Dhoni picks his weapon

If you're thinking about unleashing a large glob of spittle at an employee of the British transport system for whatever resason, you'd better think twice. You may be able to hotfoot it away from the scene of your disgusting act, but they'll be able to track you down long after you're gone. A poster on the bus from my apartment to the Lady Bay practice facility ominously warns that transport system employees are armed with - wait for it - a DNA swab-testing kit to catch those who spit at them. I'm not sure I believe the sign, so I google it. It's true.

MS Dhoni changed his bat a few times during the game against Bangladesh, but still wasn't able to hit too many cleanly. Can't say if it was related or not but he was checking out new bats at Lady Bay. The high ridge on the back of the bat he tried, and its reinforced bottom, got us wondering whether it was one of those new-fangled instruments calibrated for Twenty20 hitting, but the man from Spyder bats disappointingly said it was standard-issue.

Two other journalists and I took our eye of the ball during India's net session and nearly paid for it. A savage pull from Suresh Raina struck the concrete about five feet away. We were warned by the others, who shouted "Watch" as soon as the ball was struck, but like nine out of 10 people, I turned my head away and ducked instead of watching where the ball was heading. I'd read reports of KP clocking a net bowler on the head earlier in the week. The bowler was given an autographed bat for his pain by the England star. I'm not sure a bat would suffice. Maybe if it was a Mongoose…

I ask around if anyone's seen a Mongoose first hand and meet someone who played a club match in which Lou Vincent, the New Zealand batsman, used one. Vincent apparently used a normal bat to get to 50 and then called for the Mongoose and unleashed hell on the bowlers.

The DJ at Trent Bridge has got the crowd involved with some catchy beats during the matches. Not sure, though, whether the Punjabi track during the Ireland-Bangladesh game was out of place or not. First noticed him playing Men at Work's "Down Under" after Brad Haddin's stumps were splayed by Lasith Malinga.

The press conferences after each of yesterday's games took place in contrasting environments. Jamie Siddons was scathing in his criticism of his team's performance, and it felt like a schoolmaster giving his charges a stern talking-to. Immediately after Bangladesh were done, Niall O'Brien and William Porterfield lifted the mood with their humour and humility. Their happiness was infectious.

Ricky Ponting appeared a bit shocked at being eliminated from the tournament in three days, while Kumar Sangakkara was unequivocal about the magnitude of Sri Lanka's win today, though with one eye on the rest of the tournament.

We received a circular from the Nottingham police during the Sri Lanka-Australia game, informing of a "lawful" pro-Tamil protest being carried out in a "peaceful manner" outside Trent Bridge by around 70 people. There were no signs of that three hours later, though. The only sounds emanating from Bridgford Road, which borders the ground, were those of Sri Lankan and Irish fans jointly celebrating two massive wins with their drums and songs.