The Wrap - Consistency Matters

1. Champions Trophy Cricket. India are a crack, consistent ODI team regardless of where they play their games. They will beat a gallant New Zealand and would beat any ODI team in any country anytime basically. Kohli has such a great ODO record in 302 games with 51 tons and averaging 58.11 - the best ever. The great Tendulkar hit 49 ODI tons and averaged 44.83.

Michael Bevan was our best bat, averaging 53.58 in 232 games. Viv Richards averaged 47 in 187 games (11 tons).

It is interesting looking at other ODI records: Dave Warner - (22 tons) 161 games at 45.30; Dean Jones - 164 games at 44.61; Michael Clarke 245 games at 44.58; Jacques Kallis 328 games at 44.36; Steve Smith 170 games at 43.28 and Ricky Ponting (30 tons) 375 games at 42.03. The great Adam Voges only played 31 games and averaged 45.73, better than all of these. 

2. NRL. Only Round 1 but not sure if we saw any team that will trouble the usual top tier of teams this weekend. Parramatta and the Roosters gave up 50 points, often the mark of whether you will play semi final football. Parramatta were diabolical in the first half.

• Definite Top 8 teams: Panthers, Sharks, Broncos, Bulldogs, Melbourne, Manly.
• The "inbetweeners": Raiders, Knights, Dragons, Souths, North Queensland.

We definitely saw teams that will struggle to make the eight: Parramatta, Roosters, Warriors, Tigers, Dolphins, Gold Coast (even with the first round bye). 

3. AFL. Unfortunately, the Swans look like a very average team this year. They lack size and Amarty is not the answer fitness wise. Hawthorn will be tough to beat generally. What a schemozzle of an opening round for the AFL. Cyclone Alfred messed things up, but Plan B?

4. Super Rugby. Rarefied air to see the New Zealand teams languishing (at least at this stage of the season). Waratahs stringing a few wins together is unusual! Coach McKellar sounds tough with three wins in a row! The failure of the Melbourne Rebels is helping all franchises. Does such sporting failure sit easily in Melbourne?

5. EPL. Put the glasses down... Liverpool will run away with it and win. If they don't there will need to be a Royal Commission. So far in front of Arsenal - and then the surprise packets: Nottingham are in third place now. What a year they have had!

6. NBL. Melbourne United are serving it up to the minor premiers, the Illawarra Hawks, winning Game 1 from a long way back. Impressive resolve. They may be hard to toss now.

7. A League. The longest season in history. Auckland look to have a sizeable enough break to finish in first place now. Plenty of chasers. The Melbourne teams always seem to aim up...as do the Sydney teams now that the Wanderers are storming home.

8. Six Nations Rugby. Great to see France topple the dominant Irish team and head straight to the top of the standings there. Italy and Wales continue their almost annual struggles of late.

9. PGA - Arnold Palmer Invitational. Jason Day in contention. He started his career as one of the most consistent players but still has wins in his kit bag.