Perth produces pearler

My hotel tagline glares "Extraordinary, every day" on its website and England were going to have to produce that before day one in Perth, at least to be in with a shout of this spiralling-out-of-control Ashes series.

So what a day of Test cricket - the second in a row for the neutral fan which also saw Billy the Trumpet Man back, licking his lips by the the fifth over of the morning. It wasn't a bad toss to lose for Freddie as Australia's batsmen fell three down at lunch before Michael Hussey's partners just forgot how to form a partnership.

It's taken two Tests in waiting but it seems something always happens when Monty's in your side. Few spin bowlers seem to have that extra zest but he's got it alright and a third five-wicket haul in Test cricket, coupled with Steve Harmison's straightness left Australia all-out on day one.

But how the last hour was agony to watch for the English fan. I wondered if Hussey was given orders to let the lower-order face the bowling so they in-turn could get 15-odd overs at the English. It worked and the way the ball hit the deck was probably testament to how the WACA of old used to play.

I imagined then the days of Lillee and Thomson running in during the Seventies with a raucous crowd behind them. The fans today at least soaked up the atmosphere and there was a comical moment on the Hill to show for it: first a scuffle broke out; then an Aussie girl's boyfriend was taken away; huge cheers when he came back in; two minutes later the girlfriend was escorted out. Like that lovers' tiff, it's anyone's guess as to how this Test will play out.

**There's another Ashes podcast up at Nobok Sports. Listen to it here. Find the Monty scan at the After Grog Blog.

Family ties

Hadlee - perhaps the most famous name in New Zealand sport after Tiger Woods' caddy. But before Richard came his father Walter, who died on Friday aged 91.

Walter was pivotal in the development of Kiwi cricket and who knows where the island may stand today in the ICC rankings if it weren't for the family name?

He captained New Zealand on a successful tour of England in 1949, when tours took six months and getting there took six weeks, before turning is attention to cricket administration and bringing up three sons who all played international cricket. Read more here.

Naked ambition

Middlesex are on a 10-day cricket tour in Mumbai, netting at the World Cricket Academy and playing three games.

Nobok gave a first interview of the season to Middlesex skipper Ben Hutton and what he hopes will also be the last. It was surprising when the stats told how his grandfather, the legendary Sir Len Hutton, never toured India with England.

The man to ask about touring is the Middlesex coach John Emburey. The former spinner toured three times with England, but he was dropped in a few Tests and underbowled in his eyes, while most of the memorable stories usually happened off the field.

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Bombay is obsessed with celebrity. This week the public's attention has turned to waiting en masse outside the Taj Hotel as the player buses file back from the ground.

They stare blankly, the odd shriek of excitement aside, and stay long after they have ventured indoors. They could no worse than stop on the main road near Chowpatty beach and stare at cricket's star players adorning the big posters.

One features present England captain Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan advertising Kingfisher water, taken from the TV advert they filmed a few weeks ago. The players were given a sneak preview prior to the third Test, a different take on the usual video analysis they go through on these nights.

Flintoff took the whole episode in his stride, but here's the gist. Vaughan and Flintoff are seen in the showers (shoulder up) and the injured captain starts reciting an Indian melody. Freddie tries to repeat it but Vaughan keeps saying he can't get it right. Freddie insists he can do it but fails again.

It could be a serial to rival Beefy's Weetabix ads.

Plain bazaar

Behind the Taj Hotel there is a long stretch of stalls known as Colaba Market. Haggling for some jewellery off these wise Indian vendors is a fine art, but I soon found my way and by the end of the stretch came away happy.

Many of the ex-England players out here have seen their fair share of markets during their touring years, but for Athers it's a more surreal shopping experience he can recall.

England were on a trip up the Khyber Pass in the early 90s and found themselves at a bazaar in the mountains. Not known at the time for their love of cricket in Afghanistan, the players were amazed at what happened next.

Athers and Nasser got off the team bus and ventured into the stalls. The former Lancashire opener takes up the story. "We weren't up for any haggling but remarkably and amazingly everyone knew who we were. They all had their little picture cards with Atherton, Hussain and Thorpe.

"These days the players don't really get out much. The ECB have their own security measures and seem to make it compulsory to keep the players under lock and key. I don't think it is necessary myself but that is the way it goes."

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Which player will walk away from Mumbai with the sponsor's red motorbike as part of the man of the match prizes? Will Hoggy be seen doing another lap of honour to the dismay of BCCI officials, who now count the Wankhede as the governing body's new home?

Whoever it is, the tax will be waived on the bike as it is seen as a prize and not a gift. Four years ago, however, saw a different story when Sachin Tendulkar was gifted a Ferrari 360 Modeno by Fiat for equalling Sir Don Bradman's record of 29 Test centuries.

The 120 percent import duty was waived by India's Finance Minister after the car was flown in by Air France from Paris the following year. A high court notice was soon issued on the Little Master to pay the outstanding duty, but Sachin still had a fleet to choose from in his garage.

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The Nobok Legends out in India like nothing better than to kick back with a gin and tonic after a hard day's stint behind the mic.

But their thirst was scuppered in Nagpur when there was no sign of Schweppes' classic yellow India tonic water. They even had to send out their tour operator to find a batch, but all a local could find were a load of Isotonic drinks.

A quick glance in the Taj Hotel bar says they'll be fine in Mumbai.