Morning everyone, Richie's back...

Some snippets, an over of bits and bobs, watch out for the wrong 'un...

Firstly, the Aussies are out of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the first hurdle... Pity. Of course, it means little in respect to the Ashes, but while England can build some confidence and pit themselves against top international teams (hopefully), Mr Ponting's men will have to, as he put it, "spend two weeks in Leicester" before their first warm-up game. Job's a good 'un.

Next up, harking back to the Ashes series of 2005, which I do as often as possible... video footage has been found that reveals what Freddie Flintoff actually said to Brett Lee at Edgbaston after England squeaked it to victory and the England all-rounder consoled the Aussie paceman http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2009/06/andrew-flintoff-reveals-what-he-really-said-to-brett-lee.html

Third delivery... watch the next programme in the excellent Empire of Cricket series while it's still on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00l6c5w/Empire_of_Cricket_West_Indies/ which looks at the rise and fall of the West Indies as a force in world cricket. Calypso time.

With Essex going through a mini-slump at the moment, here's a nice reminder of a high point from last year, Napes' magnificent, record-breaking T20 innings against Sussex http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoWx8fobwaY I was there and the crowd would boo (in good humour) when Napier didn't hit a four or six. One of those sixes nearly ended up in the multi-storey.

Exceptionally good news for all us Benaud lovers... the great man is gonna be back on the box, covering the Ashes on the Five highlights programme. He won't be commentating but will be analysing each Test on Five's Saturday broadcast... I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear when Richie did his final bit of commentary for Channel 4 at the Oval in 2005, so it'll be good to have him back. Marvellous. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/08/richie-benaud-ashes-channel-five

Finally, enter the Mongoose! This is the new, stubby bat designed especially for T20 which has a much shorter blade than a normal bat and a much bigger sweetspot. Former Essex batsmen Stuart Law loves it and reckons it could "take the world by storm." I love the way a game like cricket, that's often so fusty and set in its ways, can also be so open to innovation. I also like the fact that the inventor of the Mongoose is called Marcus Codrington Fernandez. It sounds like someone invented him. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/twenty20/5370046/Mongoose-cricket-bat-set-to-take-Twenty20-by-storm.html