I went with three friends to watch England play on Wednesday night.

I wish we had been at Wembley, however, rather than watching the Aussies comprehensively outplay England at cricket.

You win some, you get annihilated in others. It’s called watching England.

I was at two days of the Ashes series this summer, and had the chance to see all five days of a series-winning test match in Sri Lanka a decade ago. Wonderful memories.

But I have also been there to see England thrashed by Australia in the 3rd test of the last Ashes series in Perth, by the West Indies at The Oval and several other tests.

We accept that of sport and move on. So on the train back to London on Wednesday, the talk was of football rather than cricket. Is Glen Johnson that bad? Will little Theo Walcott be the star? And did anybody have friends in South Africa?

Now, the average age of we four is 47.5. We know that because on the way to The Rose Bowl, we talked of an under 40/over 40 cricket match among our own local team - but had to revise that to a 47/47 game once we’d fully comprehended how old we’re all getting.

“Our cricket team is so old that our last recruit, Tony, is 68. The nickname on the shirt is Youth Policy.)

That means our average age when England last won the World Cup was 4.5. And what if next year is really the year that England might actually-go-and-bloody-well-win-the-World-Cup?

It’s worth thinking about, even after looking at the bewildering package prices on Thursday morning. If the details are far from clear, it is immediately evident that it will cost several thousand pounds. That is, unless we travel overland by bus with a tent and buy tickets from touts which, given an average age of 48.3 by then, is probably not advisable.

But it is what we will think about, Peter, Dave, Trevor and I. And many others. And even if we know it is probably not realistic because of practical things like kids, work, a cricket tour to Brussels and – let’s call it £5,000 – a few bob.

It is a Very Big What If? Three of us are Southampton FC fans and were teenagers when Saints last won the FA Cup. That is a long time ago.

But not nearly as long ago as England, World Cup Winners. What if we’re not in South Africa, and it takes as long again before we stand another decent chance? We’ll be 91.5, on average, by then and that is pushing it.

The jingoism and fervour already evident in England will become overblown by the time the draw is made in December. And it will become fullblown triumphalism by next summer when JT, Stevie G and the boys fly south borne towards glory on a BA plane.

But it's not that I expect England to win. I'm far too hardened by failure for that. It's all about being there. Just in case

World Cup winners

Packages

There are four official tour operators.

Because more games will take place within driving distance of Johannesburg, Thomas Cook Sport (020-8739 2360, www.thomas cooksport.com) and Keith Prowse (0845 1254880, www.keithprowse.co.uk) will use the city as a base. Thomas Cook has packages for England’s group games from £2,499pp for one game, including match ticket, five nights in a three-star hotel and BA flights. Keith Prowse has a three-match 18-day trip from £4,995pp. (0844 2090381, www.keith.prowse.com) The more tourist-friendly Cape Town has been chosen as a base by Thomson Sport (0845 1212018, www.thomsonsport.com), which has a four-night package from £2,500, including flights, three-star accommodation and safari experience, or from £3,999 for an 18-night package. Match tickets are extra, but clients have access to tickets at face value for as many games as they want. BAC Sport (020-7456 7100, www.bacsport.co.uk) will have packages to Cape Town and Sun City, either June 10-22 or from June 21 to July 2. Both include two games and cost £4,375, which includes internal flights for those staying in Cape Town and attending matches elsewhere.

Go DIY

Getting there you need to book almost immediately to guarantee a flight for less than £1,000 — if you wait too long, you may not get a flight at all. This week British Airways (0844 4930787, www.ba.com) still had flights from £681.20 to Johannesburg and, from £755.20, to Cape Town. Virgin Atlantic (0844 2097777, www.virgin-atlantic.com) had flights to Johannesburg from £670. Also try South African Airways (0871 7221111, www.flysaa.com) and bmi (0870 6070555, www.flybmi.com). Opodo.co.uk has a special section to help you to search for the cheapest flights to all World Cup destinations.

Where to stay

Most available accommodation has been contracted by Fifa. Its website (www.fifa.com) has a comprehensive list — from B&B and guest houses to hotels — inall match destinations. However, if you look around there are some rooms available independently. For instance, in Cape Town, An African Villa (0027 21 423 2162, www.capetowncity.co.za/villa) has rooms from £90 B&B.

Getting around

You will probably need a hire car, though be aware that venues are up to 1,740km (1,000 miles) apart. The train from Cape Town to Johannesburg takes more than 26 hours. Internal flights can be arranged, for instance, by SAA and BA through Comair.

Match tickets

Apply on www.fifa.com — the next phase, which involves a ballot, doesn’t start until December.

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