I SAW last week that Steve Rixon described county cricket as a “cesspool of mediocrity”. That might be the case at Surrey, in which case it is a poor reflection of Rixon as a coach. Overall, I reckon he is way off the truth. One reason why England are going well is because the county game is strong underneath.

Even in an Ashes summer I’ve been able to take a close look at four-day cricket. I’ve played 11 out of 16 matches for Hampshire and the standard has been pretty high. That is to do with the quality of overseas players, the English county players and, to an extent, the EU players. I say to an extent, because some of them are not good enough.

I would still make a few changes. The first would be to introduce a play-off final between the top two in the championship to decide the title winners. The first-place side can have home advantage. It would make a great end-of-season showpiece — which we would have had last week against Nottinghamshire if David Fulton hadn’t gifted them the title the previous weekend.

A final would end the situation where one ridiculous decision can have such a massive impact. I know time passes, but I can’t get over what Fulton did. For a guy who is meant to understand the game he showed no feel at all. I know that he wasn’t in a strong position, but to accept a chase of 420 in 70 overs gave Kent no chance whatsoever.

Stephen Fleming is one of my best mates in life and I don’t blame him at all. I know he didn’t want to bring Nottinghamshire to the Rose Bowl still needing points. Fulton could have worked on that. Negotiating a declaration is like buying a house. You make a stand and gradually compromise. He could have got down to about 370 from 85 overs.

I’m all for keeping games open, but you don’t just accept something you know you can’t win. He has let down his team and will lose respect in the dressing-room. I wondered if he even brought the game into disrepute. I have had that many calls from players from other counties about it. I know some counties will want to get back at him next season.

My other change would be a move to later starts. During the summer, the best time to play is between 5.30 and 8 o’clock. At the moment we have to stop on beautiful evenings when the sun is out. It would be better to begin at, say, 1pm and have three two-hour sessions. Obviously the start would come forward towards the end of the season.

I fly home tomorrow with all sorts of memories of the summer. It is disappointing for me to say it was a thoroughly good Ashes series, because I hate losing. But removing myself for a moment, I doubt we’ll even see anything as good again. I’ll always treasure the spirit those games were played in.

Freddie Flintoff can become the best cricketer in the world if he continues in his present form. In previous years he has perhaps underachieved, but then he hasn’t been fully fit either. I just admire his courage, heart and his passion. He’s a good guy without any side to him — the kind of bloke people can learn from.

I THINK England have chosen a good squad for Pakistan. Shaun Udal is a very sound pick. He can put pressure on Ashley Giles, who will be disappointed with his figures in the Test matches. If Ashley gets injured or sick, then England will need experience because conditions out there are very tough for a young spinner.

Shaun is a wonderful guy to have around and he’s put so much into his game over the past couple of years. He’s worked hard on his action, on spinning the ball, and his slider is going really well.

As for Alex Loudon, I remember naming him as a talented young player in this column 12 months ago. His “doosra” is a big asset.

I’ve tried to bowl that ball. It puts a lot of pressure on the fingers and wrist. He has done well to control it without throwing — not that I’m casting aspersions on anybody else. He’ll have to make sure not to overdo it. Saqlain Mushtaq went through a stage where he bowled it so much that batsmen became comfortable. It is a great surprise ball to have in the locker.

As for Australia, I was shocked when Damien Martyn was left out of the Super Series Test next month. He has probably been our best batsman over the past couple of years. He copped a couple of bad decisions this summer and a fluke run out from Michael Vaughan — I mean, “run out Vaughan” is an unusual way to go. It just shows that selection is a difficult business.

FREDDIE’S story about being shot on the boundary in Delhi brought back a particular memory. As I spend most of my time in the slips, I’m generally out of range. But I do recall being struck by a heavy-duty padlock when I was on the rope in Pakistan. That hurt. Tim May was hit as well, but nothing happened. We just got on with the game.