T Minus 60

I'm not sure it's possible to actually be this excited about a trip? There are a host of reasons. It may be the cricket world cup. It may also be the fact that it's in the Caribbean. Combine these factors, throw in 16 cricket mad, die-hard Durbanites, known to have enjoyed the odd jug of Castle in the one and only "Castle Corner" at Kingsmead, and I'd say your recipe for the trip of a lifetime is almost complete. Add some tropical weather to the mix, with some seafood on the braai (barbeque for those of you who live in the northern hemisphere), and top it all off with some of Barbados's finest rum, and you'll understand about a 10th of my excitement!

I think anyone I've shared a drink with, or even had a chat to in passing over the last six months (since I found out I was going on this trip), has heard about the Tor. Some on numerous occasions. Each and every time, I'm met with the same variety of responses... "you lucky b*stard", "this will be the trip of your life", "are there any spots available?!".

So, with the Aussies getting beaten by the Poms (no wonder it snowed in London this week), SA and Pakistan not really revealing too much except that the can both be as dire as each other on a bad day, India and Sri Lanka taking it down to the wire today, 6 of the expected top 8 sides going in to the CWC seemingly have little to choose between them. Add to that homeground advantage for the ever unpredictable calypso king's, and throw in the under-rated sheep-shagger one day outfit, and the likely top 8 games should prove to be of the highest quality.

Let's hope that, through a rum induced haze, we actually get to see some of it!