A let down after Lord's

After a week in Cardiff and another at Lord’s, the first day in Edgbaston was a bit of a let down. The early rain caused the biggest disappointment of the tour, delaying the start until 5pm, when the game began in brilliant sunshine. However, the setting is also a poor cousin to the previous two venues, a hotchpotch of stands without much charm, making it feel more like a lower division football stadium than an international cricket site.

South of Birmingham, where I’m staying, the hills roll and it is delightful middle England, but a few miles north the city starts and the flowers stop. When Edgbaston hosted the first Test of the series eight years ago it seemed much nicer – and not just because Australia won. I was camped in the crowd at square leg when Marcus Trescothick, who was delaying the innings defeat with 76, pulled a Brett Lee short ball to two seats away from me, where another Australian accepted a lunging take. The match finished early and the next venue was Wimbledon for the Rafter-Ivanisevic final. They were good days.

For the first six hours today it was much more subdued throughout the ground. Things livened up for a short time when the players stepped out, but got quieter with each boundary. In the stands there is usually an unofficial fancy dress contest being held, but there weren’t too many outstanding exhibits, probably due to the necessity for rain coats and umbrellas.

There were a handful of superheroes and a quartet of gods that weren’t capable of getting the clouds to blow away until well after lunch. For those not interested in beer or their mobiles during the break, there were highlights of the 2005 masterpiece created by these sides on the big screen. It wasn’t enough for some, who sat on the concrete concourse out the back reading novels or match programmes.

The late start did give the many cricket fans who indulged last night in expectation of a wet opening day more time to wake up. There were more than 500 people at a Lord’s Taverner’s dinner where Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison popped in for a brief Q&A. Matthew Hoggard was another guest and when asked if he was still being considered by England he looked to the front row and Ashley Giles, the England selector. He said Giles’ shake of the head told him everything.