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"De de de, de de de-de de..."

On Thursday morning at 1045 BST, the familiar strains of "Soul Limbo" by Booker T and the MG's will mean the summer can officially begin.

Never does our Test Match Special theme tune seem more appropriate than when the West Indies are in town, although the weather recently has not exactly been Caribbean in flavour.

Our BBC cricket coverage has never really stopped since last summer, with a busy winter which took TMS from India to the United Arab Emirates and to Sri Lanka. Then we have been able to bring you for the first time our new, extended county coverage giving you a flavour of the Championship season which started back in the first week in April.

But of course there is always something extra special about the start of an international summer and it promises to be an exciting few months as cricket prepares to take its place in what will be the UK's biggest summer of sport.

The Olympics will undoubtedly overshadow part of the cricketing summer, but the chance to lock horns with old rivals Australia, albeit in a one-day series, followed by a battle for the number one Test slot against South Africa are both mouth-watering prospects.

Plus, the hors d'oeuvre of the West Indies tour offers much, if the weather doesn't spoil the matches.

Although Darren Sammy's team are a long, long way from the great West Indies sides of the past, there have been a few green shoots showing in recent months.

The West Indies won their first away series in eight years in November and they have been involved in two thrilling matches against Australia and India which they should have won. They had a great opportunity to defeat the Aussies in Barbados in April before losing a nail-biter by three wickets and in November played an amazing game in Mumbai where India closed on 242-9 chasing 243 to win... another boring Test match draw!

Although the early part of their tour has been dogged by bad weather, batting collapses, visa issues and injury - if they can get their strongest team on the park, West Indies could provide some problems for England especially with the likes of exciting Brian Lara clone Darren Bravo, fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards, spinners Narsingh Deonarine and Shane Shillingford, and old stager Shivnarine Chanderpaul who has just returned to the top of the ICC batting rankings.

England will start as favourites in the Tests with home advantage and conditions in their favour, but they must not show any complacency, and when it comes to the one-day matches then the tourists may have the edge with the gripping prospect of both a restored Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard among their batting line-up.

In terms of our line-up for the series we are delighted to be welcoming back the legendary Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards to the Test Match Special team. Viv may have just turned 60, but I doubt he has mellowed too much and is always fascinating to listen to about the state of Caribbean cricket. Being able to share a commentary box with one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Century will again be an honour - and I know when he walks onto the hallowed turf of Lord's on Thursday morning he'll still have the old swagger as if he owns the place!

Viv, of course, was one of Jonathan Agnew's Test victims... as he may mention a few times - and Aggers of course will be leading our team this summer.

He'll be joined at Lord's by the voice of West Indies cricket, Tony Cozier, and by Henry Blofeld who is fresh from describing multiple cranes on England's tour to the UAE. As well as Viv Richards, expert summaries will also come from former England captain Michael Vaughan, Phil Tufnell (another man to dismiss Viv in Test matches) and the irrepressible Geoff Boycott.

As well as ball-by-ball commentary we'll have plenty to enjoy during the intervals including our first "View from the Boundary" of the summer where legendary broadcaster "Whispering" Bob Harris will be joining Aggers to talk about his love of the game.

We'll meet the new man at the helm at Lord's, Derek Brewer, discover the inspirational story of the Compton Cricket Club which is doing amazing work in the United States, find out about links between cricket and the Olympics as Lord's prepares to host the 2012 archery competition and we'll have the highlights of the England Players of the Year awards which you'll be able to hear on Monday night with Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell on BBC Radio 5 live.

Talking about 5 live, Alison Mitchell and Alec Stewart will have all the news from Lord's every 15 minutes and Ian Payne presents 5 live Sport from the ground on Sunday.

The TMS text commentary will be at the heart of the action with Tom Fordyce behind the scenes at Lord's to bring you all the latest news and gossip, while bbc.co.uk/cricket will also be the place for columns from Jonathan Agnew and Alec Stewart as well as details of how you can download the Test Match Special podcast featuring Aggers and Geoff Boycott.

And as always we want to hear from you - via e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk, via Twitter @tmsproducer or via this blog.

Not long now... start humming it... "De de de, de de de-de de..."

You think you know Jonathan Trott as a batsman - obdurate, intensely focused, obsessed with accumulating runs, a player who appears to have been born for long Test innings. It's the first of many misconceptions.

"I haven't always been like this," he says, surprised. "It's something I've developed and worked on.

"As a young player I was actually quite a reckless batsman. I get bored quite easily, and I'd often try to hit the ball all round the ground. But as I got older I began to realise what batting was all about. I watched a lot of great players to see what you need to be successful at the top level."

He clearly found the answers. The 31-year-old has developed into England's best number three in a generation, an immovable presence in a pivotal position.

Concentration at the crease has been transformed from flaw into career-defining asset. In Galle, Sri Lanka two months ago he batted for five and a half hours for England's first century of a troubled winter, and both of England's last two Ashes wins have been built on the foundation of big Trott tons in the deciding matches.

"I find it very helpful to work on the partnership in the middle," he explains. "You're a lot more powerful when you're playing as two in an innings. It can be quite lonely otherwise; it's you against 11 out there.

"You also have to think, 'I might not play here again, so I might as well enjoy it'. With my debut at The Oval [in August 2009 against Australia] - I got out in quite bizarre fashion in the first innings, hitting it straight to short leg and being run out. A lot of players would have been happy with 40, but I was really upset because it was the most fun I'd ever had playing cricket - 35,000 people cheering every run!

"You've got to be able to enjoy the battle. Sometimes you can have a fast bowler taking aim at your head or your feet at 150kph (more than 90mph), and you've got to be capable of dealing with it or you won't survive.

"You need the confidence in yourself to say, 'This is amazing, let's relish it.' You play best as a batsman when you don't try to premeditate what you're going to do, when you just go out there and trust your instinct, your hands. You'll find sometimes that you'll play three shots you didn't even know you had. Let the instincts take over."

Enjoyment is not a word you would readily associate with Trott at the crease. Satisfaction, certainly, but his near-obsessive routine of repeatedly taking guard and gouging a line in the turf has been interpreted as that of a man lost in nervous compulsion. Misconception number two.

"It comes from a lot of practice, from working out what suits me best," he says, looking out over the wet Edgbaston outfield from a hospitality suite high in the stands.

"The scratching the line has come from playing in England and batting out of my crease. I'd find that, on early season wickets, I'd be batting on middle stump when I should have been on leg or middle and leg, and I needed to be sure of my guard. I find too that the scratching helps me clear my mind. It helps it keep ticking."

Doesn't it present an easy target for endless sledging from the opposition?

"Yeah, but you get sledged about everything, anything that's a little different. If you're out there fielding it's almost like a red flag to a bull. They really go for it.

"But I think they're starting to get bored of it now, and I don't really care what they think. Everyone's got their ways that make them feel comfortable, and that's the most elusive place to be as a sportsman. Everyone wants to be there."

Trott has admitted in the past to being teased by some of his team-mates for the amount of time he spends in the nets.

"They don't mind me batting for a long time out in the middle," he points out. "Especially the bowlers.

"If I make people laugh then that's fine. Sometimes I'll be at the non-striker's end and I'll look up and see guys messing about, and I'll often wonder what's going on. But I'd much rather be in the middle batting than back in the dressing-room finding out."

Earlier in his career Trott was accused by Warwickshire's director of cricket Ashley Giles of being too selfish in his approach, finding satisfaction in his own successes rather than those of the team.

It's something he both admits to and feels has changed.

"I think you have to be selfish in some ways. Not to the detriment of the team, but selfish as meaning getting yourself right for the game. And being prepared. Doing your routines, and saying, 'No, I don't want to do that' because I have to be ready for a cricket match.

"Sometimes you'll miss out on some social time, or family time. You might turn down sponsors. But they will always be there if you're delivering in the sport.

"The way I'd like to gauge my career is how many series wins I've been involved in in Test and one-day cricket, more than how many hundreds I've scored.

"I do enjoy a stat or two about how many big partnerships I've been involved in - 100-run partnerships, 200 runs - because they are huge in winning big matches. I like that sort of stat rather than my own stats."

I ask him if he knows his current Test average.

"No."

Really?

"No."

Have a guess.

"Well, people keep telling me it's about 50." (It's 52.7)

What about the number of Test runs you've scored?

"I've got no idea. I think someone told me I was over 2,000, and I don't remember anyone telling me I was over 3,000."

The actual total is 2,319. "Brilliant," he says, deadpan.

Trott wants to leave a legacy in Test cricket

Trott has been immersed in cricket since he can remember. As a child helping out in his father's sports shop in Cape Town he would sit out the back, knocking in bats and changing grips. His reward would be a set of gloves and bat of his own.

His dad would coach him after hours; his mother, a hockey and softball international, would work on his hand-eye coordination.

"I probably had something of an abnormal childhood, because everything was about sport. At the weekends a lot of friends would go to the movies or go swimming at the beach, but I was always at the cricket club, the hockey pitch or the softball club. School took a bit of a backseat.

"I grew up playing sport against adults from a young age, and I think I benefited enormously from that."

As an adult himself, he settled immediately whenever stepping up a level. On his debut for Warwickshire second XI he scored 245, on his first-team bow 134. In the second innings of that Oval Test debut came his match-winning 119.

"You're always finding things that work for you, and after a good innings you can think, hey, I did that really well, I felt really good when I did this," he says.

"You try to take that into the next innings. You always have the things you try not to do, and you have the things you consciously try to do.

"Those are your core values. You don't stray too far away; you tinker. It's really important to any top player. You ask a Ponting or Tendulkar, and they have key things they work on all the time."

Trott's father now coaches at St John's school in Leatherhead. Despite his son's successes he still phones up occasionally with advice.

"I think he's a bit scared now," smiles Trott. "When he does I always take it in. The other week, before Warwickshire played up at Liverpool, he came to the nets here at Edgbaston and threw a few balls at me.

"He's a very good coach and he loves it. It's something of an art how he gets his points across."

The younger Trott is now a father himself. One of the most touching moments of the last Ashes tour came in the aftermath of England's innings thrashing of Australia at the MCG, when Trott walked his wife Abi and then two-month-old daughter Lilly out to the middle, the ground now empty, to show them where he had scored his match-turning 168.

The insight works both ways. Abi is apparently able to predict, with great accuracy, how many runs he will score, simply by watching him walk out to bat. He grins. "It's quite spooky sometimes."

Trott also believes his young family has helped him develop as an international cricketer as well as a man.

"It's definitely changed me," he admits, "The emphasis on yourself and cricket doesn't go out of the window, but it becomes a bit less.

"Sometimes you can get wound up and take things a little too seriously. Cricket is hugely important. It's my job and something I really take pride in, but you take pride in being a husband and father.

"Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice and spend a little extra time in the gym or the nets when you could be at home. But there are also times when it probably does you good to stay away from the nets. Even me."

I am very fortunate in my job to watch some fantastic cricket around the world, but perhaps my favourite moment of last season actually took place whilst I was in a BBC studio locked in the bowels of Television Centre in London.

It was at 13 minutes past five on 15 September when Lancashire supporters were finally able to celebrate a first outright Championship title for 77 years.

A county campaign which began in April was decided in the last few minutes of the final day of the season. It was one of the most dramatic climaxes in the long history of the Championship and will live long in the memory.

The title headed the way of the Red Rose county courtesy of a last-gasp victory at Somerset. A few moments before the winning runs were struck at Taunton, news filtered in from the Rose Bowl that closest rivals Warwickshire had only drawn their match with Hampshire, so the champagne could be put on ice.

I was in the Radio 5 live sports extra studio helping to produce our coverage as we switched between commentary teams at Taunton, the Rose Bowl and also in Durham - where the home side started the final round of games with an outside chance of the title. We also had reporters keeping their eye on promotion and relegation issues on what proved to be an absolutely thrilling four days of action.

It again showed that despite its detractors and despite the endless reforms, reports and reviews of the county game the product can still be gripping. The 2011 attendance figures show almost a 10% increase through the turnstiles with more than 500,000 people watching Championship cricket last year. Not really the "one man and his dog" cliche.

It's also true that just because crowds aren't always enormous for every game, it doesn't mean people are not interested.

This is shown week in, week out by the phenomenal success of the BBC local radio cricket commentaries which cover the majority of matches through the season. On Thursday, when the 2012 Championship season gets under way, commentary teams up and down the UK will swing back into action bringing loyal listeners all the latest news of their teams. It's an incredible service that is provided and I am delighted to say this year there are going to be greater efforts to spread the word.

Radio 5 live sports extra is joining forces with BBC local radio to broadcast the best of the action on digital radio, digital television and online worldwide.

When possible, county commentary is going to be carried on Radio 5 live sports extra this season with regular updates and scores from all the games, plus features and interviews showcasing the domestic game.

This will start on Thursday 12 April, where there will be commentary on the London derby between the two newly promoted sides Middlesex and Surrey at Lord's. You'll be able to hear your BBC London favourites Mark Church, Kevin Hand and Johnny Barran, while Alison Mitchell and Kevin Howells will keep listeners up to date with matches elsewhere. Plus, expect the odd famous name to pop in over the four days to join in the fun.

Of course from time to time Radio 5 live sports extra will have to leave for coverage of other major sporting events - but the commentary will continue online so you hopefully won't miss any of the action.

All the details of which games will be covered will be at www.bbc.co.uk/cricket as normal. This will also be the site to check out regularly for scores, interviews and features. Kevin Howells and the team will continue to report regularly over on Radio 5 live and it is worth following Kevin on Twitter @kevinhowellsbbc to help keep across the latest county stories.

And listen out for some further announcements about more live cricket coming your way this summer - not to mention the new year-long TMS Podcast which will feature the domestic game as well as all the international action.

I can't promise the same sort of exciting county season as last year with a final day climax - but I can promise if it happens the BBC will be there to cover it.

Jonathan Agnew began his podcast with Geoff Boycott on Thursday talking about how romantics were dreaming of an historic England victory.

Well if those romantics did not get the result they wished for in the first Test, they should at least be pleased with the venue for the second because the P Sara Stadium is an enchanting location.

To give it its full name, the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium is the oldest cricket ground in Sri Lanka and is home to the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club.

The ground was famous for having a female curator named Amravati who worked at the P Sara for 40 years. Although she is long retired, her sister Saroja continues to be involved.

It is a little rough around the edges and there is clearly a last-gasp effort to get things ready in time for Tuesday's 10am start, but the ground has a wonderful aura of history.

Its most famous feature is the beautiful ivy-covered scoreboard - surely one of the most distinctive on any international ground.

When I visited, the scoreboard was showing a team total of 631 and when I asked one of the current groundsman what the wicket was like he just looked at me and said "it's for the batsman". I asked him whether England should play two frontline spinners and he said "it doesn't matter"!

We have previously been told conditions here may favour the seamers with talk that England could consider dropping Monty Panesar and play both Steve Finn and Tim Bresnan alongside Anderson and Swann - we will await the team sheets with interest on Tuesday.

England's first visit to this ground was 30 years ago when they played against Sri Lanka in their inaugural Test.

If you visit the nostalgic bar, the Oval Taverners, you can see lots of memorabilia from that occasion.

But the ground's history stretches back much further than that. There are pictures of Garry Sobers returning to the pavilion after scoring a century and, when the stadium was known as the Colombo Oval, it hosted Don Bradman's 1948 Australians for a match against an All Ceylon XI.

The Taverners bar has several photographs from that occasion with the Don dressed immaculately in suit and hat as he goes out into the middle for the toss with legendary local captain Mahadevan Sathasivam.

Although Bradman never toured South Africa, India, New Zealand or the West Indies he actually played in Sri Lanka twice, with the country used for many years as a location for Australian teams travelling to England to take a break.

The ground is now more than 120 years old and, as well as hosting Bradman and the inaugural Test, it was also the location for Sri Lanka's first Test victory when they defeated India in 1985.

A steady stream of Sri Lanka players have learnt their cricket at the venue - including record breaking spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, former captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, and the hero of the first Test Rangana Herath.

There are old-fashioned low level stands on one side of the ground and grass banks on the other, where the England fans should enjoy the sunshine on Tuesday.

The P Sara only has a capacity of around 7,000, so if the same number of England supporters who were in Galle turn up this week they may struggle to get in. And, unlike Galle, there is no Fort to retreat to where you can watch the action for free.

It's a very important match for England, who have to win to avoid losing their number one status in Test match cricket. If they lose they would complete a miserable winter of five successive Test defeats and could fall behind Australia to number three in the rankings before the start of the summer.

It is also a critical match for under-pressure England captain Andrew Strauss, who is facing the greatest scrutiny since he took over the job. Four months ago he was being shortlisted for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, but now he faces question marks over his future.

It all makes for a fascinating match and Test Match Special will be on the air at 0515 BST on Tuesday morning with Jonathan Agnew, Simon Mann and Roshan Abeysinghe. Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks will provide expert analysis alongside former Sri Lanka batsman Russel Arnold who is joining us with Michael Vaughan Augusta-bound where he will be working for BBC television at the Masters Golf.

As well as ball-by-ball commentary during the intervals we will be finding out more about the history of the ground, remembering the inaugural Test with guests including Graham Gooch and looking ahead to the start of the County Championship season which gets under way this week.

It's certainly been an eventful start to England's final tour of the winter.

An emphatic opening victory marred by accusations of "cheating" with an England player talking about "wanting to kill" one of the opposition, a thrilling run chase as darkness began to fall at the SSC and a game disrupted by reports of a cobra by the boundary edge and a two foot lizard on the outfield. At one stage I thought about sending for David Attenborough rather than Jonathan Agnew.

And the drama is unlikely to diminish as the tour moves the 116 kilometres from Colombo down to Galle, a location which has been in the headlines many times over the past few years for events both on and off the field.

The Galle International Cricket Stadium is one of the most iconic venues in world cricket with the 200 year old UNESCO protected Dutch Fort providing a stunning backdrop and the Indian Ocean in the distance. Then at the other side of the ground you look down on the hustle and bustle of the bus station and local markets with traders selling a vast array of spices and freshly caught fish.

On the field there have been many special moments since Galle was first declared a cricket stadium in 1927. The ground was where Muttiah Muralitharan took his 800th Test wicket in his final Test appearance. It's also where Shane Warne claimed victim number 500. On the batting front Chris Gayle scored 333 at the stadium and Virender Sehwag made a brilliant double century.

But the biggest event in Galle took place on the 26th December 2004. A terrifying Tsunami swept through the ground destroying the stadiums pavilions and wrecking the pitches before causing horrendous damage in the town and surrounding areas. An estimated 40,000 people died in Sri Lanka because of that terrible event.

When we were last in Galle we heard some amazing stories from some of the boys from the Harrow school in England who were playing cricket on the ground that day. They were forced to scramble to the top of the stands to escape the flowing waters.

The Tsunami and its aftermath threatened the future of the stadium and it needed help from the likes of Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne to push for its reconstruction.
In fact England's last visit to Galle in December 2007 marked its return as an international venue with work taking place through the night to get the ground ready in time.

England escaped with a draw in that game thanks to an Alastair Cook century despite conceding a first innings lead of 418. Four years previously they had pulled off an even more remarkable rear guard action with Ashley Giles remaining defiant as England survived with nine wickets down.

That game nine years ago was my first Test in charge of TMS abroad and it had an eventful beginning from my point of view.

On the eve of the match not only did we not have any broadcast lines - we had absolutely nowhere to broadcast from.

I had been promised a platform was being built for TMS but as night fell at the ground not a scaffold piece was in sight. Eventually at about 10pm I had to give up and go back to the hotel ready to spend the night fretting about whether anything would be in place in the morning. I was at the ground by 6am and amazingly our platform had appeared - but we still had no power or lines as play approached. We managed to get on air 20 seconds before the first ball was bowled - but only because Jonny Saunders had physically dragged an electrician from the other side of the ground whilst Jonathan Agnew and I somehow lashed together a satellite link.

But even that wasn't as stressful for Aggers as his Galle experience in 2001 where he famously ended up broadcasting from the Dutch fort.

When he and the BBC team arrived at the stadium they were refused entry by armed guards after the Sri Lankan Board demanded "access fees" for them to broadcast

So Aggers, Pat Murphy and co were forced to decamp to the turrets with a 100 feet sheer drop just in front of them where fortunately they still had a good view of the cricket plus a supply of king coconut juice and plenty of iguanas and snake charmers for company.

Meanwhile my predecessor Peter Baxter spent the day outside the main gate in temperatures of 115 degrees frantically negotiating to get the BBC team back into the ground.

I am sincerely hoping that my Galle experience on Monday is less frantic... although it could be an interesting Test match with the last game at the ground a lively affair with Australia winning a low scoring thriller on a pitch described as "poor" by the ICC.

Test Match Special will be on the air from 0515 on 5 live Sports Extra and at 0530 on Radio 4 Long Wave while bbc.co.uk/cricket will have text commentary throughout plus columns from Aggers, Alec Stewart and other features. And If you miss any of the action check out the TMS highlights show on Sports Extra or the TMS Podcast.

Although the England camp have been keen to play things down there is no doubt the on-field argument surrounding a disputed catch during the opening match in Sri Lanka, and the very strong words about it from Graeme Swann, have caused an early tour stir.

There are few stronger things that a cricketer can say about a fellow player than to call them a "cheat" let alone using language like wanting "to kill the batsman".

England coach Andy Flower is an exceptionally calm individual who is always measured about what he says in public and although his comments about the need to respect the "opposition" were not made in direct response to Swann's "cheat" allegation, I think it's fair to assume that is probably what he was getting at.

He also made the comment that England players have to be very careful preaching about "walking" because it's not necessarily the case that they are all the first to leave the crease before an umpire's finger goes up.

I would be surprised if the incident has much impact on the forthcoming Test series, the player in question Dilruwan Perera has played international cricket for Sri Lanka in the last year but is unlikely to feature in their Test side.

But there has been some coverage of the row in the local media.

The Island newspaper have run an interview with Perera under the banner "poms are whinging". Perera is quoted as saying "I wasn't sure of the catch and the umpires weren't sure of the catch as well. So I stood my ground. I can't understand why they are making an issue out of it".

He also brought up other incidents in the game where he said the Board XI were on the wrong end of decisions and says "these things happen in cricket and I think England are barking up the wrong tree".

But although there is unlikely to be any long-lasting effects from this rumpus it is true sometimes early tour incidents can set a tone.

On the 2001 tour here Darren Gough was reported for using abusive language in the opening fixture, then a race row erupted at a game in Matara when another player named Perera, this time Ruchira, was accused of using a slur towards Craig White before Gough again was seen wagging his finger at an umpire during a practice match in Kurunegala.

There followed a highly acrimonious Test series with controversial umpiring and an onfield row between Michael Atherton and Kumar Sangakarra with both players reprimanded by the match referee. The captains had to have a meeting before the final Test to try and calm down the situation.

It would be highly unfortunate if the incident at the Premadasa stadium on Saturday was any kind of precursor to any trouble ahead - but the intensity England showed in that match demonstrates how desperately they want to succeed out here and perhaps how difficult it can be to keep your cool when the thermostat reaches 34C plus.

Dear Sachin,

You don't know me, although I do know you. Actually, I don't really know you, but like hundreds of millions of others, I think I do. Which is why you can't leave the house. Sorry about that, but take it as a compliment: that's what happens when you are one of 'the few'.

What, you might ask, are 'the few'? Well, the way I see it, 'the few' are those sportspeople so great - the greatest of the great, if you will - that they can't even pop out for... well, anything actually, for fear of being trampled to death in Morrisons (or wherever it is celebrities pretend they do their shopping in India).

If it's any consolation, we've got a bloke in our country - well, he used to live here, before he outgrew Morrisons - called David Beckham, who might know how you feel. But, between me and you, with Becks, it's as much about his looks, which means he's not strictly one of 'the few' at all, more a very good footballer who they let in because he has a nice face.

Sorry, that didn't come out right, but please don't take it the wrong way. What I'm trying to say is, with you, it's all about the talent (and maybe a little bit about the face). But anyway, your skipper Mahendra Dhoni has got the 'Indian Becks' thing pretty much sewn up.

Apologies, I just realised I haven't actually told you why I got in touch... Congratulations on your 100th international hundred! And while I've your got attention, well done on winning the World Cup. And all those World Cup records you hold. Oh, and those 15,000 Test runs. And the other 18,260 in one-day internationals (sorry, by the time you get this, you'll have probably passed 20,000). Actually, I meant to ask, is there a batting record you don't hold?

Tendulkar scored his first Test century against England in 1990 (UK users only)

Remember Maggie Thatcher? You probably don't, you were only a kid at the time, but she was our Prime Minister when you first toured England with India in 1990. The reason I mention her is that there used to be this great piece of graffiti on a wall somewhere in London which read: THATCHER OUT. To which someone had added: LBW B ALDERMAN.

My point being, Terry Alderman, who made Graham Gooch look silly in the 1989 Ashes, was still playing Test cricket when you started out - and he made his first-class debut in 1974. And now, 22 years after you made your Test debut (when I was 13, probably acting the goat in double history) you're still around. That, my friend, is what you call 'longevity'.

I saw you play at The Oval in 1990. Well, I saw you field. David Gower, a childhood hero, scored a ton that day. We loved Gower in England, thought he was great, but he wasn't one of 'the few', he just made us think he was with that gorgeous cover drive of his.

Of course, what I know now is that greatness is about more than looking willowy at the crease - it's far more about sheer weight of numbers. And while the unfurling of Gower's strokes resembled honey dripping off the back of a spoon, numbers-wise, he is but a delicate butterfly crushed under your steel-rimmed wheel. Then again, who isn't?

Brian Lara, maybe? Sorry to bring him up in the middle of what is essentially a love letter, but that lad could bat a bit, too. And many said he scored his runs with more style than you: as languid as Gower, but as rapacious as Bradman when it came to making runs.

But Lara called it quits five years ago, while you're still here after 22 years of unrelenting pressure, shouldering the expectations of billions, and it never managed to diminish you. When you call it a day, it will be on your own terms, and even some of your fellow 'few' (Lara, Diego Maradona, Babe Ruth) weren't able to do that.

They say things have got easier for batsmen in recent years - flatter tracks, smaller boundaries, not as many wicked fast bowlers on the prowl. But you made your debut against Wasim and Waqar and played against pretty much all the recent greats - Ambrose and Walsh, Donald and Pollock, McGrath and Warne, Muralitharan. You even played Test cricket against Sir Richard Hadlee, for pity's sake, and old 'Paddles' is now in his sixties.

You had a bit of a blip a few years back, in 2006, when England's quicks got after you and you kept getting hit. It was a bit like watching Muhammad Ali being bashed round the ring by a thrusting Larry Holmes. But while Ali was shot to pieces by that point, the following year you racked up 776 Test runs at an average of 55.4. Not much of a blip.

You know what somebody said to me the other day? "Tendulkar - great player, little bit dull." Bit out of order, to be honest. Dull - why? Because you don't abuse opponents? Or get boozed up in nightclubs? In more than two decades at the pinnacle of your sport, under the glare of more than a billion adoring countrymen and women, there has been barely a hint of controversy. That doesn't just make you a little wonder, that makes you pretty much a miracle.

This is getting a little bit embarrassing now - a little bit This Is Your Life, I didn't mean to come over all mawkish. But the thing is - and this is another thing that elevates you above the merely great - it is doubtful whether we will see your like again, because after you've gone, cricket, which is threatening to splinter into a thousand parts, may never be the same.

To play 188 Test matches... well, the mind boggles. And given the indifference towards Test cricket from many modern fans, surely no-one in the future will come close. Which means you could be one of Test cricket's last true superstars - like silent movie stars before 'talkies', a titan from a more innocent, more romantic, seemingly more lustrous age.

You know what someone once said about Chaplin? "It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most". Given how long you've been on the job, given how many people there are in your country and given the grinding poverty many of them still live in, I reckon you might just have trumped him. Which is why I wanted to say thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Benjamin (you don't know me)

A tour of Sri Lanka is often viewed as one of the most difficult for a cricketer with the combination of heat and humidity, flat pitches and hugely talented opposition.

Broadcasting Test Match Special in this country has also brought its challenges over the years. This is my fourth trip to what is known as the "tear drop isle" and there have been a few hairy moments since my first visit here nearly 10 years ago.

My first international match in charge of Test Match Special was in Sri Lanka back in 2003, a one-day international played in Dambulla.

England's Test captain Andrew Strauss made his international debut in that match - but it's not a game he'll remember fondly as he was dismissed for three as England were skittled for 88.

Things weren't much easier up in the TMS commentary box that day.

I had always imagined that life as a BBC cricket producer abroad would be rather romantic, sitting back in some exotic location watching England in action. The reality was not quite the same!

When I arrived in Dambulla there was no sign of any broadcast lines, so the only way we were able to get on air was via a small satellite. However I had a nightmare trying to get a good enough signal, so I ended up balancing a very expensive piece of equipment on a piece of scaffolding - with me hanging onto it throughout the broadcast.

But that was the least of my problems. The stadium in Dambulla is situated in the middle of the jungle and with this game being played under lights, it attracted literally millions of insects. So there I was, holding onto the satellite with both hands while my body was being bitten to pieces by bugs.

My first Test match in Galle wasn't much easier on that trip, with the platform on which we were broadcasting not being built until the game had actually started, and in Colombo I remember doing a match at the Premadasa Stadium where we were literally blown off air by the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard.

Hopefully we will avoid such drama at the Premadasa this week as England begin their tour with a three-day game at the ground against a Sri Lanka Board XI.

But there will be plenty of interest in both this match and the three day game at the Sinhalese Sports Club as England wrestle with what their starting XI should be for the first Test in Galle, starting on 26 March.

Andrew Strauss told me today that no-one has a guaranteed place for the Test and urged his players to make an unanswerable claim to be picked during these two warm-up games.

He said the balance of the side will depend partly on the form of the bowlers and how they will cope with the challenging conditions.

The most likely scenario is that Ravi Bopara will replace the dropped Eoin Morgan and England will stick with two spinners and two seamers. But they could decide to play Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel at six to give them a different bowling option or even promote wicketkeeper Matt Prior to six, with perhaps Tim Bresnan playing to help bolster the lower order.

It is rather unsatisfactory that this will be only a two-Test series and who knows what state the Sri Lanka team may be in. After a long one-day series in Australia they are currently involved in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and may not even arrive back here in Sri Lanka until three days before the Test.

We expect a large Barmy Army contingent here, but I am not sure how many locals will watch with the cheapest ticket priced at 5,000 Sri Lanka rupees, which works out at £25, and some tickets nearer £40.

I mention that traditionally Sri Lanka offers flat pitches, but the surface at Galle was last year reported by the match referee for offering too much for the spinners, and the P Sara Oval in Colombo has a reputation for being helpful to seam bowlers so after some unexpectedly dramatic games in the UAE we could be in for a lively affair here as well.

There is also the weather factor. The driver who picked me up at the airport yesterday cheerfully informed me that we are in the middle of the monsoon season here in Sri Lanka, with the Galle area especially likely to receive long periods of rain.

But let's hope he's wrong and we'll have plenty of cricket for you to enjoy over the next few weeks.

They'll be reports on the warm-up games on BBC Radio 5 live and this website as well as the Today programme and via Twitter @tmsproducer.

Then, alongside the website live text commentary, join our commentary team of Jonathan Agnew, Simon Mann, Roshan Abeysinghe, Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks from 0415 GMT on 26 March. And if you can't make it that early, don't worry we'll have our new highlights programme and the TMS podcast to help you catch up.

"Welcome to what I've had to put up with for most of the last 20 years."

These are the words with which Jonathan Agnew greeted me when I joined him for a drink on Saturday night.

Although Aggers was clearly speaking more than a little tongue in cheek, the nature of England's capitulation in Abu Dhabi did bring back some horrible memories of infamous England collapses.

Trinidad in 1994 when Ambrose and Walsh skittled England out for 46, The Gabba in 2002 where England were bowled out by McGrath and co for 79 or, more recently, Jamaica 2009 when Jerome Taylor blew away England for 51, all spring to mind.

That game in Kingston was actually the first Test under the two Andys, Messrs Flower and Strauss. But since that chaotic afternoon three years ago, they have brought considerable calm to England's Test side as well as great success.

That is why the events of Saturday afternoon and last week in Dubai have taken us by surprise.

Nobody said that this series against a much-improved Pakistan side was going to be easy and it was always more than possible England might lose. But it's the nature of the defeat which has been most striking.

Saturday is the sort of day in the Test Match Special box when the speed of events can make the producer's life rather tricky. The ends of games are always the most difficult to deal with because you have to worry about getting the programme off air, sorting out post-match interviews and servicing the numerous BBC outlets looking for reaction.

Then there are the practicalities such as organising transport for the commentators and de-rigging all the equipment.

This can be a challenge at the best of times but normally you have a little notice that the end is nigh. But when five wickets fall in 11 balls suddenly you have to react rather more quickly. So as England's batsmen were capitulating in the middle I was negotiating whether we could move the shipping forecast so Long Wave listeners didn't miss the end of the game, liaising with Five Live and the World Service, who both wanted Michael Vaughan for immediate reaction, briefing Alison Mitchell about possible questions for Andrew Strauss and organising our transport to get to the ground much earlier than planned.

I was also searching for Geoff Boycott so that he was in position ready to deliver his verdict on the TMS Podcast and, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what mood he might be in. Firstly, Andrew Samson our scorer had found out that the only other time England had lost a Test chasing less than 150 in the last 100 years was Wellington 1978 - when Geoff had been captain. Then there was the little matter of what Boycott had said in the previous night's podcast. He was so confident of an England win he had staked his house on it. "Which one?" asked Aggers. "All three," replied Boycott. Now I was being flooded with Tweets and emails from listeners asking if they could have one of his properties while Dave Downing messaged me: "Will Geoff Boycott use a stick of rhubarb to knock in the "For Sale" signs?"

Fortunately Boycs took all this in great humour, but he was in no laughing mood when discussing what he thought of England's batting later.

Although huge praise must go to Pakistan for the way they have played in the first two Tests, it's a shame that when the third Test gets under way on Friday it's not a series decider. You can imagine a few more members of the Barmy Army might have made late bookings to come out here had the series been level. However, the performance of Misbah Ul Haq's side might encourage a large crowd from the Pakistani community here in Dubai on the first day. England's thre-day demise in the first Test denied the locals any play during their weekend.

But although the series is over England will be desperate to win the game for lots of reasons. They will obviously want to stop the rot after a deeply disappointing winter so far. But also their number one ranking could be at stake. If England lose in Dubai then South Africa will be able to overtake them with a 3-0 series win in New Zealand. This could be a costly business as well because the team which lies number one on 1 April will win a jackpot from the ICC worth $175,000.

Our coverage of the final Test gets under way on 5 live Sports Extra and Radio 4 Long Wave at 0545 on Friday where as well as our ball-by-ball coverage we'll be finding out what the secret is to Pakistan's recent success. Kevin Howells will present the second part tracing county cricket's greatest characters and Alison Mitchell will be discovering a corner of a foreign field which is forever England, Australia, Pakistan, through the amazing work at the ICC Global Cricket Academy.

Don't forget that if you miss our commentary you will be able to download the TMS Podcast and I must recommend our daily highlights show on 5 live Sports Extra.

But will we be bringing good news to England or Pakistan fans? As Aggers reminded me on Saturday night, I have been extremely fortunate to look after TMS during a golden period for the England Test team and the two Andys will be hoping the last fortnight is just a blip.

England fans attending the second Test at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket stadium in Abu Dhabi are being asked to "keep their shirts on".

But if the weather continues to be as chilly as when we arrived here today, they will not need to be told.

The warning comes from the Chief Executive of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, Dilawar Mani, who I met in his office next to the ground.

Mani is a very impressive character. Originally from Rawalpindi in Pakistan he has lived here for over 30 years and has real enthusiasm and clearly a great passion for his job. But even he had to admit that supporters arriving in Abu Dhabi for the Test may be surprised by the relatively cool temperatures.

When you hear about frosty mornings back home in England the last thing you want to do is to complain about the weather. But I must admit when I envisaged what a Test series may be like amongst the deserts of the Middle East I perhaps wasn't expecting the overcast skies and sub-60F temperatures which greeted us as we arrived here in the largest of the Emirates.

Mani did assure me that the forecast for the Test, which starts on Wednesday, was sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. However, an increase in heat can bring its own problems. "The Barmy Army will be able to sit in the sun here," he told me. "But we are going to have to ask them to obey some moderate dress codes".

Mani attended the Test in Dubai last week and told me he was surprised so see some England fans sitting in the crowd with their tops off. "We are more conservative in Abu Dhabi so we are going to ask, in a light-hearted way, that people keep shirts on."

He also confirmed that drinking in the stands will be forbidden although there will be alcohol available in some corporate and VIP areas. "We want the England fans to enjoy our hospitality, but sadly we won't be able to offer them a drink," he said.

But how many supporters will be enjoying the hospitality?

The huge banks of empty seats at the Dubai International Stadium surprised many used to watching England in crowded grounds. But even though entry to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium will be free for this Test, don't expect a sell-out.

It is another impressive arena with banks of grass for spectators and a futuristic south stand, which from a distance looks like a spaceship has landed in the middle of the desert.

But that is the problem - as in Dubai, the ground is very much in the middle of nowhere. It lies 25 kilometres from the main part of Abu Dhabi with no direct public transport. Most supporters will face a taxi ride of at least half an hour to get to and from the ground.

One of the issues in Dubai Sports City last week was that although the stadium appeared almost empty during the day, when we left an hour or so after play there were still long queues of supporters waiting for transport.

Mani assured me this won't be an issue in Abu Dhabi: "I have spoken to the department of transport and they will make sure at least 25 to 35 taxis are regularly available from 5pm."

But he was realistic in terms of what sort of numbers he was expecting to attend. The stadium seats 20,000 but Mani admitted the most he was hoping for was an attendance of around 12,000 and that would only be over the weekend when the cricket-loving locals may be able to come along.

"When we had the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test here, we had an average of about 3,000 fans, but after prayers on Friday and Saturday we had more than 10,000," he told me.

"We had problems finding enough seats for the T20 game here between those two teams, but that was on a Friday and people I think are more inclined to come to the day/night games."

It is difficult to tell what sort of match we will have here because the Sheikh Zayed Stadium has only held two Tests. Both games were drawn with South Africa scoring almost 600 and AB De Villiers an unbeaten 278 two years ago.

But Pakistan could easily have won the test held here in October. "They dropped seven catches and Kumar Sangakarra made a match saving double hundred," said Mani.

It may be a so-called neutral Test but we will again be playing on imported Pakistan soil here so expect the pitch to be slow and low.

Talking about being neutral, I asked Mani if he was pleased that Pakistan won the first Test. "I was just pleased one team won the game," he said tactfully. "It would be great if we can produce another result here."

A result inside three days was certainly unexpected in Dubai. The Test Match Special team obviously covered the post-mortem comprehensively with interviews with the likes of Andy Flower and Jonathan Trott. But we were able to have a little downtime.

This was spent in perhaps the way you might expect. Michael Vaughan worked on his golf handicap including a round with some chap called Westwood who's about to play in a tournament out here. Henry Blofeld managed to wangle an invite to dinner at perhaps the world's most exclusive hotel, the iconic Burj Al Arab. I joined Jonathan Agnew and Alison Mitchell on an afternoon visit to the spice souq where Aggers was offered frankincense and myrrh to buy amongst other items

And Christopher Martin-Jenkins mixed a trip to the impressive Meydan Racecourse with relaxation by the pool. Where you'll be pleased to learn he definitely kept his shirt on!