For what seems like the first time this year the temperature outside Bramernic Mansions has reached 12 degrees. Surely that must mean that winter has finally departed these shores? Furthermore, on ITV4 every day we can enjoy the carnival that is the Indian Premier League. It's Twenty20 with a few extra bits added on. The main one seems to be strategic timeouts where the captains can choose to halt play for a few minutes at the end of an over. A chance to stop the rot of wickets falling, or slow down a relentless batting display? Or is it purely to allow the TV companies to insert a few more chunky advert breaks? Whatever it is, the action is compelling and making work in the afternoons quite difficult.

So, with warm weather and cricket in India, this can mean only one thing. Yes, the English cricket season is rapidly approaching. We already know that the Telegraph will be running their county fantasy game, although they haven't actually launched it yet. The County Championship starts on April 9th - will everyone have finished their Easter eggs in time? - and we reckon there will be three warm-up weeks before the game starts on April 27th. That's just our prediction though, so don't spend too long on strategy until they confirm the date.

However, some preparation is in order, so the cricket fixture grid has been updated with all this season's matches. There are now only three competitions, the 4-day championship, the season long ECB 40 League and the Friends Provident T20 in the middle of the summer.

More news as and when we have it ...