Mark Whalan

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@JacquiOatley And all public transport was free. And they laid on about 1000 coaches to get us home after midnight from a stadium in a desert. Will think fondly of Quatar when paying $80 to get to the Boston stadium.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@dougbagleyfdl Düsseldorf was grim. Aside from a 3-1 defeat- we were knocked out in 4 days- it’s still the only time before or since that I’ve been tear gassed at a stadium ( or anywhere).

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@dougbagleyfdl Stayed in the free tents set up by the German army next to the stadium in Stuttgart. Whole place had POW camp vibe, set up by the local mayor, who was apparently Rommel’s son. Heavy rain one night and we drank beer at 2am while watching German troops desperately digging ditches.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@Loos1915 My cat 1 ticket for the final in Italy 90 was £110. Blimey, I thought. Euro 21 cat 1 was about £900. My cat 1 conditional final ticket (via England Supporters Travel Club ) was $8000. Couldn’t afford to take it up, although high earner. 7th World Cup, but home after group stage.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@SFC_Copey Well, yes, as a Surrey member I sympathise. But off to the World Cup in the US in a fortnight where, apparently, ‘local beer’ is $16.50 a bottle and ‘premium’ $18.50. Then the bastards expect to be tipped. So the Oval will seem like paradise come August.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@SkyCricket Does anyone in TV stop and ponder whether the networks influence over the schedule has anything to do with this? Preparing a test wicket in the first week of June- basically Spring weather-is necessarily different and harder to when Atherton and Hussain played.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@beauti_animals Durham- the wonderful place 99% of US tourists bypass while rushing from overcrowded York to overhyped Edinburgh.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants Smith out to a poor (non) shot, unfortunately. The ball didn’t really move, rather it was angled in and he misread it completely. I was there yesterday and it was the weather more than the pitch. Off and on, with Turneresque dark skies, combined with the Lord’s slope.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants Absolutely. If you can’t stomach a 3- piece worsted suit in 110 degrees with spotted dick and custard for afters, you simply don’t deserve to be running other people’s countries.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WeirdBristol Worked there in the mid 80’s. Good building with parking! But the walkways were a horror. Permanently staked out by insurance salesmen and chuggers- you couldn’t pop out for a sarnie without being accosted half a dozen times.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@RoyDeAlien Underwhelmed, I’m afraid. Quite apart from the fact that he’s obviously about 5th choice, he’ll need time from the board and supporters at a time in our recent history when he’s unlikely to get either.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@ChrisJCooper92 If, like me, you’re also a lifelong Bristol City fan as well as a Somerset disciple, then I’m afraid the answer is an emphatic YES.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@SomersetCCC To be fair, after 151 years of finding ways not to win the county championship, you have to show a bit of imagination to find new ways to lose from impregnable positions.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@NeilPalmerbooks @PitchPubPR @PitchPublishing Pre ordered it on Amazon about 6 months ago- arriving Sunday, I believe. Looking forward to a great read.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants Taking a wild stab, I’d suggest the Shere Drop on sale in the pavilion.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants @WisdenAlmanack Do you (like me) buy 1, read it happily and put it with the others, or do you buy a second ‘reading’ (traditionally the paperback edition) copy? I know several who buy 3 and one who gets 4 pa! (There’s a collectors club leather bound edition etc).

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants Meanwhile, the rules re ‘wides’ seem to have metamorphosed. Watched an hour at the Oval before lunch today and mystified by some of the calls.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@WG_RumblePants He got away with a couple of poor shots and he (and Pope) chased balls early on they should have left. But he also played some glorious drives and visibly grew in confidence and stature as his innings progressed. Did more than enough for me to reassure the selectors.

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@BBCBreakfast Does this mean that RSPB shops- like my local one at Sandy- will stop selling feeders and seed between 1 May and 31 October?

[Mark Whalan @whalan_mark]

@BBCBreakfast Re the v impressive disability sport item, it’s Middlesbrough not Middlesborough as you clearly have no producers left.