As the light fades on my journey – from Lauren Filer on another plane to Stuart Broad’s Oval exit – joy at an epic series lingersYou know you’re getting on a bit when you gesture towards how things used to be. It doesn’t have to become that special mix of nostalgia and resentment that can distil in later life, just a measure of distance. You’re farther along the line, looking back at youth as something that happened rather than living within it as the only state you’ve known.My first Ashes tour was in 2013, and it was shoestring deluxe, from random couch-surfing hosts to the floors of backpacker friends, stashing free sandwiches at tea breaks and scanning the pub for...
Australia’s imperfections slipped by unnoticed in their early games but Jamaica will give them nowhere to hideThe signs were there earlier than some realised. Hidden behind an average winning margin of 47.2 in their first five preliminary matches was a Diamonds outfit lacking its usual lustre. It was in their slow starts to many of those games, an inability to hit the ground running from the first whistle. It was in the 22 turnovers against the world No 10 Scotland and the first half draw with world No 6 Malawi. These tiny imperfections added up to create trouble at the team’s first real hurdle of the tournament. Their one-goal loss to England – the first time Australia has lost to...
Through his culture, dedication and skill, the quiet former Sydney Swans forward crafted himself into one of the AFL’s best athletesOn Lance Franklin’s right forearm, you’ll find a tattooed portrait of his mum, Ursula. Just below the shoulder, his dad, Lance Sr. The artwork provides a rare glimpse into the soul of football’s private superstar. Buddy was born into football royalty – Ursula, a Whadjuk-Noongar woman, is a Kickett.An exceptionally talented footballing family, the Kicketts exhilarated crowds across the country. According to Franklin’s uncle, Larry Kickett, Noongar footballers’ success is built on 50,000 years of life, culture and work: “It’s not too hard for us to pick up a football and kick the thing.” Noongar players make up one-third of...
With a new captain at the helm for Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup clash Australia’s coach says his team have an opportunity to continue their growth Rugby old-timers call it the hospital pass – “a pass made under pressure without considering the situation of the receiver, who is stationary and an easy target”. In the opening minutes of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup opener, with New Zealand perched on Australia’s line, Tate McDermott was thrown a dangerously floating ball from the lineout that necessitated he raise his arms, expose his ribs, and catch the ball eye-high before readjusting to swivel it off his hips and get it to someone with half a hope of not being obliterated.One measly extra second was required but...
Alex Carey and Todd Murphy revived the chance of another miracle until probability finally caught up with the touristsOnce more with feeling. Of course, it had to come down to this. Another dramatic session, another bright streak of energy fizzing end to end through an afternoon. Another hour of insides squirming and crawling into knots, a prickle in fingertips and a jiggle in knees. Australia and England, the fifth afternoon of the fifth Test, runs ticking down as wickets crashed, another of those finishes, the possible and the impossible blurring in and out of focus.After the half-formed belting at Manchester, a fourth-Test disaster for Australia averted by rain, some supporters piled in. Others were ready if a loss followed at...