Wrap - Testing Times

1. Test Cricket Wickets. The wicket takers are in the news at present. How good is this Rabada from South Africa? Quickest ever to 150 Test wickets. The legend of Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath, is 40 years of age and has hit 418 Test wickets. He is an unlikely star with a record better than most Test bowlers. South Africa all out for 126 and 73! Awful.

MS Dohni is looking like the grey ghost these days. He can still keep up to the stumps like no other man however. He is the finisher!

Great to see Fakhar win the Man of the Series for Pakistan v Australia. He is from a long line of Fakhars.

2. Canberra. How cold is it playing in Canberra in anything at this time of year? It is officially the coldest place on earth. North Queensland are not well placed travelling there for NRL. You don’t need ice when there is an injury, just stand over there.

3. NRL. Cameron Smith’s playing record of games in the NRL will never be beaten. Regardless of whose wife does not like him, he is superb. Fit and resilient. Has barely shown an injury in fifteen years! How strong do Souths look? Nine in a row is impressive.

How Slater got that Man of the Series award for Origin was staggering. Why does Laurie Daley make so many poor calls - or get surrounded by poor calls? Think of his Origin selection policies last year... this one now... He complicates the uncomplicated. A woeful hometown decision. Who puts two Queenslanders on the panel? Bias is an awful flaw.

4. Wimbledon. Nadal and Djokovic staged a belting semi final at Wimbledon. The comeback from Djokovic has been incredible. His record in Grand Slams is incredible too. The fitness of he and Serena (who had a baby ten months ago) is amazing. These are some of the greatest athletes ever.

Kevin Anderson has no chance. Djokovic has 12 Grand Slams and won three in 2011 and three in 2015. He will have 13 by tomorrow for mine. He has a rich and successful pedigree. His victory v Nadal was simply outstanding. Nadal has faced some exceptional players when losing in Grand Slams. John Isner is a sleeper with a huge serve for future tournaments. He could surprise at the US Open.

What about Channel 7 and showing Alice in Wonderland rather than Nadal v Djokovic...? Hopeless inflexible programming from a network who should never be trusted. Their involvement in cricket is a worry. Their Olympics efforts have been woeful too.

5. Soccer World Cup. Croatia v France. Not the glamour countries, but who cares? The tournament has been very strong. Belgium take third spot, but England were not disgraced. They should have got the better of Croatia but couldn't do the job. Qatar getting the next one. Corruption is always hard to justify... especially if you are FIFA.

6. Waratahs. A 21-3 deficit after twenty minutes. How bad are they some weeks? A terrible start. Binning blokes for giving ‘cynical’ penalties away is yet another curious referee stance/ decision in that code.

7. AFL upsets. Brisbane have picked up in recent weeks...a victory v Hawthorn when all seemed lost is impressive. Great win by GWS v Richmond. GWS tried very hard to lose under pressure once again. They get nervous! Richmond are a mile in front on a good day.

The Swans bounced back with a great win v North Melbourne. Buddy's 900th goal was pretty special. He may just beat quite a few yet and get over 1000. Worth every cent.