Dear British friends, it’s been so great to get all your texts since Monday. Buzz, buzz: England r gr8. Buzz, buzz: Ashes r ours. Buzz, buzz: Ur teams a dud. I haven’t heard from some of you for years. Four years, to be exact. It’s a fun week to be an Australian in England.

This sort of thing happened the last time I was here. Fortunately on that visit I didn’t last long enough to reach the 2005 Ashes experience, but I was around when Australia lost to Bangladesh in Cardiff. Another great day for receiving texts and emails.

So I’m starting to get a bit tired of the cricket-related messages on this trip. It’s a bit of a worry, as there are still six weeks to go. Maybe Kevin Pietersen’s injury (and a recovery for Mitchell Johnson?) will stop the texts. Please.