February 2014
Why can’t the Aussie bowlers master reverse swing?
Once again Australia has been undone by high-quality reverse swing. This time it was principally South African paceman Dale Steyn who wreaked havoc as Australia lost nine wickets in a session to surrender the second Test at Port Elizabeth by 231 runs. On a benign pitch that provided little to the quick men in terms […]
Read More →Australia’s greatest post-warTest team
The Australian Test team is on the rise with some stunning results over the past four months. With that in mind it’s interesting to reflect on the top-shelf players we have produced down through the years. I have taken on the task of choosing the best Australian Test XI since the Second World War. To […]
Read More →Mitchell Johnson – Test cricket’s MVP
In the space four months Mitchell Johnson has gone from a derisive selection in the Australian Test team to the most valuable player in the longest form of the sport. In the space of six Test matches he has been the major catalyst in Australia’s cricketing resurgence, claiming man-of-the-match honours in four of those encounters. […]
Read More →Brad Hogg: cricket’s Energizer bunny soldiers on
Brad Hogg is on track to become the oldest man to play a Twenty20 international after being named yesterday in Australia’s 15-man squad for the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh next month. It has been a big week for the left-arm Chinaman and googly bowler. Last Thursday he turned 43, the following day he won […]
Read More →Australia takes the opening round at Centurion
South African skipper Graeme Smith pushed his chips to the middle of the table on the opening day of the series but his gamble did not pay off. After the coin fell in his favour he inserted the tourists. When asked at the toss what he would have done had he won it, Michael Clarke […]
Read More →Let’s get real – Australia faces a tough task
The Ashes was a relative doddle. The three-Test tour of South Africa, starting tonight Australian time, will be anything but a stroll in the park. History indicates that the Republic has been a happy hunting ground for Australia since South Africa’s reintegration into international cricket – it remains unbeaten having won four series and drawn […]
Read More →Warne or Murali – who was the greater Test bowler?
Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, the two most successful bowlers in the history of Test cricket, were no strangers to courting controversy during their stellar careers – Murali’s came on the field while Warne’s was largely off it. Warne left the scene first, in January 2007 after 145 Tests, with a world record 708 scalps […]
Read More →There’s a lot to like about Australia heading to Sochi
The Winter Olympics has nowhere near the profile or level of expectation that we attach to the Summer Games and it is totally understandable – the level of elite competition on our shores is minimal, most of our athletes are based thousands of kilometres away and there has been far less medal success. However that […]
Read More →What is the captain’s job in the football codes?
It’s that time of the year when AFL, NRL and Super Rugby clubs announce their captains for season 2014. In a few months’ time we will hear just who will be named skipper of our Socceroos as they head to the World Cup in Brazil. Most of those announcements – especially if there is a […]
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