Australia are on an 11-match winning run, can score deep into the innings and have enviable strength in their bowlingOn one side of Sunday’s upcoming World Cup final is the inevitable. In 50-over cricket, the Australians march on like Darth Vader: more machine now than human, twisted and evil. You could argue that’s overstated, but they do have an imposing relentlessness. After having their world record winning streak of 26 matches broken back in September, Australia immediately set about building the next one. It currently sits at 11, including an unblemished eight wins through this cup campaign. Their semi-final against West Indies was a thrashing.On the other side of the coin is the unlikely. A few months ago the defending...
Difference between everyday male bowling speed and top female speeds is too large to make any real senseThe first rule when comparing women’s sport to men’s sport is: don’t compare women’s sport to men’s sport. This is generally a pointless exercise, used more often to denigrate or shut down a discussion. More widely the men v women dynamic is one of those red flags, a sign in any social media debate that you’re drifting into the arena of the unwell.It’s up there with having lots of letters and acronyms after a Twitter name or engaging in long, accusatory conversations about perceived bias against José Mourinho led by people whose internet avatar is the scowling, righteous face of Mourinho – the...
Australia women continue their uncompromising cricket that is suffocating any chance England believe they still have in the AshesThere was a time, when players named Ponting and Waugh were running about, that Australian cricket’s dominant traits were ruthlessness and relentlessness. That is no longer the case in the men’s teams, as they have shifted into a quite endearing state of ongoing fallibility studded with bursts of brilliance. But as Meg Lanning’s charges have taken apart England on their current Ashes tour, they have started to bear resemblance to Australian sides of times past.At Taunton on the first day of the solitary Test, it was a different ruthlessness to that men’s side which pushed to win at all costs. This was...