He bowls to the left he bowls to the right....

No running today and will take off the next week to recover. Ankle too sore to bike today too.

Lots to write about on the sporting front. I have purposely tried to steer away from any Ashes comments as didn't want to jinx it. This is though undeniably party time for English cricket. I was not expecting this week's events and anyone who says otherwise is damn right fibbing.

Whilst Glenn McGrath was one of the best ever bowlers, I remember he said that Australia would thump England 5-0 ofn the eve of the 2005 series. For once though he is now lost for words:
"There was a fair bit of talk about whether they were going to play Moeen or Rashid. I don't think there will be any more talk about that. I'm sort of lost for words about this match."

Well Glenn, happy to talk on your behalf if you want?

Over the years, I have learnt to celebrate the successes as they don't come around very often.  With a German mother (football) and Australian wife (cricket) it's fair to say I have been glutton for punishment.   

As I asked a few days ago did Brad 'dad's army' Haddin drop the Ashes when he dropped Root on day 1?  Those 140 odd runs and the fact that it meant that Australia had to chase the game made the difference.  Only time will tell but worryingly for Australia Stuart Broad looks like he has Michael Clarke in his pocket and 'LBW' Watto is absolutely toast. England it has to be said did have some luck, they won the toss (which will be vital for this series) and had the weather gods on their side yet again - it will be chucking it down in Cardiff for the next 4 days.

England will now take tremendous belief for the rest of the series after winning this first test by 170 odd runs.

In Australia I always clashed with my Aussie mates on the subject of Mitchell Johnson.  Yes last year he was arguably the world's best bowler. Yes last year he demolished England but over his career he has lost many more Tests for Australia than he has won. His stats versus England are poor and his first innings figures here (125 for zip) were one of the worst in any Ashes test. I will never forget being in the SCG in 2011 with the Barmy Army belting out 'he bowls to left he bowls to the right, that Mitchell Johnson his bowling is sh*te' with Swannie dancing along to boot!  Even if he demolishes England from here on in his overall record is still going to be poor.

The Tour is ramping up today and tomorrow is the team TT. The time of the #5th rider in each team will be the time for the overall GC contenders. I would hate to be that 5th guy as he is going to be under immense pressure. If I were them I'd be sitting on the back of the Peleton today.

Reflecting on yesterday's stage, it saw England take out the stage as well as take the yellow jersey. 10 years ago no one would have dreamt that let alone predicted it. With Brad winning in 2012, Froome in 13 (albeit with some African help) and possibly again this year that would make it 3 out of 4. In actual fact I think Froome would have won last had he not crashed out - he was the dominant rider in the lead up to last year's Tour. In addition to all that the Manx Missile now has #26 stage victories sitting behind only the iconic pair of Merckx and Hinault. Quite remarkable.  The pipeline looks super strong too with Geraint (the dominant rider in this year's classics) and the Yates brothers at Orica-G who remind me of the Brownley brothers.

Mum and the identical little J, aka Andre Agassi: