It's here at last

On Saturday morning I received the first copy of my new Ashes book, Match of My Life - The Ashes. Everything is now set for official publication this Wednesday - November 8.

Match of My Life - The Ashes features exclusive first-hand accounts of classic Ashes encounters from 2005 winner Ashley Giles, Geoff Boycott, David Gower, Bob Willis, Ray Illingworth, John Emburey, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Mark Taylor, Jeff Thomson, Merv Hughes and Neil Harvey.

Match of My Life - The Ashes is published in England and Australia on November 8 to coincide with the Ashes series, which starts in Brisbane on November 23.

It is available from all major bookshops and you can order a copy today from www.amazon.co.uk (just do a search on 'Rob Wightman').

As well as being a great accompaniment to the forthcoming Ashes series, the book will make a great Christmas present.

Quote of the day

"There's more questions being asked of them and their team and their fitness than there is of us. Our record this year has been very good, theirs has not been so good. They've won five of their 13 Tests [since the 2005 Ashes] and we've won 11 of our 12." Australia skipper Ricky Ponting forgets the pressure he is under to reclaim the Ashes.

Random Ashes fact

When Mike Gatting's England won the opening match at Brisbane in November 1986, it was their first Test victory for 14 months. They went on to retain the Ashes 2-1.

Magic numbers

17 days to go and 17 is the number of wickets taken by England's Monty Panesar against Pakistan this summer. The left-arm spinner claimed his wickets over four Tests at an average of 30.29, including a Test career-best 5-72 at Old Trafford.