A clash of the two old foes in their current state shapes as a struggle between teams looking to emerge from difficultyAs Friday evening approaches, bringing on the middle of the T20 World Cup group stage, the sense increases that this is the contest that both the English and Australian teams have been waiting for. India and Pakistan may have surpassed this rivalry for freneticism, ferocity, and sheer population, as shown by the crowd of more than 90,000 that sold out the Melbourne Cricket Ground for their own group stage bout. England and Australia won’t get quite that many through the gates, but their rivalry will always be cricket’s original. The game is now even spicier, though, by effectively becoming...
Australia must find form ahead of next year’s World Cup but face a tough assignment in the first match of their European tourAfter their spluttering winter of three wins from nine starts, the Wallabies are now in Europe for a five-Test Spring tour they hope can springboard them into contention for the 2023 World Cup in September. The big bounce must start against Scotland early this Sunday morning (AEST 3.30am) at Murrayfield where Australia haven’t won since 2016 and were pipped 15-13 before a crowd of 63,000 in November.Scotland, ranked sixth in the world, start favourites against the visitors (ninth, their lowest ranking of the professional era) but in their 33 Tests over 95 years, Australia hold a 21-12 winning...
The returning coach says he has ‘unfinished business’ after taking on a job loaded with emotional risk – both for him and the clubIt’s halfway through the final quarter of the 2015 preliminary final. Hawthorn has played almost flawless football, but the Dockers are rattling home. Nathan Fyfe is running around with a broken leg, because that’s what you do when you play for Ross Lyon. The crowd is febrile – later we will learn that a woman has been punched in the face and that a Hawthorn player has been whacked over the head with an inflatable anchor. The Fremantle defender Tendai Mzungu switches play with a 20-metre kick across half back. His target is Tom Sheridan, who’s playing...
The reigning champions are not expected to stray too far from the template that delivered success last year For decade upon decade, Australian selectors have leant to the conventional. Three quicks and a spinner, your best bat is captain, wicketkeeper at seven in Test cricket or pushed up to throw the bat as an opener in the shorter forms. Occasionally circumstances or an unusual player might shift this around, but it tends to quickly revert to the mean. Having George Bailey in charge has led to an occasional willingness to be different. His days as a player and captain showed that, and those days are recent enough that he personally knows the strengths of most current players. It was Bailey’s...
The coach’s dismissal caught most analysts off guard although the least surprised was likely a supporter base at its wits endIn the off-season, optimism blooms the cheek of every footy fan and club leader. Andrew Bassat, the founder of Seek and the president of St Kilda, was certainly bullish about his footy club and his senior coach heading into 2022. “I fully expect Brett to be our long-term coach and I fully expect — no pressure at all — Brett to become our second premiership coach,” he said. For the first few months, things were tracking nicely. They weren’t exactly a team you’d cancel all plans to go and watch. But they were in the top four. Against Geelong, they...