ONE of my colleagues on the sports desk uttered a word yesterday that I hadn’t heard since the last time I got asked to write one of these columns in a major tournament... Jabulani.

I know what you’re thinking – a terrible film with Robin Williams based on a board game with elephants and tigers – but, no. The Jabulani was the ball specially created for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa which caused such consternation in the footballing world that NASA were called in to assess whether its gravity-defying properties could be used to further space travel.

I was on tour with Wanderers in the US when all this fuss was going on – and I can reveal exclusively that the team used said ball in some of their training drills. Other than a few free-kicks from Matt Taylor that probably haven’t landed yet, there was very little drama and relatively few casualties.

Nevertheless it was fun for a while to watch every player who shanked a dead ball in the tournament stare on in disgust as it sailed into Row Z, even if it took your mind off the vuvuzelas.

Such poor set pieces have been noticeably absent in what has been a fine Euro 2012 so far, which would suggest that Adidas have got it spot on this time with the Tango 12.

Kerzhakov, Van Persie and Ronaldo might disagree, after a series of stinkers in front of goal, but it’s nice to have a ball, an arena and a playing climate that everyone seems to agree with.

What we have seen so far is compelling evidence that the Euros produce a much higher standard of football than any other international tournament, including the World Cup. Rather than allowing teams to play their way into tournaments – a la Italy – you lose one game and it’s an uphill struggle to stay in – which could go some way to explaining Roy Hodgson’s safety first approach.

Whatever happens on Friday against Sweden, I doubt you’ll see the England boss blame the ball. I just hope Adidas are equally spot on when it comes to designing Wanderers’ kit this season.