I think yesterday (1st Test Day 1) was an education for all involved. Certainly for England as the score of 340ish for 3 indicates. It's going to be a long and very hot tour. Unless we bowl exceptionally on day 2 we are looking down the barrel of 5-600 and having 3 days to bat to save the game. I thought we stuck at it well - no real howlers in the field, apart from Harmison's first ball which was hardly on the cut part. Moz & I didn't actually see that ball as we were still queuing to get into the ground - the organisation was poor & we would have missed more of the game had they not opened the gates & let people in with no bag checks when it got close to 10am.
It was a bit of an education for me as well as I had forgotten from 4 years ago how hot it gets in the sun here. Just sitting watching cricket takes it out of you. You sit stewing in a marinade of suntan lotion and sweat, turning a sort of beetroot red colour. I had to take refuge in the back of the stand during the afternoon and evening sessions just to cool down. The sun reaches us about lunchtime and from then on it's a pretty full-on BBQ session. I managed to avoid getting burnt - just a bit of slight tenderness on the face but OK. Which is more than I can say for quite a few of the other England fans - there were a number who had been on the beer all day & had omitted lotion on their list of essentials who were going to regret it later when they sobered up.
The police were present in great numbers, several people got chucked out for being drunk, and they were cracking down on anyone trying to start Mexican waves as well.
Any way, Day 2 awaits. It's about a 20 minute walk from our hotel which is OK in the morning but seems like an hour in the evening when all you can think of of is a nice cool shower!