In a sign of how times have changed for fast bowlers, former Test paceman Mike Whitney remembers how he used to train by pounding the bitumen. Instead of hitting the gym, doing Pilates or yoga like some of today's quicks, Whitney simply ran during the hottest part of the day. ''The wickets in Australia, some of them are like concrete, and if you bowl 30 overs on concrete, your body's really going to feel that unless your body's been prepared,'' he said at the SCG Trust's breakfast on Thursday. ''One thing I did when I was playing is, leading up to the start of the season, people would see me running around Maroubra and Matraville, where I grew up, running on the road in the middle of the day. I'd have to bowl on wickets that were that hard and I bowled from 11-12 in the middle of the day, so I thought that was good preparation. My knees are really screaming out for [doing] that now, but at the time I thought that was the best preparation for me.''


Glenn Maxwell's consolation prize for missing out on a baggy green in Sydney will be collecting extra frequent-flyer points. The all-rounder, named 12th man in the Test, played for the Melbourne Stars on Thursday night in Brisbane and will fly back to Sydney on Friday before heading to Melbourne for another Big Bash game on Sunday. NSW pair David Dawson and Tim Cruickshank are the 13th and 14th men respectively for Australia. Usman Khawaja has also been released for Big Bash duties.


The late Christopher Martin-Jenkins was renowned for his detailed and meticulous commentary on the BBC, but less well known were the troubles the broadcaster and writer had with technology. One story recalled in a tribute on detailed how Martin-Jenkins tried to call his office from a golf course in Jamaica with a TV remote control he had picked up out of his hotel room. ''Even when he recognised his mistake, he seemed disgruntled that the device did not get him through to London.''


Former leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has a novel way of ending Michael Clarke's hot streak with the bat. Instead of trying to claim the Australian captain's wicket the old-fashioned way by bowling a consistent line and length, MacGill would like to see more full tosses and half-trackers. ''If the ball's hitting the middle of the bat that often, why on earth do you bowl it in the same place?'' said MacGill, who claimed 208 Test wickets. ''I didn't ever have to worry about that - I couldn't bowl two balls the same in a row. I'd be trying all sorts of things. Bowl a fullie - it worked for me.''


Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade shocked many by bowling in Hobart, and shocked even more when he broke 130 km/h, but former fast bowling great Glenn McGrath would prefer to see him stay behind the stumps. ''I don't think he's under-used or under-utilised [as a bowler]. I think he's pretty handy behind the stumps and I think he should stay there,'' McGrath said. ''On a wicket that's a little bit up and down, he can be a handful. It's like when Justin Langer bowled. You're not going to get any bounce, you might get one that goes under the ground. Talking [as] a batsman, I wouldn't mind facing him.'' Wade's fastest ball, it must be said, was about the same pace as McGrath towards the end of his fine career.