Wayne Rooney taps nervously on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door and enters his manager’s office

“Hello Wayne, what can I do for you?”

“Hi boss,” mumbles Rooney. “I just wanted to let you know I’m going to miss the first six weeks of the season.”

“What! You haven’t done your metatarsal again, have you?” demands an anxious Ferguson.

“No, nothing like that boss. I’m not injured. It’s just that I’ve agreed to play for the Abu Dhabi Anteaters in the UAE Premier League. The competition starts the same day as the Premier League and finishes at the end of September. I thought I should let you know.”

Fergie’s response would of course be unprintable and the scenario fortunately for Rooney’s health is about as likely as a 60-ball hundred from Jonathan Trott, but several counties face a not dissimilar situation as the County Championship kicks off.

Sussex – who look set to face a tough challenge to remain in Division One this season – have lost the services of allrounder Luke Wright to Pune Warriors, whilst Essex’s attempt to gain promotion from Division Two will be made more difficult given that Owais Shah will be warming the bench with the Rajasthan Royals. Sadly, these are not isolated cases.

Whilst the riches of a six-week sojourn in India far outweigh the financial rewards on offer in county cricket, what price for loyalty? Surely, Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad owe their counties a few appearances rather than jetting off for stints with Delhi and Punjab, respectively. And a couple of weeks rest followed by a Championship match or two would be ideal preparation for the Test match summer.

Some will point to the fact that a few weeks of Twenty20 cricket could benefit the likes of Broad, Pietersen and Eoin Morgan with England aiming to defend their World Twenty20 crown in Sri Lanka in September, but I’d be surprised if Andy Flower subscribes to that view. Morgan especially could do with prioritising scoring some early season runs in the Championship for Middlesex as part of an attempt to win his Test spot back.

The IPL already casts a long shadow over county cricket with the season starting earlier than ever as a direct consequence of the Champions League being scheduled in September. This means that whilst Wright is enjoying a balmy Mumbai in evening for Pune’s opening match, his Sussex teammates will be contesting with forecasted temperatures of six degrees at The Oval.

Collingwood, Shah, Wright and other county stars like Alfonso Thomas and Dimi Mascarenhas will arrive back from the IPL at the end of May, a couple of weeks before the start of the domestic Friends Life t20 competition. Manchester United’s manager wouldn’t tolerate the loss of players that he had nurtured, developed and invested in to a foreign domestic league, and neither should county cricket.

David Green is the warped mind behind The Reverse Sweep cricket blog and regards Douglas Jardine as his ultimate cricket hero. You can follow David on Twitter @TheReverseSweep

In 133 Tests, ‘The Gaffer’ scored 8,463 runs at an average of 39.54, and claimed more than 250 dismissals behind the stumps. He is also England’s second most capped ODI player and scored 4,677 runs in 170 appearances.

All you have to do to enter the draw to win the shirt is answer the following question:

*THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*

Who is England’s most capped one-day player?

(A) Andrew Strauss

(B) Kevin Pietersen

(C) Paul Collingwood

Send in your answers to comps@alloutcricket.com with ‘TRAINING SHIRT’ as your subject title. The competition closes on Tuesday April 10. Good luck!

From time to time AOC may send you information on offers, promotions or services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want to be contacted please include the words ‘no mailing’ in your email.

We are giving away a pair of Slazenger Ultimate batting gloves, as worn by Paul Collingwood. The Slazenger Ultimate batting gloves are international quality gloves designed to give you confidence at the crease.

The gloves feature a Carbon Fibre WR100 Pittard Leather Palm, with 1500K armour on the two lead fingers. Slazenger Ultimate gloves also provide added protection due to the moulded impact absorption foam and side protection system on both hands.

To win this great prize, answer the following question:

*THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*

Which county cricket club does Paul Collingwood play for?

(A) Durham
(B) Essex
(C) Yorkshire

Send in your answers to comps@alloutcricket.com with ‘Ultimate’ as your subject title. The competition closes on February 17. Good luck!

From time to time AOC may send you information on offers, promotions or services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want to be contacted please include the words ‘no mailing’ in your email.

It’s the end of the week: it’s time to relax. You’ve got a whole weekend of not sitting at your desk pretending to work but actually reading about cricket. So, to see you through the weekend, here’s a few small morsels of knowledge and trivial nonsense (did I say nonsense?) to add to the memory bank.

Lesson 1. 23.5 = 15 = 8

Saeed Ajmal caused confusion this week by claiming the ICC allowed him to bend his arm 8.5 degrees beyond the legal limit because of the effects of a previous injury on his bowling arm. Speaking to the BBC, Ajmal said: “Someone is telling me my action is bad because the ICC allowed me as a bowler 23.5 degrees, because my arm is not good. A few years ago I had an accident. Otherwise, no problem, the action was cleared by ICC.” After much confusion, translation and clarification, however, it appears that not only does the Pakistani’s arm bend no more than 8 degrees during delivery, but also that his arms bends more when he is bowling his orthodox offie. All clear, then.

Lesson 2. Geraint has a Jonesing for a New challenge

The man who took that catch at Edgbaston in 2005, will resume his international career next month with… Papua New Guinea. Jones was born in PNG, before moving first to Australia and then the UK, and will try to help the island nation qualify for September’s ICC World Twenty20. Jones, who played 34 Tests for England, hasn’t represented the Three Lions since July 2006, and is said to be “genuinely excited” about his latest challenge. That and a free holiday in the sun…

Lesson 3. Paul Collingwood likes the feel of his Skins in bed

Earlier this week, AOC reviews editor Ed Kemp was chatting to Paul Collingwood about health, fitness and squeezing his muscly frame inside a set of Skins. The England legend ensures us that as well as being a big help during training and match scenarios, a set of Skins doubles up as a more than serviceable pair of pyjamas. Hold that thought.

Lesson 4. Craig Kieswetter’s first Taunton flat featured a rather pricey red leather sofa

Not made out of pieces of old cricket ball, before you ask.

Here’s What AOC Learnt last week…

The Scorchers started the tournament as rank outsiders, but propelled by some explosive batting from Herschelle Gibbs (302 runs at 50.33), skipper Marcus North (251 runs at 41.83) and emerging starlet Mitchell Marsh (232 runs at 38.66) – plus the bowling of evergreen tongue-waggler Brad Hogg (12 wickets at 13.50 and an economy rate of 5.40. Not bad for a bloke the wrong side of 40…) – they’ve taken the competition by storm.

Their comfortable 11-run victory over Shane Warne’s Melbourne Stars in the semi-finals handed them home advantage for the tournament’s grand finale, and such is their form that Betfair are only offering odds of 1.86 [5/6] on them being crowned champions. The odds would be even shorter if Paul Collingwood could buy a run – he’s amassed 81 runs at 13.50 from his eight knocks so far (knowing Colly though, that means a backs-to-the-wall masterpiece is just around the corner…).

Their opponents are the Sydney Sixers, who overcame the Hobart Hurricanes – Owais Shah and all – to book their place at the final. They started the competition poorly but are now on a four-match winning streak, thanks primarily to the runs of emerging talent Nic Maddison (265 runs at 33.12) and the efforts of their bowlers – Mitchell Starc is their leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps, but three other bowlers (Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and skipper Steve Smith) have picked up six wickets. Betfair have them at 2.14 [11/10] to wind up as champions, which might just be a worthwhile gamble; Perth’s notorious rapid deck famously favours speedsters, which should suit Starc and Lee down to the ground.

Of other potential bets, the 4.5 [7/2] being offered on Maddison to top-score in the match is probably attracting the most attention, but it’s a tough one to call – both teams have varied and potent bowling attacks who are in great form. Whatever happens, with both teams possessing a bevvy of international stars, it should make for an enthralling contest.

For all the latest odds check out www.betfair.com

I’ve seen Paul Collingwood drop catches before. Not many, you understand, but even the man who I used to continually insist was the best fielder in world cricket was not infallible. I don’t think I have ever seen him drop two on the same day though, and certainly not two within 10 minutes and definitely not two complete sitters that I would probably have backed myself to catch. But that’s what happened when Colly returned to the MCG just over a year after England’s famous Ashes win there as his Perth Scorchers took on Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash.

While the majority of the 20,000 crowd were there to see Shane Warne, my main reason for attending was to see a man who had always been one of my favourites for reasons I could never quite work out. And while I was excited to be there to see him, the man himself told me days before that he was equally pleased to be back. “Winning the Ashes was the real highlight of my career and having won games at the MCG and the SCG and then getting the chance to go back to those venues gives you a tingle along your spine because I have very recent good memories from them. To go back so soon is a great opportunity,” he said.

Fortunately for Collingwood, despite his dropped catches those good feelings weren’t tarnished as the Scorchers somehow defended a total of 136 in which Collingwood’s 12 from nine balls was the third highest total. He managed three runs from the two balls he faced from Warne and would undoubtedly have liked more of an opportunity to face up to his old enemy. “I have always had a rivalry with Shane Warne on the pitch,” he told me ahead of the match. “But I think it’s always been just two people wanting to do well for their countries and now for their teams they are playing for. What he has done for cricket and the skill levels he’s shown has been amazing.”

In his previous five meetings with Warne on Australian soil, Collingwood lost five Test matches despite scoring 206 against him in Adelaide. But then Australia has always offered highs and lows for Collingwood ever since he played grade cricket here in the winter of 2000/01. “It’s a great country to tour and I have different emotions about Australia. Over the last 10 years I have good and bad memories and it is certainly the hardest cricket I have ever played. It’s great to be back and when you get opportunities you have to take them. It doesn’t matter what age you are.”

But being back in Australia this time round is completely different as he finds himself teammates with the likes of Marcus North, Michael Beer and Simon Katich who he played against on the international scene just a year ago. “What’s happening in world cricket with the IPL and T20 tournaments around the world is that you get an opportunity to play with players you only got to play against and you get to know more about different cricketers and cultures. When you play in the same team all the time you don’t get that. It’s got to be good for the game and it’s great experience.”

But if he’s been getting on well with his new teammates, how have the Aussie fans been treating him? “The Perth fans have been brilliant and I feel like one of them. The only boos I got was when I came out and they played the club song for the Collingwood AFL team which I found quite funny. I might ask them to do that again when I play at the MCG and see what kind of reaction I get!”

Sadly that didn’t happen and while the Aussies in the crowd were happy to see a Pom dropping catches (and the message boards were instantly buzzing with abuse) he had the last laugh as the visitors claimed an eight-run victory. And with Perth winning three from four and Warne’s Stars just one from the same number of games, Colly’s team is likely to be in the tournament longer than his old rival’s.

Paul Winslow is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne. Check out more of his work at www.thewinslowboy.com.au.

Click here to read his take on the Big Bash so far.

When Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook found themselves padded up and walking out to face India’s opening bowlers soon after tea on the first day of the third Test at Edgbaston, they should not have been too surprised. In the past decade very few sides have enjoyed batting first there – indeed, most sides have failed to even last a full day.

This was the case last summer when Pakistan, having won the toss and chosen to bat, contrived to be all out for just 72. England reached 42-0 by tea, and were already 40 runs ahead at stumps.

It was a similar, if less dramatic, story in the 2009 Ashes. A rain-affected first day meant just 30 overs of play were possible but the next morning Australia were skittled; eight down by lunch and all out soon after, with just 70 overs in the innings. Again, not a full day’s play. Rain meant England were unable to capitalise on their 100-run first innings lead against Australia but if the rain stays away, Edgbaston tends to produce a result. In the last 20 Tests the only four draws were all heavily affected by the weather.

The Edgbaston Test against South Africa in 2008 saw England – at that point under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy – win the toss and bat first. A duck from the skipper and single-figure scores for Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood meant that England fans were watching the South African opening batsmen before play finished for the day, and the Proteas went on to complete a convincing five-wicket win.

And the trend stretches back further. In 2006 Sri Lanka won the toss and, after choosing to bat, their 10th wicket fell on the final ball before tea on day one. England reached stumps trailing by just three runs and went on to claim a six-wicket victory. Even in the famous 2005 Ashes victory, all 10 England wickets fell before stumps on the first day.

In fact, we have to go back to 2004 to find the last time a side managed to bat out a full day in the first innings at Edgbaston – and that was against a toothless West Indian attack.

Strangely, despite this recent history, captains have almost always chosen to bat for the last decade at Edgbaston. Before Strauss put India in, only the Australians in 2001 and 2005 had opted to take to the field having won the toss – and on both occasions came away with all 10 English wickets before the day was out.

All in all, it’s been a good toss to lose in recent years at Edgbaston but on the evidence so far Strauss made the correct call in backing his bowlers. At the toss MS Dhoni conceded that he too would have opted to field and, after witnessing his side slump to 224 all out, he would have seen very little to change his original view.