How cricket can save the world

This is Anthony Albanese, a little-known Australian politician and the Shadow Environment Minister Down Under. I can't see anyone in David Cameron's Shadow Cabinet over here wearing an England rugby shirt, but Mr Albanese is a man who likes his sport and is keen on slipping it into debates. Such as this recent one on climate change:

"What Labor would do is cut Australia's greenhouse pollution by 60 per cent by 2050. We know that, if you have a target, it is like a one-day cricket target: you do not bat out the first 30 overs; you send out Adam Gilchrist to get some runs on the board early because it makes it easy to get to the target later on."

I confess that I don't spend my nights trawling the Canberra Hansard for quotes like that, it came via Rick Eyre's website. Albanese's point in a global context has merit - no point hanging around waiting for the spinners to come on when you've got a world cup to rescue - although he doesn't explain what environmentalists should do if they lose early wickets, or indeed how best to handle the power plays. And what about using Duckworth/Lewis in the event of rain? I don't think he has thought this one through properly. Wouldn't the best way to counter global warming be to stop all the hot air coming out of the ICC?

Cricket rarely mixes with politics, although famously John Major left office saying that he was off to the Oval for the rest of the day, and Margaret Thatcher was done for after Geoffrey Howe made his not very amusing gag about her being the captain who had broken her team's bats. At least, unlike in the English county game, Westminster has long been awash with top-quality spinners.