As our summer festival of cricket extends into autumn and – in the case of Chester-Le-Street – winter, there are still plenty of exciting opportunities to enjoy some action.

Some people have questioned the wisdom of having seven limited-overs matches against Australia, but we at the ECB firmly believe that if we keep playing enough one-dayers we’re going to win one sooner or later.

And once England DO win a game, the celebrations will continue long into the night (or at least until 11.45pm, when the team have to get a helicopter to Stromness for an important fixture against the Orkney Islands).

In this day and age, cricket has to compete in the marketplace alongside other forms of entertainment including text messaging, illegal file sharing, watching Midsomer Murders, writing racist comments on the Daily Mail website, binge drinking and internet pornography. It is vital that we keep up.

Take Lily Allen, whose tremendous performance in dealing with a lively Aggers on TMS impressed everyone and encouraged us to sign her up as an Official Marketing Partner with responsibility for Young Persons. You don’t see Lily settling for just three pictures of herself staggering out of a nightclub when she could be photographed carousing in seven or nine places a night, and that’s just the sort of total commitment we’re going for with the one-day cricket schedule.

Youngsters these days want more of everything – be it downloads, leisurewear or stabbings – and supply needs to meet demand. We’ve worked hard to get young people interested in cricket: we can’t have them drifting away from the game just because there isn’t a match on for a day or two.
As for the issue of player burnout: it’s more and more of a squad game these days. We’re trying to build a squad who can compete against the Australias of this world, or if not actually compete, at least turn up for the all-important bonding kickabout without going down like they’ve been shot. With the amount of cricket being played, the old adage that you should not change a winning team is under scrutiny now as never before: fortunately, this is not one of our current worries.

With just four matches to go in this one-day series, there is no better time to join in the fun. Hamper packages are still available for Chester-le-Street for just £125 – they include a pie, can of Panda cola, Paul Collingwood ‘Nurdling Howaay’ DVD and a cagoule.

We look forward to seeing you there or at one of the other 175 ODIs planned over the next few months.

By Alan Tyers