The day I met Ian Bell.

Oh yeah people, I have met IAN BELL, even exchanged a few words with my former Nemesis. Former Nemesis? Yes I'll explain all that soon enough... Firstly, let me explain by saying that I went to the twenty20 Warwickshire V Worcestershire (sick of seeing that team) game at Edgbaston in Birmingham. My second time at Edgbaston, not a beauitful ground, more built for purpose, however with it's 25000 seats filled there was a great atmosphere going, I believe a mexican wave went round about four times...Which was silly but quite cool. I did get a tad annoyed with the almost football like members of the crowd, after about four beers they all started chanting really pointless songs 'I'd rather be a bear than a pear...I'd rather be a bear than a pear,' I understand some of that song, the bear being a sort of mascot of Warwickshire or at least there's a bear on the club logo...Pear though? Was it just the thrill of finding a fruit that rhymed?

The game itself was pretty good, convincing enough victory, not going to write in detail about it (see a BBC match report if you want) as I'm going to write for my target audience (revising see..?) and most people who read this thing don't give a shit about the fact I reckon Jonathan Trott was very lucky to not get out after the sixth over...This opinion being backed up by a very large bald man who began chanting 'CHEAT!'

So yeah...After the game me and my brother went round to the players pavillion as the teams were sigining stuff and generally mingling with the crowd, which can I just say now I like to see at cricket matches, it doesn't happen at football games, you can't get anywhere near the players, cricket is different, long may it continue. So eventually me and Campbell spotted the short freckle coated face of Ian Bell, he was standing about 4 meters away when I saw him...I didn't know what to do, go and give the guy a sympathetic hug or throw a sturdy brick? In the end I followed Campell's lead and walked up to him, my brother simply held out a bat to which Ian (yeah I'm on first name terms) signed without comment, I didn't have my bat, I don't know why Campbell did, maybe he thought he was playing? But I did have my 2009 playfair annual, turned to the blank page at the back and just held it out to Ian...I was pretty concerned that by some miracle he reads this blog and knows how much I mock him and would consequently burn my annual in front of my face, he didn't though, using my brothers pen he signed the book in one quick movement...He then looked blankly at me and said...
'Whose pen is that, is that your's?' It sounds quite aggressive, but it wasn't,
'Yeah that's mine, thanks...' I replied quietly, Ian handed me my brother's pen and then just looked me in the eye and nodded...I don't know what that nod was all about, could be a: 'I read your blog, I'm going to kick you in the balls one day' but I prefer to think of it more as a one shit batsman recognising another type of nod, after all I nodded back....

THEN!!! Just to top everything off, I got Ashley Giles's signature, who until 2006 was England's number one spin bowler, played in 3 Ashes series and is now the Warwickshire head coach...No words or nods with him, I did notice though he had these HUGE hands...Shame he couldn't use them to catch Ponting at Adelaide....

That's Giles embarassing an Australian batsman in 2005, good times.

And of course the signatures...

BYE FOLKS!

Tom,
P.S: Oh yeah 'Former Nemesis'...Decided Ian Bell's cool, will find a new blog feature soon enough.