Welcome to the first edition of Howzat!, the free magazine from www.cricket-for-parents.com.

In this issue I'll look forward to the top internationals in 2009, how to get ahead in the competition for the best cricket tickets, as well as some top tips on how to care for your cricket bat over the winter. And, a few words about the sad loss to our game of Bill Frindall, the "bearded wonder".

Top Internationals of 2009

Its going to be a big year for international cricket, with the second series of the Indian Premier League running from 10 April to May 29, followed by the ICC World Twenty20 in England from June 5 to June 21, then the long awaited Ashes series from 8 July to 24 August. This fixture feast is sandwiched between the West Indies v England series in February and March, and South Africa v England later in the year.

Today’s hot tickets are for the ICC World Twenty20 (ICC WT20 2009), following the great success of the inaugural tournament in South Africa. I don't know if the 2009 competition will feature the "disco cricket" of the South African event, but we can be sure of massive entertainment for sell out crowds. There will be 12 teams, including the 9 test playing nations, as well as Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands who recently qualified. For the first time, the event will feature men’s and women’s teams, and the semi finals and final will feature the women's game first, followed by the men’s match. Tickets are selling fast, and you can buy yours now on the ICC website.

For more information on world cricket, go to http://www.cricket-for-parents.com/world-cricket.html

How To Get To The Front Of The Ticket Queue

Bookings for international tickets often look 6 to 9 months ahead. For example, the 2009 Ashes series was sold out to the general public before Christmas 2008. So, you need to plan early, but by joining the ECB 12th Man club you can get priority access to England’s home international tickets before they go on sale to the general public. There's a small fee for this privilege, so its worth balancing this against the benefits. However, as the ECB give plenty of notice of approaching ticketing windows by e-mail, you don't need to worry about missing any deadlines. You can find out more on the ECB web site.

I'm based in the UK, and I'm not aware of schemes like Twelfth Man in other cricketing countries. But, if you can enlighten me I'll add the info to my web site. You can contact me via www.cricket-for-parents.com/contact.html

Visit www.cricket-for-parents.com/cricket-tickets to find out more about buying cricket tickets.

Bill Frindall

All listeners to Test Match Special have been privileged to be in the company of Bill Frindall. Otherwise dubbed the "bearded wonder", Bill has been the statistician (much more than the average cricket scorer) for TMS since 1966, and as one newspaper put it, "nothing in cricket is historic until Bill Frindall says so". All of us who have taken a turn at being scorer know just how much concentration this takes, even for a Twenty20 school match. Multiplying this by orders of magnitude for test matches and ODI’s and sustaining it for over 40 years gives some idea of Bill’s remarkable powers of concentration. He reputedly gained this skill while serving in the RAF.

Bill adapted the “linear method” of cricket scoring originating in Australia, and extended it to give him the facts-at-his-fingertips demanded by the TMS commentary team. His statistical and concentration skills were only matched by his dry wit, and on top of all this he was a very keen fast bowler in his younger years. Bill Frindall passed away at the end of January 2009, and will be sorely missed by millions of listeners to TMS, including me and perhaps yourself.

You can read more about the Test Match Special team at http://www.cricket-for-parents.com/live-cricket-commentary.html

Winter Care For Your Cricket Bat

Cricket bats hate two things in particular - moisture and central heating. If any piece of wood gets wet, its liable to split or warp, and cricket bats are no exception. The motto is, make sure your bat is dry before you put it away for the winter - or after any innings. This way, you'll avoid an unwanted surprise next time you want to use it.

But, a less obvious problem is central heating - or any other form of room heating. For many years I wondered why my bat seemed perhaps a little harder or even lighter at the start of a new season, often followed by a fatal crack in the willow on impact with a new cricket ball. Then, a wise cricketer suggested that the best place to keep a bat over the winter is in an unheated space - perhaps a garage, loft or shed. That way, your heating system won’t dry out your bat. The best routine at the season’s end is to clean the bat face with fine sandpaper, then give it a rub with a cloth bearing a little raw linseed oil in preparation for next season. Then, store it in an unheated space for the winter. It works for me!

For more tips on cricket bats, visit www.cricket-for-parents.com/cricket-bats.html.

Thats it for this edition of Howzat! Look out for the March edition, which will include features on the 2009 Indian Premier League season and where to find live cricket on the internet.

Until next time!

Best wishes,