IPL Live

Mrs Spurt is away on a girly weekend in gay Paris and so instead of our customary wrestling over the remote and my usual snidey mocking of American Idol the Catch Up and similar reality TV boredom, I am free to prowl the EPG after the compulsory Football Focus.

And what do I discover on our afternoon of surfing? Well fuck me sideways and call us Susan, but Live Indian Premier League free on Setanta Sports, without a viewing card or anything. This bears close investigation, not only because you should know your enemy as you know yourself (thanks Sun Tzu), but the novelty of free live cricket on our screens must be embraced.

So what do I think? Well after weeks of h8toring, I chillax and start to enjoy: Sure some parts of it are really dumb: The Chenai Super Kings appear to named after a packet of fags,, the cheerleaders superfluous, the uniforms gaudy and the stadium - despite the organiser's promises and low ticket prices for the locals - only about half full. It's also very difficult to get excited about any kind of team which is known as a 'franchise'.

But there's lots to enjoy too, for a start it's free live cricket, a rare enough novelty nowadays after the ECB sold its soul to Sky and Setanta are decent enough to air it gratis (although it may just be a free taster, like that first rock of crack, to lure us in).

There's nothing wrong with the format either, Twenty20, remains as compelling and thrilling as ever. The art of spin is a key component with Murali rampant and Mike Hussey mixes improvisation and clean hitting to score 116 and help put 240 runs on the board for the John Player Specials. Good to see that it's not all just star show ponies either but a mix of world stars and young Indian players being blooded which at least ticks the development box.

You can even watch the game live on the IPL web site. If they carry on like this, we may have to start reconsidering our long and dearly held prejudices.