OK, so we admit it. The positive mood of the nation can be directly attributed to events in the Far East. The jubilee festivities may have brought smiles to many faces, and, dare we say it, England's victory in the second Test might have added to the mix, but nothing, nothing at all, can rival the barging of the Argies or the pasting of the Danes. So what's a game to do? The glee with which England's cricketers watched the heavens open on Friday night had nothing to do with the fact that their series victory was within touching distance. It had everything to do with a sodden outfield, and the prospect of sitting in the pavilion TV room until 2.15pm. The Old Trafford authorities, desperate not to drive their audience away, had erected a vast screen in the car park at the Stretford End, and the Channel 4 commentators, even Michael Slater, were obliged to parade in England football shirts. Traitors in our midst? Not a bit of it. If you can't beat 'em, there's no point in sulking about it.

Sulking, though, could not have been further from Alec Stewart's mind. He has always been the flag-waver of the England team – and flag-waving hasn't been this in vogue since the days of Empire. Be it red, white and blue – for Queen (Mother) and Country – or red and white for country alone, the only variety he refuses to wave is the pure white one.

Stewart's century was as inevitable as Germany's progression to the World Cup quarter-finals. He's never been one to take milestones lightly, and with James Foster apparently breathing down his neck, he had every incentive to celebrate his record-equalling 118th Test in style. If Stewart did have any niggling doubts about his longevity, then he needed to look no further than the man whose record he equalled. In 1989, in his 72nd match and at the age of 36, Graham Gooch had his batting character-assassinated by Terry Alderman. The rest is history.

It was a funny old day. As an avid Chelsea fan, Stewart might have been momentarily nonplussed to resume his innings half-an-hour before the big kick-off. But did he show it? Did he heck. His partner, Alex Tudor, however, showed less resolve. At the very moment the national anthem struck up in Niigata, Tudor conveniently flung his bat at a wide one from Vaas, and trooped off to take his place in front of the telly.

Tudor's wicket, incidentally, was Vaas's 200th in Tests. He might have received an ovation for it, but it was hard to tell whether the drumming sound in the stands was a smattering of applause or the pattering of feet heading for the car-park.

The day belonged to football. But Stewart, who celebrated England's three-goal fusillade with a four-boundary salute to reach his hundred, caught the mood superbly. Foster can now put his gauntlets back in his coffin and prepare for a winter of understudying in Australia and South Africa. England can rejoice. The Gaffer is back.

Andrew Miller is editorial assistant of Wisden.com.

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