Howdy, good to be back with you. I’m writing this in Leeds on a very wet and cold evening, just 48 hours after leaving temperatures of 90-plus.
So, tell us where you have been, I hear you say, or did I just imagine you said that?
The Maldives, to play cricket and enjoy the islands. And there is indeed a great deal to enjoy.
It was a cracking break and I will tell you more of the cricket I’m sure in the next few weeks.
Suffice to say we played five games against teams from the Maldives. The Maldives, they are not a power in world cricket, are they?
Well, no, but they do have some very good players and have just won the emerging nations tournament in Asia and are very keen. We, the Worcester Police team and guests played five games and won two.
The heat was very oppressive with temperatures in the mid-90s for a couple of games, plus the humidity as well, so lots of water and other liquids were consumed.
All the game were played in the Maldives capital of Male, which has a growing population heading for 100,000 people and it’s only three kilometres square. It is cosy to say the least, but they do have room for a cricket ground and we played all five games there, travelling to them by speedboat.
We beat the under-19s and the veterans, but lost to the police and a very strong Maldives select team.
Star of the tour was batsman Paul Gough who hit a century in one game and 83 not out in a another. Neil Fletcher also batted well and the rest chipped in, but the bowling let us down at times, and modesty prevents me telling you who finished the tour as top wicket-taker!
I took three wickets in one game, and the combined age of the three players I got out was about 10 years less than mine.
It was a great tour and thanks to Graham Blomfield for all the work he put in, and to all the others who made it such a great event.
While away I listened to the Warriors against Saracens in a small room via the internet and didn’t have any fingers left, never mind nails at the end of it.
If you thought it was tense at Sixways, I can tell you being in a broom cupboard on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean was a nightmare.
Must say I was sorry to see that John Brain had left Sixways, I can see why things had to change.
Over the past few years I have come to have a good deal of respect for John as a very hard-working man with a very dry sense of humour and wish him all the best in the future, and of course good luck to Mike Ruddock in the future.
The county have struggled at the start of the cricket season, but it won’t be for lack of trying.
Ah well, I must put a bit more aftersun on the old tan. It’s amazing how it’s browned up in Leeds.
l Dave Bradley is the BBC Hereford & Worcester sports correspondent.