Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell who has spent the first part of the winter with the Academy in Adelaide has now joined up with the full England One Day squad ahead of the triangular series that gets underway in Sydney on December 13th.

Regarding his time with the Academy he told me: "I very much enjoyed parts of it and hopefully I'll be a better player for Somerset because of it, but I have to admit my body has taken a hammering along the way!!! Picking up niggles here and there, which are harder to shake off as there isn't much time to rest."

When I asked him to comment on the current Test series he told me: " I'm not going to diagnose the Ashes as I can't see any positives at all, and I fear its only going to get worse!"

He continued: "I caught up with both Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick during the Adelaide Test where I was almost called up at the last minute for Michael Vaughan who went over on his knee.

Commenting on the mood of the England Test players he told me: "To be honest all the boys are absolutely battered, they have had no respite from anything. Injuries haven't helped and with Alex Tudor and Chris Silverwood added things couldn't get much worse."

Blackie went on: " The one day guys arrived last Tuesday and for me its been great moving from the Academy to the Stamford Plaza in the city because it's given my brain a jog to what being part of England is all about."

He concluded: " The one day squad is quite different to the Test side so lets hope there is enough of us to pick spirits up in the one day matches and create a positive atmosphere in the dressing room. We have chatted amongst ourselves and we think that will be a key thing for us to do."

© SOMERSET