Wrap - Perry Perry Hittin'

1. Ellyse Perry. Stunning performance. Rarely misses out with bat or ball. She is a superstar and may end her career with a better bowling average than any male - and a better Test batting average than the great Adam Voges, but shorter than Don Bradman's 99.94.


2. World Cup Final. Jofra Archer was impressive but Ben Stokes can change a game like no other. He will dine out on Nathan Lyon and a few of our other players in the Ashes. He will be the difference, like Botham and Flintoff before him.


I cannot believe that there is talk of Mitchell Marsh joining the Ashes squad. A joke. He is no Stokes. The team will come under enough scrutiny without his brand of mediocrity. We all know Langer loves the Marsh family and tries to get them in the team at every turn. Trent Copeland is a better all rounder. A big Australia v Australia A game this week coming, but not too many spots up for grabs.


Will Tim Paine be the first captain sacked since Kim Hughes? If he doesn't score runs, we will hear the calls for axings! Surely Smith returns as skipper in time. Keen for the young opener Cameron Bancroft to miss out on selection. He has much to learn still.


Likely First Test Ashes Team:
Dave Warner
Marcus Harris
Usman Khawaja
Steve Smith
Travis Head
Kurtis Patterson/ Matthew Wade/ Marnus Labaschagne/ Will Pucovski
Tim Paine
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
James Pattinson/ Josh Hazelwood
Nathan Lyon




2. Gold Coast Suns. What a disgrace! The coach, Stu Dew should know better than to blame the opposition coaches box for their woes. Coach better and all changes for you. Take ownership of the performance of the terrible roster. On the other hand Paul McGregor believes his team can win the comp. A dead set optimist!


3. Gold Coast Titans. They axe their coach and then get the Storm the next week with a whole heap of guys rested (Munster, Kafusi, Addo Carr, Chambers, Welch). Couldn't help but notice that Ashley Taylor has suddenly come good now that Garth Brennan has gone. Interesting. Meninga needs to show some stronger leadership. I get the feeling he has not excelled either in the tricky circumstances. A test for a would be immortal of the game. Can he rescue this dismal lot?


4. British Open Golf. Rory at his home course, Tiger and Jason Day all perish before the cut and get a chance to have a good lie down to think about things. How good is Brooks Koepka? Amazing strength and consistency in majors. Four Major wins and two Runners Up. As many majors (4) as Ernie Els, Ray Floyd, Rory McIlroy and the classic...Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris from the 1860s! However it is Lowry's to lose with a seven shot lead heading into the final round. Local knowledge! An 8 under 63 is a clever round in any Major!


5. Wallabies. What has gone wrong with the game? Our team faced a second string Springbox team and lost. Cheika said he would throw it all away if he does not win the World Cup. Newsflash... keep looking for jobs! The number of Polynesians in the national team is incredible. There seems to be a complete over reliance on these boys. Hopefully they do not all do a Fifita and all bail out to a Pacific Nations team. We need anyone who still likes the game. Sad really after the greatness of the Campese-Ella-Eales-Gregan era.


6. NRL. Something needs to be done in the game re penalties by the defensive team in the red zone. Lying on players and the wrestle needs to be met with fire. A five minute sin bin - sent to a cubicle at the end of the ground behind the deadline is necessary. A penalty in the last five minutes or in extra time should be something more dramatic. Refs need to be more vigilant with time on and off too. The game meanders at times and then there is an almighty desire for precision in the last five minutes.


7. AFL. Swans v Freo. Cracking game between the cellar dwellers. Tight one point losses cost you semi final positions. The Swans know about this in 2019! They had plenty of chances. GWS are up and down. If they can get a home semi they would be a chance. They smash Collingwood but will fall in a heap next week. If the Richmond Tigers get a finals game or two on the MCG they will win it! My calls for a free kick from where the ball is kicked out on the full is getting louder with the intentional stuff creeping in - especially when scores are tight.


7. Netball World Cup. A cracking performance, but do minnows just get in the way? Lots of Aussie wins... 88-24 vs Northern Ireland, 73-37 vs Zimbabwe, 99-24 vs Sri Lanka, 91-22 vs Barbados, 74-24 vs Malawi, 50-49 vs New Zealand. Their semi final v South Africa was harder at 55-53. The GF and championship awaits!