An interesting week in the cricketing world, with stampedes, more match fixing allegations, the loss of a fellow international and, of course, some action in the middle.

There has been a lot of negative press this week towards the English team after they suffered their tenth straight One-Day International loss.

The so-called experts are debating the effect this will have on the upcoming Test series, the consensus is that England have no chance. I can sympathize with Alec Stewart and the team as this is a similar position to the one we found ourselves in last season.

After winning in Nairobi we then lost nine straight, five in South Africa and four in a row against Sri Lanka. Not great reading, but when you analysed the games, three in SA were lost in the last over and three against Sri Lanka were lost in their last over. My point being, you have to learn how to win the close ones and that comes from experience.

We had a lot of injuries last year, that's been well documented with six of our one-day side missing for a majority of the season. This exposes younger players to pressure situations, the outcome will not always be the one desired, but the experiences many of our young players had last season will benefit us greatly in the future.

England also have injury problems at the moment with three of their top players out. I noted with interest Duncan Fletcher making an issue of this in recent paper interviews, he was making comparisons of playing against other teams if they had the equivalent players out. Interestingly, they are also losing the close ones.

Speaking of injuries, great to see Dion Nash named in the side for Sri Lanka. Firstly, it's fantastic to see him still playing after a series of frustrations and, secondly, to hear the enthusiasm of being involved again at this level. We have sorely missed his attitude and ability to make things happen. We will have to measure his initial workloads but he has a very good appreciation of what he needs to do.

I'm very excited looking through the side we have picked for Sri Lanka, not just the 14 names that are making the trip but also the quality of players that are on stand by. With the long season we have coming up we are going to use a lot of players once again as injuries have become part and parcel of a cricket tour. With more players making their way back from injuries there is going to be real competition for places and if managed well can be the strength of a side.

Controversy this week with two pitch invasions during One-Day Internationals involving Pakistan. In the latest incident a steward had ribs broken and bad bruising to his body after attempting to do his job.

Steve Waugh has been hot on this issue for many years, one recalls how close a glass bottle was to his head during a tour of the West Indies. It's not going to be long before a player is seriously injured.

It is a very sensitive issue in England after the disasters of fencing soccer crowds in, so that is not really an option. Whatever the home boards come up with, it has to be actioned quickly.

A sad note to finish, but on behalf of the New Zealand team our thoughts go out to Trevor Madondo's family and friends after he passed away this week after contracting malaria. He was a fine young player who has been denied the chance to succeed in the game we all love.

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