This might not seem worthy of comment, but finding fault with insignificant elements of the world around you is what life’s all about. These carrots aren’t sliced in the right way; there’s too much milk in my tea; the TV picture’s the wrong ratio so that everything seems slightly stretched (although actually I’m not sure, but that isn’t going to stop me fiddling with the remote for the next 20 minutes).

Worse than all of these is: ‘They’ve lumped the first and second division averages in the same table’. I hate that one. I saw it on teletext this morning. It implies performance in the second division of the County Championship is worth as much as performance in the first division, which is flat-out wrong.

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Kevin Pietersen has decided to leave Hampshire. You can hear a collective sigh of indifference travelling the length of the 90-minute drive up the M3 from Southampton to west London. “Geographically, it just doesn’t work – I live in Chelsea,” explains KP.

Yes, it would be a tough life commuting to the south coast a few times a season – best cut that out. And, as El Denv points out: “He can obviously just hop on the bus and be in Bangalore in 10 minutes.”

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On the launch of England: Champions of the World the ICC T20 2010 Official World Cup DVD, Sam Collins speaks to England and Sussex allrounder Luke Wright

How does it feel to be a World Cup winner?

It’s pretty special obviously, I still have to pinch myself. Now that the DVD is out I’m looking forward to watching it again and seeing some of the celebrations.

You opened in the 2009 tournament in England, would Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb have been able to hit with such success in the powerplays then?

I don’t know. England is one of the harder places to open the innings – it’s damper, the ball does a little bit more at times. But they played so well it wouldn’t have mattered, that’s how they naturally play. If one failed the other would get a good score, they dovetailed very well and always got us of to a good start, which made it easier for the rest of us to come in and keep playing strong shots.

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‘Less is more’ is a trite phrase. I myself have panned it into meaninglessness as much as anyone by overusing it when talking about cricket fixtures. I can’t seem to so much as mention the sport these days without descending into a rant that culminates in my standing on a table shouting: “Less is more, people! Less is more!” The boss hates it. So do restaurant patrons.

I’m feeling this particularly acutely at the moment with the Friends Provident Twenty20 taking place. All the talk is about whether the increase in the number of domestic Twenty20 matches will bring the average attendance down at the various county grounds. I think it probably will, because the ‘I can always go to the next match’ mentality that often keeps people away will be even more pronounced. But that isn’t it. The real reason why I’m so vexed is because I feel like the Friends Provident T20 should be an event – and it isn’t.

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Here at TWC we’re a very paternal bunch. In our May issue we asked the captain or coach from all 18 counties to pick a young player (not from their own side) who they believe will have a breakthrough summer.

We produced a top three and then the best batting, bowling, keeping and allround prospects, and you can find the feature, and everything you need to know about each player, here. Our fatherly instinct means we have to keep an eye on them, so here’s how they’ve started the season …

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I’m not sure how to break this to the South Africans, but they have competition. No longer will they be able to stroll into the England team, for the English, tired of having to look to Africa for their talent, have had enough. They’re looking to New Zealand instead.

In particular, they’ll be looking to Christchurch-born Durham allrounder Ben Stokes. Just 18, he made a strong impression for England in the Under-19 World Cup in January by hitting a 100 off 88 balls – the second fifty coming off only 27 balls – against defending champions India.

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Few would argue that the two-division County Championship has, albeit gradually, created a premier league of sorts. The best teams play each other and produce a higher standard of cricket. But if you’re after entertainment look no further than the second division.

Believe it or not there have already been 26 matches in the second division. Just three (11.5%) have been drawn. Contrast that with 25 matches in the first division, eight (32%) of them drawn.

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In the June issue of the magazine, out next Friday, we asked 14 experts to pick their England team for the first Ashes Test. Of all the interesting thoughts to come out of the discussion (so many that even Stephen Fry would fail to cope), that tired, old dilemma kept coming up: who bats at three. Trott? Bell? KP? Even Rob Key?

The lack of agreement on the subject is matched only by the lack of runs scored from that position by hapless English batsmen. Whoever bats at three in Australia, it could be kittens against tigers. Perhaps the fallibility is incurable. Perhaps, like the Americans and irony, the English just don’t do No.3s. But then along came Curb Your Enthusiasm to scupper one stereotype so perhaps there’s hope yet … Maybe we’ve just been looking in the wrong place and it’s time for the selectors to check out who’s been doing well at one-down in the County Championship.

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Three weeks ago I sent a questionnaire to the chief executives of all 18 first-class counties on behalf of The Wisden Cricketer. The idea was to pose the 10 most pressing questions of the day to the men who, while not quite running English cricket, have more influence on the national set-up than any other domestic structure in the world. What emerged was a mood of fear and suspicion – and I hadn’t even asked for details of each venue’s lunch-time menu.

Six counties replied in full, though only one – Durham – plays its cricket at a Test ground (for the relevance of which see below). Another six indicated they would not be taking part, though in three instances the chief executive was good enough to provide an off-the-record briefing. To date, with the deadline for replies already passed, the other six have yet to respond.

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Jamie Dormon is spending a season in the stands. Here his journey begins.

9th April, first day of the county season.

I awoke to find the weather gods had been exceedingly kind, the sun was out, and the forecast was for a hot day.  Being the sensible sort of chap I am, I decided that wearing black and dressing like a member of The Jesus & Mary Chain would be a good idea. Ill-advised!

My first lift, from Southend to Chelmsford, was courtesy of Boris – a sneaker salesman from Leigh on Sea.  Boris was inspired to help as he is looking at writing his own book, based on 12 challenges in 12 months, the Everyman Olympian.

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