Sth Africa v Zimbabwe, NatWest Series, Thursday 10 July 2003 The Rose Bowl, Southampton

The Rose Bowl is heaven on earth, or at least that is the verdict of Hampshire CCC president Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie.

"When I was watching matches at Wormsley, Paul Getty always said playing there was paradise," Ingleby-Mackenzie explained when he visited the TMS commenatry box.

How did the Rose Bowl measure up?

"Looking out here it's a dead heat - majestic."

Having an international match in Southampton is the culmination of years of hard work, and Ingleby-Mackenzie paid particular tribute to the county chairman Rod Bransgrove.

"He has put his sizeable piggy bank and enthusiasm and passion into the enterprise and all the hard work has been well worth it."

Different commentary boxes around the country have different things going for them.

At the Rose Bowl, the box's greatest quality is its size, just big enough for an impromptu game of kwik cricket.

And for Angus Fraser, in an otherwise busy schedule, it was the best preparation he could find for a Sunday run out for Stanmore.

"It wasn't ideal, especially with CMJ trying to pull me off a length, but it could help," Fraser said.

Alan Mullally is thriving on the south coast.

The former Leicestershire player was soaking up the sun at the Rose Bowl, which he described as having "the best facilities in the world".

"It must be like being in Africa for the boys who are playing, and it's certainly better than being in Leicester," Mullally said.

And the Rose Bowl is a far cry from Grace Road.

"There is so much land and they can build whatever they want," he added.

"They haven't spared the horses, everything's state of the art, including the jacuzzis in the dressing room!"

Plus the golf course and the swimming pools, Mullally's hardest decision of the day seemed to be what to do next.

"We also use the facilities to train hard," he added. Honest.