TWENTY20 cricket has well and truly taken hold of the season with both the domestic competition in full flow and the Twenty20 World Cup due to start on Friday. Add to that the Frocester 20/20 triangular tournament from Sunday and there is little time left for anything else!

The World cup warm-up games are now well under way and although there is some speculation over the fitness of Kevin Pieterson and his troubled Achilles, I expect to see him taking part in the majority of the more competitive games. Having suffered from a ruptured Achilles myself I am fully aware of the extent and nature of this injury and hope that he is not rushed back to play too soon, which could pre-dispose him to a recurrence of the injury later in the summer. I for one, would sooner see him 100% fit for the Ashes and let some of the so called Twenty20 specialists play their part in the tournament. England have realised that there is life after Flintoff so hopefully the same can be said for Pieterson. Players should not be risked if there is some doubt over their fitness which could lead to further injury.

So how will England do? They are certainly in one of the easier groups with Pakistan as the only major threat and will progress through to the super eights stage - then it is anyone’s guess. Although a game which requires a very particular set of skills, it can all be turned so quickly by a moment of brilliance whether with bat, ball or in the field. Whoever and whatever the final outcome is the tournament is sure to be action packed with decent crowds present at all the major games and a real curtain raiser to wet the appetite prior to the Ashes.

Meanwhile, Frocesters’ own Mark Hardinges will be representing Essex this week and we wish him the best of luck. Hopefully runs will flow and wickets abound. He has certainly been working hard on his fitness with some lengthy bowling spells at the weekends. I’m sure he will relish the opportunity to perform at this level in front of a packed house at Chelmsford.