It’s an incredibly frustrating time in English cricket – hang on, isn’t it always though?!

Several county cricket matches have been abandoned or washed away due to the weather; and there were serious doubts about the possibility of completing the second test match in the series between England and the West Indies. Sadly for the somewhat depleted Windies, the rain let up long enough for England to deliver a record defeat in frigid temperatures at Headingley.

There seems to be no end to the list of injuries for England; Andrew Flintoff is facing yet another surgery on his ankle, and just as hopes were raised that Matthew Hoggard was ready to return to play he has suffered a further injury and is sidelined once more.

There have definitely been bright spots; the most important of which (in my humble opinion) has nothing to do with the cricket – or perhaps, it has everything to do with it. Even though the Friends Provident Trophy match was abandoned at Grace Road due to rain, both Lancashire and the resident Foxes made a public statement of support for the ongoing search for four-year-old Madeleine McCann. It is my hope that their green and yellow Band of Hope campaign will spread to other county teams as well. Whether it’s members of the England squad following Captain Michael Vaughan into earthquake ravaged portions of the subcontinent to deliver relief supplies, or a more localised effort such as this one, cricketers tend to have enormous hearts which transcend the spirit of the game.

Bright spots related to the game decidedly include Vaughan’s most welcome century during the Headingley match, allowing him to surpass David Gower’s record for most centuries earned whilst captaining England, and giving him his 20th victory as captain of the squad. It is fantastic to see him finding form again and being able to enjoy his performance, although clearly he was cross at finding himself dismissed only three runs later. I’ll try not to dwell on Kevin Pietersen‘s first test double century, magnificent though the carnage may have been, because with the sad absence of Paul Nixon on the field I’ll likely be accused of following Pietersen far too closely.

Then of course, there’s former “one cap wonder” Ryan Sidebottom, who has languished six years without another chance at a test match only to confiscate wicket after wicket in a rather old-fashioned way, merely by following the basics of line and length. And I certainly can’t neglect Matt Prior who became the first England wicketkeeper to score a test match debut ton at Lord’s (not to mention that this particular innings saw three other team members earning centuries, the first time four Englishmen have managed to do so in a single innings since 1938). Both Prior and Sidebottom have worked hard to justify the confidence of the selectors and have proven themselves worthy.

It will be a fleeting week for following county cricket once more before the third test begins on June 7th at Old Trafford. I suspect we might all do well to invest in some sort of technology to confine the rain to some other portion of the planet, if such a thing were to exist.