Wrap - The Man Machine

1. Novak Djokovic is a supreme player. He will certainly take his Australian Open record to 7-0 in finals. He has come off two successive major victories - a Wimbledon and US Open major victory - and sits on 15 Grand Slams (after tonight) above Sampras. Three in a row too! If he didn't go through his injuries in 2016-17, he would be up there near Federer. He is an absolute machine.


His ground strokes are precision plus. His mental strength is to behold. Amazing. To smash Nadal in the first and second set so well was incredible. His return of serve is phenomenal and the depth of his ground strokes exerts so much pressure on an opponent - even one as good as Nadal. These blokes are a mile in front of the others.  The Rafa airswing was extremely rare, but he was ambushed badly by a super aggressive Djokovic. Frazzled!

 

Tomic and Kygrios? Could they win a point?

 

At the time of writing this, a Nadal win would be a miracle. Hoping I have not gone off early, but Djokovic is in complete command.

 

Interesting to see how many losses in Grand Slam finals each of the three kings has had in Grand Slam finals, including tonight:

 

• Federer - 20 wins, 10 losses (30 GS Finals total)
• Nadal - 17 wins, 8 losses (25 GS Finals total)
• Djokovic - 15 wins, 9 losses (24 GS Finals total)

 

2. Naomi Osaka in the Women's Australian Open Tennis Final was awkward when under pressure. She is young with much to learn, but she could dominate for some time really. Athletic and fitter than the rest! Needs to manage her body language.

 

3. Test Cricket - Australia. Great win by Australia v Sri Lanka, but have Sri Lanka been this bad since the days of Roy Dias, Ranjan Madagualle and the Ratanayake brothers, Rumesh and Ravi, along with Sidath Wettimuny and Asoka de Silva? We bowled well, but our batting was only so so. Manus is not going to win Tests for you sadly... I like Head but he has bad lapses in concentration when it counts most. Really liked the slip cordon. Carpet Burns was exceptional. Patterson too. However, Khawaja cannot be a protected species. I don't think he engages enough, yet sheer talent says he should be there. Really looking forward to seeing Stoinis edge into the team on occasion. They look better without the Marsh brothers. It helps when the opposition are ten times worse.

 

Mitchell Starc needs to improve. He is too loose with the new ball. He needs to use the short ball more often! He has pace. Cummins superb. Hopefully he can stay fit before the Ashes.

 

4. Test Cricket - England. England's loss to the West Indies was awful. Not enough top batsmen, especially without Cook. Joe Root's form in the BBL was horrible and is not much better here. The partnership by Holder and their keeper, Dowrich, was outstanding.

 

5. Socceroos. How terrible was that back pass to gift the Saudis the win? Unforgiveable at that level really. Graham Arnold not impressed at all and fair enough. That sort of disgraceful play makes it hard to win! An A-League play. Is the white Saudi dress the only colour available?

 

6. BBL. It is far too long a comp this year, but still entertaining. Not sure how major an inroad the swap of sports (Channel 9 with Tennis...Channel 7 with cricket) has made to the ratings.

 

7. ICC Penalty. How about Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistani skipper, and his racial abuse of a black South African player? Disgraceful. The ICC brought out their biggest and longest feather and banned him for four games. Can you imagine what Cricket Australia would have done? Years...

 

8. WBBL. An exciting finish, but they could rival the blokes for entertainment soon. No more 8.30am starts!

 

9. NRL. How extraordinary that a player defends himself so publicly about rumours and innuendo? Blake Ferguson has done just that: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/eels/it-wasnt-a-drug-overdose-with-pictures-proving-parramatta-recruit-blake-ferguson-did-not-fake-foot-injury/news-story/5fc53010ab6f2a0e3755482e4fd1466b

 

However, it raises big concerns about his mental state and personal happiness. Will he play a game for Parramatta?


10. SuperBowl LIII. The effort of Tom Brady v the Kansas City Chiefs was incredible. What a stunning game. His composure under pressure is immense. There is nothing stopping him from yet another SuperBowl. To get them into their third straight SuperBowl, Bill Belichick has also been amazing. Perhaps a better coach than Vince Lombardi, the walking quote?

 

Wrap - These Three Kings

1. Bernard Tomic and his dad v Hewitt. Not sure why Lleyton Hewitt feels he even has to talk about Tomic. He needs to invest in media training. It was unnecessary and silly to front the media about a player who means so little to every Australian - and be so poorly prepared. Poor management. Don't you know Tomic is worth 10 million? He needs to be ignored and make it back into the top 200 players before he is even discussed. As for his father's legal threats...please...


2. Federer (20), Nadal (17) and Djokovic (14). They could almost call the whole show off and fast forward to the final few days next weekend with these three kings. Those numbers of Grand Slams - 20, 17, 14...They are the most awesome players that we have ever seen... and that includes McEnroe, Connors, Borg, Lendl, Agassi, Wilander, Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Evert, Navratalova, Hingis, Sharapova, Seles.... (maybe Graf aside). Djokovic has won the last two Grand Slams (Wimbledon and US), Nadal won the French and Federer last year's Australian Open. Djokovic (14) is equal with Sampras (14). The only players above that are these other two - Federer and Nadal.


3. Serena Williams. Much maligned and a big mouth often, however how talented? She looks a little unfit this year however...needs to drop some pounds but her power has increased. Her showdown with Simona Halep will be tough, but if she beats Halep she may just get her next Grand Slam and be the equal greatest Grand Slam winner of all time. At present she has 23. Margaret Court has 24.


Ash Barty is looking strong. She remains composed and calm and is into the final 8. A great effort...and now in the top ten of world tennis. She is a really hard worker too. Great reward.




4. EPL - Liverpool. They are on fire and only need Man City to slip up and they will skip clear. A fair few weeks to go as yet however with the comp finishing in May. ManU continue to win as well and are within striking distance of the Champions League top four finish. Arsenal and ManU are only four points behind Chelsea now. A stunning result really after the mess of the great moron, Mourinho.


5. Australian XI Game v Sri Lanka. Kurtis Patterson is an unusual case. He actually averages over 40, 6 tons, hs of 157...and then back to back tons v Sri Lanka this weekend! He is scoring runs, but evades the selectors! That can't hurt your chances of joining the Ashes tour. Renshaw was appalling - soft even. 'Carpet' Burns is loose and Labuschagne earnest, but limited. Pucovski looks good... maybe we have the seeds of talent right there with Patterson. Hope springs eternal. Maybe throw in a bloke called Stoinis and see how England like that.... he is a risk, but so much better than Mitchell Marsh.


6. ODIs - Australia. Finch looks cooked, but stubborn Langer keeps him there and lets D'Arcy Short wither. Khawaja is not a ODI player. Carey better start making runs too or he will be banished. The bowling of Siddle was awful. How can he even be on the radar? Hopeless. We also need a leggie who spins the ball - not Zampa. Tremain continues to be ignored when he is our most prolific wicket taker. Honestly...


7. NRL. Big Pappi Scandal... on it goes. Paul Carter was pointed at. Kane Evans is being pointed at. Parramatta also have to manage Blake Ferguson whose thirst for cash is rising. The NRL also seems incapable of managing anything. Their clubs need to be really placed under pressure with penalties for this nonsense. Not cash...points. This ultimately becomes a cash penalty too. Hearing that Shane Flanagan will never step back near Cronulla either. They are over his autocratic ways. Brad Arthur will do well to have his contract renewed too. His roster is hopeless. They are firm spoon winners.


8. Women's BBL. Great article in the Saturday Sydney paper re Elyse Perry. A number of the Wrap know her dad Mark 'Pez' Perry well, who was a Maths teacher back in the day. Have a read at: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/why-elite-perry-is-destroying-bowling-attacks-and-her-father-s-shins-20190118-p50s85.html She was player of the match in Saturday's BBL semi final as well. Amazing end with a great Sixers save on the boundary, a superb run out and a powerful six to win the game in the super over.

Wrap - Short Changed

1. NRL. What a terrible image this sport has and it is getting worse under Greenberg. There will come a day when no one with brains wants to play it. Hefty suspensions need to be in place for discrediting the game. A sex tape or two for Dylan Napa this week, an assault charge on Moga at Newcastle... on it goes. News today of yet another piece of idiocy from Corey Norman. Good luck to the Dragons who axed Dugan and inherited this bloke.


2. ODI Cricket. Hard to believe Australia could possibly win the series in Adelaide tomorrow. We lack so much, but did well in Sydney. Nice to see a few early wickets, but that man Dohni is still the gun ODI bat worldwide at his ripe old age. Kohli rarely fails twice, but I was surprised to see him reveal in an interview that he had played a lot of cricket this year and would retire and not play again. Intriguing. Maybe he is more vulnerable now that usually. He has become more personable on this trip and has rescued his image in Australia quite nicely.


3. Big Bash League. Some of these BBL umpires are on something cheap. Seven ball overs, silly no ball calls, tons denied because some goose thinks there are wood flies at the MCG and awards four leg byes. Why can't these be reviewed and altered post innings - like contested boundaries? Umpires with helmets are even worse. Matthew Wade reckons they have earmuffs on and he is probably half right. A robotic artificial umpire is surely not far away.


D'Arcy Short is a star. He is the best striker of a cricket ball in Australia since Adam Gilchrist. This Riley Meredith is a gun as well. Great pace, like Jhye Richardson. We need attacking geniuses like Short in the national set up. He needs to produce more consistently at that level however.


4. EPL. The ManU juggernaut continues under their new coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Six from six. They are rocketing up the ladder reaching Arsenal (41 points) with Chelsea (47 points) now in their sights.


5. Andy Murray. Are we missing something here? A teary press conference (very modern worldwide sporting trend at present) and yet he plays on in the tournament. It will be really difficult for Andy to manage his millions and the sympathy of everyone travels with him. He has always lacked perspective for mine. Injuries happen. It is simple really...get them healed and rise up - or move on and count your cash.


6. Ashley Barty is looking strong. She is very composed - nerve less. Quite the artist when playing. She is powerful but highly clear mentally. With Alex De Minaur, we are in a better space in Australian tennis than we have seen for a few years. The sooner Tomic and Kygrios disappear the better. We are over the antics, attitude and sob stories.


7. Australian Open. Rafa Nadal looks sharp. You need seven wins to take out a Grand Slam title. He is underway, but so too is Federer. It is interesting to read of the ATP breakaway tour plans (like Super League!). Djokovic is the mastermind there. Federer will be there when it matters as well.


8. NFL. As we head to the divisional playoffs, the Los Angeles Rams v New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots v the Kansas City Chiefs match ups will be tantalising. The hot favourites for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta on 3 February 2019 will be the Chiefs v Saints. However the mastery of Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick at the Patriots is never to be underestimated. They are an awesome duo and will be hatching a plan. They enjoy a stunning record of finals excellence. Love how the SuperBowl moves around the country. This would be a great model for all codes in time across Australia.

Wrap - We're Not Gonna Cop It...Anymore

1. The Selectors - Greg Chappell. Greg was a gifted cricketer averaging over 50 when it was unheard of ever being regularly accomplished. A talent in the corporate world and in the 'Bug Snapple' cricket hat range. However one of Greg's complete disasters is in the area of cricket administration. It is some sort of record:

• Stints at South Australia as coach without so much as a Pura Cup/ McDonalds Cup reflection in the trophy cabinet...
• A national selector 1982-88...
• In the early 2005-7, disaster in upsetting the whole of Indian cricket and being panned by every player of note in that team. Dumped.
• Being barred from the Australian dressing room by its players (as national selector in 2010-2011 - and being heavily criticised in the 2011 Argus Review for his meddling and deceptive conduct.
• By 2016-2018, he is back reappointed to the National Selectors table. How?

He seems to enjoy some sort of power over those at Cricket Australia, but the same card is played each time. Pick the unusual and untried from left field, back in the underdog and to hell with form and records. Look at some of the selections in recent times: Sam Heazlett, Hilton Cartwright, John Holland, Marnus Labachagne, Callam Ferguson, Joe Mennie, Nic Maddinson. All raging successes. Then Paine as skipper...

Trevor Hohns is no better. He needs to go. Too old and out of touch. He should catch the same cruise as John Inverarity, who at least explained his decisions in his day.


More annoying than a Clive Palmer advertisement.


2. ODI Team. That ODI Team is a disgrace as well. No D'Arcy Short or Chris Lynn and hanging with Zampa, Michell Marsh, Siddle is why we have lost 11/13 most recently.


3. Marshmallow. Had to laugh at the Justin Langer release of the Australian Cricket team before the Sydney Test:

Geoff Marsh
Shaun Marsh
Mrs Marsh (think blue ink chalk)
Graham Marsh
Benji Marshall
PJ Marsh
Mitchell Marsh
Rod Marsh
Melissa Marsh
Dan Marsh
Paul Marsh
Nathan Hindmarsh


4. The Australian Cricket Team. Pathetic bowling lines and direction - and a humiliating result of 600+. They need to get Craig McDermott back in the bowling coaching ranks. We were at our best with him. He is a bit ruthless on bowlers as well. Saker can fade away... Why we need Graeme Hick as a batting coach I'd never know. What about Matt Hayden who has a great combo with Langer? He also mastered Indian conditions and worked hard. Get him out of the cookbooks and into the nets. Overseas coaches do not work. Repeat...


Nathan Lyon is a cantankerous fool sometimes. Not referring his dismissal in the first innings was arrogant.


The sooner Ricky Ponting gets the Australian cricket coaching reins the better.

5. BBL. What a test of the marriage! Every night. The best advice...Run off your kids here.. blame them and lap it up. Team of the Tournament thus far:

Jos Butler (Thunder)

D'Arcy Short (Hurricanes)

Matt Wade (Hurricanes)

Jordan Silk (Sixers)

Glenn Maxwell (Stars)

Marcus Stoinis (Stars)

Ashton Turner (Scorchers)

Daniel Sams (Thunder)

Tom Curran (Sixers)

Rashid Khan (Strikers)

Nathan Coulter-Nile (Scorchers)

Jhye Richardson (Scorchers)

6. WBBL. Elyse Perry is now the record holder of most runs in a WBBL season. Prolific. What a star she is!

7. Hopman Cup. A mix between hit and giggle and tennis promotion, but no matter, Federer will win. He is extraordinary. The Hopman Cup seems doomed. To be honest, it has probably lasted longer than it ever should.

8. Heart Conquered is some sort of horse. Keep an eye on this nag. It is setting course records with its speed.

9. NFL - New England Patriots. Had a mixed regular season and did well to reach the longest consecutive NFL playoff appearance streak (10 seasons). Some sort of effort that is... You have to love the coach, Bill Belichick and his mantra: "Do your job!". A life mantra.