Tuesday 6 August

England retain The Ashes!! A bit of a damp squib really - but it was due to the rain that England managed to save the third test in Old Trafford and thus retain the urn!! Although outplayed in this test - I think it would have been a different story if England had won the toss, and hopefully, now the pressure is off a bit, we can go on to show how much of a superior side we are!! Very sad news came out of Australia yesterday, when it emerged that jockey Simone Montgomerie had been killed at the Darwin festival - another indication of what these brave men and women put themselves through to provide us with the sport that we all love!! Still on the jockey front - and in particular, the injured jockey front, both Brendan Powell and Sam Jones remain on the sidelines. Sam is still sore after suffering a compression fracture of his spine, and young Brendan told me yesterday that he hope to be back in early October - a little later than first thought due to the operation to plate and pin his arm being delayed. On a more positive note - Josh Moore has returned to the saddle after damaging his shoulder in the spring.