It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, how you dress, it gets to you. It gets in your blood, infecting every part of you, making everyday life almost impossible. You can’t concentrate on normal things, you spend all your time on the couch, and you need constant hydration. Resistance is futile.

I’m talking about swine flu; the Ashes is just a cricket series.

I am now the second high profile (yeah right) Australian cricket journalist to get swine flu.

Unlike Ben Dorries of The Australian, I have not been told to stay away from the Australian players — as a Crikey “reporter” I was already banned from the Ashes. Swine flu had nothing to do with it. The closest Ben and I have been is one metre from each other, and that was outside a MCC press conference. In the press box (the two days I managed to bust my way into) we were about five metres from each other.

There are reports that up to 65,000 people could die from swine flu in the UK, but I’ve had rougher colds. It seems like a normal flu in every way, I have no craving for bacon, well none more than usual. I am tired, am running a fever, prone to afternoon sleeps, and can’t stop watching bad American action films, so it is pretty much a normal flu for me.

In London they are all about keeping you at home. They diagnose you over the phone, make you send a healthy person to pick up the drugs, and don’t even let you see a doctor unless you think you are going to die. Currently I am in quarantine, if you can call my couch quarantine, so other than sleeping 16 hours a day not a lot has changed.

I am a little worried for Wisden Cricket Monthly founder David Frith, whom I interviewed for 10 minutes, and Richie Benaud, who I shook hands with in the press box, but other than that I am OK.

I will continue to keep you in the loop with all the Ashes news; today Mitchell Johnson’s mother said she loves her son.

Don’t worry people; the Pig Reaper won’t get me.

Crikey‘s Ashes 09 coverage:

  • Jarrod Kimber reports from the UK after each day’s play.
  • Leigh Josey and Jarrod Kimber discuss Flintoff, Lord’s and beer on the Crikey Sports Podcast.
  • A media wrap of what the pundit’s are saying after each day’s play.
  • And everything Ashes related can be found here.