Over the last week, since Matty Hayden was dropped from the one day side for the vb finals, every night on the news he has appeared in a different airport, with the same grumpy face, clinging to, or resting his head on the same pillow with little red flowers on the pillow case. There’s something delightful about it.

But today he was named in the one day squad to tour nz and he was on the news upright and smiling and claiming to be more hungry than ever. Will nz flesh be able to satiate him? Lambs to the slaughter. It won’t be a matter of Matty trading the sweet pillow in for something more intimadating, he will retain its delicacy and let it infect his batting which will be remade no less powerful than before only the power will be less blatant and far harder for the nz lambs to counter. He will take the pillow out onto the pitch with him and rest his head between balls, drawing on its soft intricacy between dispatches to/over the boundary.

On the other sad hand (though it had to be) Lehmann has been overlooked. He has taken it very well. So well that the decision is clearly the right one. Lehmann doesn’t really mind if he plays cricket for Australia anymore or not, hasn’t for a while. We will miss the geography of his head and his utilisation of the crease.

I was just waiting for this moment. Mutterman has finally brought up his one-day international century. 100 runs in only 201 games. It is in honour of the mutterman that I too raise my bat and acknowledge the applause of my readership, revelling in my 100th entry.

Last night Kerry O’Keeffe was claiming that McGrath is a better bowler than Lillee ever was, and at least one journalist has named a corridor after him.

Now, to take the 100th entry to the heights it deserves – if you look at the picture in the right hand corner, its frikkin Derrida playing backyard cricket!!! He’s using a Kookaburra bat and his technique is decidedly rudimentary. He looks fabulous.

As do the Reds.

I was so glad that Andrew Symonds won the one day player of the year prize despite his 6 ducks in the last 7 games. After watching him field v Pakistan on Sunday night I don’t really mind if he never scores another run in his life, he needs to be on the team. Frankly he deserves the medal for just looking so damn good anyway. If only it was Dizzy with him in that last picture, Dizzy was resplendant as well – as usual. They would make the absolute perfect couple. (Enough of those blonde haired cricketers and their blonde haired escorts!)

Justin Langer cut a lone figure and was talking himself up to win the most handsome cricketer award. He was right on the money.

For all the drama and the wonder of the evening, the VS Medal really is the most awkward few hours of television you could ever possibly watch.