The Wrap - Chunder Riot at 15

1. Australian Batting. We are in trouble longer term with a complete dearth of talent in the ranks in the longer formats of the game. Where are the younger fellows and it is time to really examine the pipeline of younger Australian cricketers now. Who were the last U/19 Australian players to excel at the national level?

We have a despairing Ashes series ahead. Our bowling will be fine, but the batting... ouch. 

Warner is fading (still 24 Test tons equalling Viv and Greg Chappell at 45; the third most IPL runs ever; the second most ODI tons ever for Australia), but who is coming through? Marcus Harris? Matt Renshaw? Cameron Bancroft? Please. We need Warner firing. Clear the mind and fire. Pukovski? 

2. Test v South Africa. They could absolutely roll us with their pace attack, but they have no batting either. Rabada is all class... 259 wickets in not many tests at 21. Awesome.

Travis Head is all class and was easily the MOTM. Pat Cummins is getting good at bowling himself when a hint of a wicket might be there...typical bowling captain. Not a good look hunting down five fors and then being all powerful shuffling off coaches at the same time.

Interested to see Aaron Finch in the Renegades T20 team again... he loves the game, but does the game love him now?

3. T20 - Sydney Chunder. Just appalling to be rolled for 15 in seven overs. They should all be read the riot act. That is how you kill a franchise. Bottom line: awful, awful, awful. Daniel Sams is rated highly by many, but he is so inconsistent. 

4. Croatian Football. In the last two World Cups they have cleaned up with some red hot results.... 1998 (third), 2018 (second) and in 2022 (third). Pretty impressive no matter what way you look at it.

5. B-League Football. What a complete disgrace that effort by Melbourne Victory fans was against Melbourne City. Memories of the 1985 Sydney Olympic v Sydney City when blokes chased the goalie and were whacking each other with corner posts and parts of the goalposts. Disgusting and no place for it in the game. Football administrators will be tested. Vacant stadiums will be the first step. 

Incredible decline going from the heights of a final 16 World Cup finish to that. The game has gone back to the sewer again.

6. Eddie Jones to coach an NRL side... Gold Coast? Newcastle?

7. World Cup Final - Argentina v France tonight. One for the keen to get up and watch. They tell me Castle Hill RSL is like AAMI Park with flares, etc and roaring crowds - even at 2.00am!

The Wrap - Abrar-cadabra Morrocan Lamb

1. Windies Woeful. The fabulous Australian record at pink Test matches continues in Adelaide with a dominant display. The West Indies are abysmal. Funny how the last time they were any good was in the early 2000s. They have had their moments, but so much politics and disappointment... truly a schemozzle at times. On the road they are woeful.

2. Marnus Labuschagne is on fire, but poor bowling can help there. Nonetheless he is peeling the tons off with great regularity. Steve Smith getting a duck is like Bradman getting one. Marnus is now scoring at a higher average than Smith, such is his dominance. He would be well in line for the Benson and Hedges Player of the Year car!

The fitness of Hazelwood and Cummins is pretty ordinary. Always fit for T20s and IPL... but not really across tests. Give me a break about the number of overs demanded of them. They need to get better. Scott Boland never complains and is delighted to play a game! So too Neser.

Mike Baird becomes the fourth chairperson of Cricket Australia in four years. They truly have no idea and the whole Dave Warner captaincy issue is a disgrace. 

3. World Cup Soccer. Morocco have done amazingly well. Not a lot known about the country other than its Moroccan lamb and its rugs, but its soccer team have been extraordinary...beating Canada, Belgium and a draw with Croatia in the group stage...then Spain and Portugal. Not bad for an African nation who sets a new standard now! Ronaldo starting on the bench...um?

England were humiliated in a strange way, but the losing teams love to cruel the referees. Harry Kane's 83rd minute penalty kick was a shocker. Surely coach Gareth Southgate doesn't get cut because of this. France warm as favourites now playing the Morrocans, but Argentina will have something to say about that, but they have struggled over Australia then against the Netherlands.  

What a festival of talent regardless! Really enjoying the English commentators - magic voices.

The Moroccan team boast many players in the Spanish, Italian and other European leagues...and a handful in the EPL. Croatia are also a sneaky chance and play tough football that is hard to crack!

4. Pakistan. Love the name of their leg spinner who has picked up ten wickets on debut: Abrar...(cadabra). England have batted well there and will be hard to beat with 350 runs ahead. Pakistan at home are a force however. 

5. BBL. Coming soon, but I am not seeing any great change to the usual cast of players each year. This comp needs more cash and more stars to attract ratings. 

6. Women's Boxing. Brutal win by Ebanie Bridges who sought revenge for some petty comments. She is tough and uncompromising. Incredible admiration for any boxer. 

7. NFL. Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys, Bengals, Eagles and Vikings look the most dominant, but these teams do not always win the Super Bowl. Often it is the one who can remain injury free in this post Christmas stretch as the weather gets colder.

8. Dylan Brown. Could be some discipline issues behind the scenes making the club nervous about a long term deal. The toilet issue from a couple of years ago was seen as a 'privacy breach'... not a discipline issue. 

The Wrap - Socceroodimentals

1. Socceroos. Graham Arnold and his team of relative unknowns have done an exceptional job. Beating Tunisia and Denmark is substantial. It will be interesting to see the next FIFA world rankings.

A 2-1 loss to Argentina - with the hint of a possible equaliser late - was a top result really. He is definitely the best coach in Australia and his line about critics wearing 3XL tracksuits... hard to argue.

It would be great to see our national soccer team become the main national focus. Everyone loves that sport at the highest level...and when you are winning. Cricket is on the slide. AFL has no international dimension (despite releasing their draw on the morning of the Socceroos match!)

2. Australian Test Cricket. I like the look of young Chanderpaul. He is likely to get a lot of test runs. A little unconventional and different, but an eye like a dead fish. His old man Shiv scored 11,867 runs across 164 Tests at 51.37. That will be hard to beat! Shiv has the eighth best ever batting record in test cricket.

Meanwhile Marnus gets his 9th Test ton, equalling the great Graeme Wood and one shy of Bob Simpson (yes, for all the legend, he only scored 10 Test tons, but three double hundreds). It must be said that Greg Chappell was the one who identified Marnus' talent. Rare gold. 

Steve Smith notched another double century (4) and has a record that is the second best Test average ever (61.62) ...better than Sobers as well (57.78). He is a freak. Adam Voges' Test average doesn't count.

Interestingly Bradman hit 12 Test cricket double tons, Ponting 6 and now Steve Smith 4.

Nathan Lyon has also quietly made his way into the top ten Test wicket takers of all time as well, now coming eighth of all time (446). He needs to pass 519 (Courtney Walsh) next. A super talent really. Resilient.

3. England - Cricket. Hitting 500 runs in a day of test cricket v Pakistan is amazing. Brendon McCullum has ignited a new standard in that team. They will be hard to beat in England in the Ashes. With Joffra Archer, Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Stone, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton... that's enough to crush most sides. 

However Pakistan at home know how to bat too. They are never out of it there.

Conversely, we have little batting prowess and Shield cricket batting stocks has never been so poor. The one name that keeps appearing scoring one is none other than the singlet himself - Cameron Bancroft. Surely not.

4. Shield Sacking. Not sure how many noticed the quiet sacking of Phil Jacques who has presided over a complete shipwreck at NSW cricket this season. Gone and replaced by the great cricket coach, Greg Shipperd. NSW need new blood and a few sackings of players to follow suit. Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques are two to start with now. An horrific loss to Victoria on the weekend.

5. Parramatta. Mitchell Moses is not worth $1.4 million per season and will go. Dylan Brown needs to be signed up for a long time. The question on everyone's lips is how does it get to this? Useless administrators. Reports that Parramatta could lose both players... At least Jake Arthur and Shaun Lane are signed. The young centre Penisini needs to be signed next... or not by those lumbering clowns at Parramatta.

6. NFL. new England Patriots are terrible this year. Belichik in moves to bring Tom Brady back there? Surely not.

7. Marathon. Interesting to see Aussie Brett Robinson broke Deek's incredible 1986 Australian marathon record of 2:07:51 in 2:07:31 in Japan. A 36 year old record! Could be an omen for Parramatta who last won the comp in 1986, if they have any decent players left.

8. Australian Open. Adam Scott...ouch.