw Monty Panesar hit a sweetly-timed boundary. Twice.

There was a brief moment – between the World T20 and the IPL, and before the return of Moores to an England tracksuit – when all eyes were on the start of the domestic season. With England places up for grabs and reputations to be rebuilt after a disastrous winter, there is still more interest in the County Championship than I can ever remember, but for a while it felt like the spotlight burned as brightly (and unexpectedly) as the sunlight.

Fenner’s is only down the road, and my working hours could – could – have been designed to let me watch morning sessions of cricket matches, so I can’t pretend that I wouldn’t have popped in to catch a bit of Cambridge MCCU v Essex had the sun not been shining or if the England team still picked itself. It was a bonus, then, that it was Alastair Cook’s first appearance of the season, and a chance to see England hopefuls such as Ravi Bopara and Tymal Mills.

It remains to be seen if Panesar is in the selector’s thoughts – maybe he’s considered more hopeless than hopeful. I certainly wasn’t expecting his exploits to dominate my memories of this match. I had forgotten he had gone to Essex, to be honest, so it came as a surprise when he unmistakably made his way from the pavilion to join Bopara at the crease on day two. Essex declared shortly afterwards, when Bopara was out ten short of a century, and I would have to wait for Panesar’s batting masterclass.

On the plus side, I would get to see the much-hyped Mills bowl before lunch. Sitting side on, I was prepared for pace. Or at least I thought I was. I barely saw the first ball. Second ball crashed into Adil Arif’s pads and the umpire raised his finger. Interesting. Early days, but have England got their very own Mitchell Johnson?

Talking of Johnsons (stop sniggering, and get ready to pick up the name I’m about to drop), it was interesting to see the Cambridge MCCU captain, James Johnson, bat. JJ played for Camden, my club, last year, and is one of the best batsmen I have had the pleasure of batting with. The first time, away to Castor & Ailsworth when his knock of 92 almost won us the match, we put on 52 together for the second wicket. I scored 9 of those. It was like we were playing different games. I remember my first ball, coincidentally from the man JJ has replaced as Cambridge MCCU captain, Robert Woolley – a quick bowler who can boast the wicket of Kevin Pietersen on his CV. It was definitely more a case of ball hitting bat than bat hitting ball. Shortly afterwards, JJ, with a mere flick of the wrists, cracked a six over long on off the same bowler. Different game against Mills, although JJ played him well enough to survive until lunch.

While I’m dropping names, I remember Chris Wright of Warwickshire playing for Camden a couple of years ago. Yes, he bowled quickly and took 5 wickets, but I also remember that he scored 50 and looked a decent batsman at club level.

Which brings me to Panesar and the third morning at Fenner’s. Watching Monty bat in Test cricket, I bet the thought has crossed the mind of any self-respecting club bowler that they would clean him up in no time. Zain Shazhad of Cambridge MCCU could certainly have been forgiven for fancying his chances. He was on a hat-trick, after all, and the cries in the middle of “never get a better chance” echoed the thoughts of the crowd. Not only did Panesar survive the hat-trick ball, he then for good measure hit the two balls before lunch for four. The first was through straightish mid-wicket, the second just to the off-side of straight, and they were shots as good as any seen all morning.

Considering that Cook and Bopara were not out over night, that was not something I had envisaged as I made my way up Mill Road. It’s a funny old game.

The following Sunday I met my dad at Lord’s to watch the first day of his beloved Nottinghamshire’s game against Middlesex, and Peter Siddle batted as well as anyone all day. Admittedly, I missed the majority of James Taylor’s innings due to an excursion to my mate James’ new house in Willesden Green to watch the Liverpool-Man City game. While he is no Panesar, watching Siddle bat reinforced a thought that had occurred to me at Fenner’s. The differences between the levels of cricket are best illustrated by bowlers batting. A rabbit is only a rabbit in relation to its hunter.

I dread to think how many sheets of paper and how much ink I have wasted in my lifetime. Think of the trees. If you know where ink comes from, think of that too. Pity the school kids who have gone without. And for what? Not the novel that I’d like to think I have in me (and one day hope to get out of me). No, nothing so useful or profound.

Give me a sheet of paper, a pen and the freedom to do what I like, and more often than not my first instinct will be to jot down numbers one to eleven. Some people are nitpickers. Some pick their nose or pockets or locks. I pick teams. Maybe at heart I am a frustrated selector. The collection of notepads under my bed bear testament to my habit, and the quickest way of dating them is seeing who is playing right back or batting at six.

For a few years, since Paul Collingwood retired, the question of who bats at six was pretty much the only one to address when picking an England cricket team. I had to look to football to feed my habit. No longer. The cricket team doesn’t pick itself any more, and it is anyone’s guess who will line up against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on June 12th.

Alastair Cook will open, but what else can we guarantee? Ian Bell and Jimmy Anderson will presumably play. But where will Bell bat? Who will open with Cook? Will Stuart Broad, Joe Root and Ben Stokes be fit? Who will keep wicket? Who will be the spinner? Will Jonathan Trott or Steven Finn return? Will Michael Carberry or Tim Bresnan be retained? Can Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan or Samit Patel cut it as Test cricketers? What of the next generation? Gary Ballance? Jonny Bairstow? James Taylor? Sam Robson? Moeen Ali? Scott Borthwick? Chris Jordan?

For all the doom and gloom following a truly disastrous winter, it is an exciting time to be an English (qualified) cricketer. Throw in the football World Cup squad, and it’s an exciting time, also, for amateur selectors like me – and that’s before I’ve even considered my new job as Second XI captain for Camden CC. I might have to buy a new notepad …