Wrap - ODI Shellacking

1. Lyon. Gee you would be disappointed if you were Nathan Lyon. Adam Zampa bowled a nice wrong ‘un, tonight but he is too predictable. Against Lyon’s 290 Test wickets, it is hard to imagine how Zampa gets the nod. The generational bowling of Australia in the ODI format is of serious concern. Cummins has been very short. At 150 mph he can get away with it. Today v Jos Butler, he did not.

The Australian ODI need for a class spinner has never been stronger. To bowl Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh...same old, same old. Memo to selectors: Travis Head is not the spinning answer. He is flat out getting runs, which should be his main gig. Head has no form this season in all forms. The Poms were simply too good! They are aggressive and powerful and bat deep.

2. ODI. Our key ODI weaknesses are four fold: (i) no class spinner (ii) an inconsistent middle order (iii) lack of a strike power wicketkeeper with the bat (Carey for Paine should occur) (iv) our fielding is not slick enough around the park...sadly Finch, Kawaja (not selected because of this), Hazelwood...not crisp enough. Our fielding was better tonight but basically lacks polish and speed across the park. Oh for the days of Symonds, Ponting, Blewett, a couple of Waughs and Bevan.... 

By contrast, England were fast, agile and nimble. Cameron White's dropped catch was appalling at a key time. Did he drop the series - and himself simultaneously? (Mind you the BBL catching this season has been pretty poor too). Our lack a power striker in the middle order - maybe pride and ego may allow Glen Maxwell to come back - and strengthen our fielding! So much unfairly rides on Steve Smith. Aaron Finch has batted magnificently - but so has England who were simply much better than us. 5-0 beckons!

3. Gotta love the BBL (a summer divorce accelerator). The commentary team that does not rotate at all over the match...the fans enjoy it and actually learn a lot more. Ponting, Gilly, Fleming are the pick of them. A seriously new approach at Channel 9 is required. When they started they were revolutionary in World Series cricket. Now they are tired. Do you lose much getting rid of Healy, Nicholas, Clarke, Chappelli? Just keep Warne, Slater, Taylor and Bull...!

2. Tennis I. Always love the mock shock when Australians are "bundled out" of the Australian Open. It is almost as though we should be dominating all draws because it is in our country. When you look at it the Round of 128 (first round) - 64 (second round) - 32 (third round) - 16 (fourth round) - 8 (quarter finals) - 4 (semi finals) - 2 (final), represents levels in the world which are well beyond their world rankings. They are actually over achieving.

3. Tennis II. Nadal and Federer look like they are on the same collision course for a Grand Slam final. How good are they both? Both are supreme athletes. Kgyrios played extremely well and fought all the way. Losing three tie breaker sets to the third best in the world is no disgrace.  A top 8 in the world (quarter finals) would have been a superb result for the first Slam of the year.

4. Man Mundine v Jeff Horn. Nothing surprises, but the Man is a clown. He has had his day and needs to concentrate on his NRL comeback.

5. Football/ Soccer. How long does it take for a Socceroo coach to be announced? How hard is it? Graham Arnold is our best domestic coach in all domestic sport, maybe outside Justin Langer. Forget about Edward von Dickens and the rest.

6. Lleyton Hewitt into the quarter finals of the doubles....amazing effort with Sam Groth. Money for jam!

Wrap - New and Old English Patriots

1. Ashes. A crushing Ashes win in the end against an English team who really under performed. Our bowling was very good and reminds us all of some great eras of Australian bowling when we dominated. However, it is unbelieveable that some dim wit at the SCG/ Cricket Australia permitted that ridiculous four finger backdrop to be used at the final presentation. Just watch that the English Cricket Board don't want to use the back of it in 2019.

2. ODI Cricket v England. Our ODI form is a concern. We seem to have fallen behind the world badly in recent times. The absence of a class spinner is one key reason. Adam Zampa seems a great young kid, but he simply does not take wickets at this level. Nor did many others, but beyond this game, it is a big problem. A bloke by the name of Nathan Lyon apparently goes alright. Some of the BBL leg spinners should feature. Another bloke who seems to have been wiped who takes wickets is Fahad Ahmed. He spins the ball more than most others. Pace on a good drop in MCG wicket (any complaints that there were too many runs scored?) seems unlikely to do the job.

What an innings by Jason Roy? High class against a strong attack. The Sydney Sixes will be wondering where this was for them.

3. India v South Africa. How good are Indian cricket fans to their players worldwide? It does not matter where, those Indian flags and their patience/ enthusiasm is a big reason why they lift and perform. The great Virat Kohli is amongst the runs in South Africa (85no) again. A super talent. Remember he averages over 50 in all three forms of the game.

4. Keep an eye on this South African cricket opening batsman - Aiden Markram. He has been a revelation in recent series. It will be a test to see how he aims up outside of South Africa, but he plays extremely well on their decks.

5. Summer of Tennis. What a great week of tennis in Sydney for the Australians. Rather than be bored by stories about Bernard Tomic's ills, the presence of Ashley Barty in the final, 'Dasher' and Alex de Minaur in the men's was a far more inspirational story. It is hard to get past the relative absence of busy local tennis courts and numerous tennis players in junior sport. The world has shifted in Australian sport and these are rare folk.

6. Liverpool. This Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, is an animated, honest and talented bloke. His team's win v Man City to break their unbeaten run was outstanding. His colourful language in the post game interview was also quite strange but inoffensive. Arsenal losing to Bournemouth continues their extremely disappointing season. Wengner seems to outlast all of this however. His selection of total youth in the team did not seem to work.

7.  The New England Patriots are into the AFC final v the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers/ Jacksonville Jaguars game today. Their QB Tom Brady is exceptional. He has now played his 11th career postseason game, beating the great Joe Montana. This is the seventh successive AFC championship game for the Patriots. What an era and what a coach in Bill Belichick. Belichick has led the Patriots to 14 AFC East division titles and 11 appearances in the AFC Championship Game. He has coached the Patriots to seven Super Bowl appearances. His teams have won five Super Bowls. Legend.

Wrap - Wickets and Pickets

1. The Australian cricket team have really dominated this summer, outside of a few sessions and a day or two at Melbourne. The batting of Smith has been awesome. Unconventional, but highly effective. Many think Steyn or someone quicker may unpick the style and approach, but he changes it for all bowlers...tough to conquer, with an eye like a dead fish. The spin of Lyon and the pace of the other bowlers - Starc, Cummins and Hazelwood - has also been too consistent and has brought critical results at critical times. 20 plus wickets each is exceptional. Comprehensive. The next series is always the challenge, especially on the road.

2. Best? This rubbish out of control talk about the "best since Bradman" is simultaneously unfair on Smith who would be the first to knock it on the head - and highly disrespectful to Bradman who was 35 runs an innings - an innings - better than the next best. Adam Voges in 20 tests (31 innings) averaged 61.87. Headley (22 tests, 60.83) and Paynter (20 tests, 59.23) also batted about the same number of times as Voges.

Smith in 61 Tests (111 innings) averages 63.75. The media love a story or a fairytale. Bradman was and is invincible in every respect. Get over it and move on. Graham Pollock 23 Tests (41 innings, 60.97) might have also had something to say about this without government endorsed discrimination and segregation apartheid policies between 1948 - 1991.

3. Shaun Marsh's innings at the Sydney Test was simply outstanding. Watching him use his feet on such a difficult turning deck was to witness all his promise and talent in one innings. An incredible effort of style, grace and cunning. Mitchell Marsh as also dominant in a different way. His cut shot close to his body is an exceptional strength. Power. Credit where it is due....or even overdue.

4. The MCG pitch and its criticism is out of line. Atrociously boring, but not the worst deck we have seen worldwide. Plenty are happy to put the boot into the Australian administrators, but clearly there is a lot of unhappiness and change in the curator ranks there. The WACA has been worse...the 1980s MCG pitch was horrible...the SCG has been a joke at times, including a massively boring test or two v India in the early 2000s. The recent poor decks in Pune, Sri Lanka and greentops in NZ have been worse.

5. The NRL Integrity Unit are apparently on holidays and not back for a while. Holidaying at a traditionally extremely busy time. Come to think of it, the NRL boys are being very well behaved in early 2018. Long may it continue as professionalism becomes more engrained.

6. The Cleveland Browns lost their NFL season 0-16 which is a staggeringly bad year, especially after a brighter pre-season. Worst season for some time. The amazing fact is that their coach looks like retaining his gig. Rare loyalty.

7. BBL. How dominant has the leg spinner been in the BBL this year? Boyce, Zampa, Shah, Rashid, Swepson, Hogg, Nair, Ahmed. Awesome talent. The upcoming IPL auction will be interesting. Some of these lads may become overnight millionaires. Zampa in the ODI team, but may need to watch he is on the ball with plenty of other options lurking.

8. Nick Kyrgios on track for a big start to the ATP season with a stunning winning week in Brisbane. Dominant. With the right head space, he could be a world force. Consistency will be his test.

Equally, Federer powers on, even in jest, at the Hopman Cup giggleathon. I noticed Rafa has also rolled into town after his knee injury. He is well positioned to excel again. The world's two best athletes.

Wrap - Jerusalem's New Fullback

1. Ashes victory. Some stunning bowling and aggression which have been the hallmarks of our cricketing success for so long. Short pitched bowling hurts but it cuts both ways. I am still amazed we have players in all forms of the game wearing helmets that expose the key neck arteries (Phillip Hughes). When will this heap of junk ICC mandate things for the safety of all players who put whites on...young or old? I can see disaster repeating itself.

Steve Smith is too strong. Less chat this Test and more focus. I like Tim Paine's contributions too. He has a very solid technique and some real steel. Nevill is a long way from a recall. Smith is not a fan.

2. Elyse Perry - ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year. What a stunning player she is. So composed, calm and strong. An outstanding cricketer under pressure.

3. Sydney FC continue to power on relentlessly. They are well ahead of all other teams with Graham Arnold who looms as the logical replacement for Ange - even if he had a stint back in '06-'07. Poor old Ange is more thin skinned that we all thought. Fancy letting anything Peter Fitzsimons says worry you. With that whining he definitely needed to leave. It didn't take long for the family excuse to fade as cash rolled in!

Hopefully we are spared some lazy international coach. Not sure that we have ever gotten over the Guuus effect. It has been a misery before and since. Rudi Gutendorf, Les Sheinflug, Frank Arok, Eddie Thomson, Terry Venables, Rale Rasic, Pim Verbeek, Han Burger, Holger Osieck....

What a shock that FIFA had two corrupt officials exposed this week. What a disgraceful organisation.

4. Newcastle Jets. A rags to riches tale there which is igniting the city. What with all the Roosters players there too, it might be a successful NRL year as well.

5. The Sydney Kings get a fifth win and I can't help but think that Andrew Gaze is too nice a bloke to be a coach. He panders to the players and appears quite weak in press conferences - although he dropped a few bombs mid game and they came back from the dead! That squad needs a rocket for its inconsistency, failures and its inability to win. 

6. BBL. The Scorchers and the Renegades look the goods to me. Our obsession with all rounders could start with how well Dwayne Bravo bowls - and what about that Afghanistani leg spinner for the Strikers? Top notch. Once again however the lack of brilliant batting is a weakness across the country. Surely Cameron White is one of the best in the world and needs to be in our Australian team. Brad Hodge doesn't miss much either. Super reliable. 

It must be said that the Scorchers' Andrew Tye got a hatrick on the weekend from one of the worst umpiring decision I've seen in the last five years. No review system in the BBL will need to change.

7. EPL - Manchester City - 17 in a row. Awesome. They had the championship in the bag weeks ago. It is now in the trophy cabinet. A disappointment for the premiership - but top 4 and relegation keeps our interest.

8. Jeff Horn. A procession in the end, but hard earned. He just could still surprise on the world stage. The best bout since Jeff Fenech defeated Smaaaartarse Pyakaroon - or Greg 'The Flea' Richardson.

 
9. Jarryd Hayne. The human headline will need to be stood down if they are managing these matters like Brett Stewart's matter some years back. Not a word to the NRL is intriguing. To coin an old phrase, Jarryd may yet be the first to play fullback for Jerusalem - and Hillsong - since Jesus. Maybe too after all there was a genuine reason why the family issues have emerged. Horrible stuff if untrue. Worse if factual.

10. Does the ATP/ WTP Tennis circuit have the shortest off season in all sports? No wonder so many players struggle to remain fit and well all year. Federer is a rare and special exception. More like a test of resilience in the end.

11. NRL Pre-season. I am liking a fit Panthers outfit...the Sharks look strong but are getting old in the forwards. However, if fit, the Cowboys with Jordan McLean are specials for the 2018 NRL premiership.

12. NFL Playoffs. After a rusty start, the New England Patriots look too strong for me as the playoff end of town fast approaches. They will do well to knock over the Buffalo Bills and secure some home ground advantage (no deflate-gate hopefully) in the upcoming playoffs.

The Cleveland Browns may yet secure a full losing season at 0-14 (that with 4 x back to back pre-season victories!). Terrible. Brown crap. Not since the Detroit Lions of 2008 (0-16), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) of 1976 or the Dallas Cowboys (0-11) in their debut season of 1960 has it been this bad.

13. NBL. They may need to turn off the comp and forget about it already...Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State, the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Spurs, Pacers...the same old names of the successful franchises in the modern era are streets ahead already. A problem for that competition.

Wrap - Ashes Car Crash

1. The Poms looked invincible Day One and suddenly they are/ were on the rack, not able to punch home the early advantage that Bairstow and Dawid Malan secured. Steve Smith was hitting the ball so smoothly on Day Two that a century almost looked inevitable from his opening strokes. And so it was...a double century by the end of day three even! And how about Mitchell Marsh? Much and deservedly maligned, but he comes good and punches out a big ton.

No doubt about it though, the Marsh boys also know how to disappoint...

You have to hand it to Steve Smith. He is revered in that team by his peers and everyone he has backed (outside of Nick Madinson and perhaps Callam Ferguson) have produced...Renshaw, Handscomb, Tim Paine, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh (both need to work on their hands however, dropping too many basic ones). Some of these blokes may not have stayed long, but they have produced.

What about Smith's record? Awesome. Unorthodox, but an eye like a dead fish.

It will be interesting to see, if England lose the series early - or in Perth:
i. Will Cook be axed? (I suspect Strauss needs to bite the bullet here for the future).
ii. Will Cook, Anderson and maybe Broad retire at the end of the series? This would leave a big hole in their bowling.

Handscomb is suddenly a long way away from a recall. A cruel game cricket.

When it rains in Perth it is a rare, rare day...England may be in luck.

2. Socceroos. Ange Postocoglou's replacement is slow in coming. Surely Graham Arnold needs the keys to the Datsun 180Y. He is a winner. I note that Tony Popovic just got the Turkish kebab sword from his brand new gig. Finally the WSW won a game too under the unintelligible Gombau.

3. Rugby League. The Roosters have now shed quite a few players, getting rid of three drug involved players - and a host of others - Pearce, Guerra, Watson, et al. Even Gordon went last week. It sounds like a lot of eggs in the Cronk basket - or Crichton! It will be interesting to see if he has the goods in a new gig without a few other superstars. Hoping for no injuries...

A couple of ex-Parramatta players caught as possible crims in a police sting..who would have thought? Lucky the leagues club is equidistant from the Parramatta Supreme Court and Parramatta Jail.

4. NRL Central. When will they do the obvious: hold all money centrally for salaries and pay it themselves when contracts are registered. They give the money out for it to be misused, but I note they have warned clubs that they are now on their own legs. No rescue packages.

And, have all third party contracts transparently published. This may actually bring more money the way of players as more people realise what support their business can give their beloved club. At present it is a circus.

5. B-League Video Ref. This video ref nonsense in the B-league has become a farce as blokes huddle around sideline monitors to make a decision to dismiss players from the field. Surely it should be used just to check on side/ off side and goal line disputes involving a possible goal.

6. NBL. It is hard to believe how popular the NBL basketball is in Australia. For the uneven standard, they do a good job attracting a crowd. The Kings have been horrible under Andrew Gaze and need a talent transplant. Lack of success can ensure a crowd will evaporate.

Wrap - Poms Trainwreck

1. Unsure why this weekend there was a starvation of sport - not even the Sheffield Shield. The women's T20 offered something with some crazy scoring...the B League something...but small morsels by the standard of most weekends.

2. England could't handle our pace attack and they can't handle their drink either. How much fun is Kevin Pietersen having bagging out Andrew Strauss. The plan to keep Stokes handy in NZ is a ridiculous distraction too.  Their coach, Trevor Bayliss better put his foot down soon or his career will vanish. These long gaps between games are not conducive to good behaviour. Anderson has always been a favourite to have a drink thrown at him - or a broken arm. The Stokes stance encourages the idiot  amongst them to think anything is OK.

A crushing loss in Adelaide after getting away on us the night before. Some serious soul searching needed. The pace of the WACA - if it still exists - may be brutal when Cummins steams in!

How Mitchell Marsh even gets his nose in the front door is beyond me. A Greg Chappell/ Steve Smith favourite.

3. Is there a reason why Australia is such an under performing, inconsistent nation with Rugby 7s? One week world beaters. next week being pumped by USA. Or is it just a mickey mouse tournament that attracts good tourists who enjoy a drink and don't quite care about too much?

4. Chelsea a shock loss to West Ham. Looks like Leicester are on the rise with a few back to back wins. Tonight's ManU v Man City clash will see City basically handed the comp if they win. They will go 11 points clear and should not be caught from there...even with many weeks to follow.

5. What has happened to the Western Sydney Wanderers? They have hit the wall losing 5-0 to Sydney FC. Coach Gombau better get busy or he finishes this year too. They are anchored to the bottom section of the table and when their new homeground is finished, they might want to be somewhere near winning a game.

6. Jeff Horn jumps back into it this Wednesday. Hopefully he doesn't get caught by an unexpected one to the chin and the dream collapses.

Wrap - Ashes Captaincy Rooted in Nonsense

1. The Ashes. It always amazes me with a run out in Test cricket - or any run out in Tests for that matter. What makes that single run so important? Are there not many more singles ahead? Warner absolutely barbecued Bancroft when they were completely on top.

Love seeing England try to sledge and amp up their manner. It is so out of character. False. At 8/442, England went a little quiet with the sledging surprisingly - especially after having won the toss and sent the Aussies in to bat. Dropped catches, slow over rates and even two blokes going for the same catch and coming up empty! It became farcical.

However, I thought Smith got tangled up in their crap too often. It did take his concentration away - and his exaggerated 'leaves' looked very silly. More calm and composed leadership required. We need to remember that while this is The Ashes, it is also a series between the 6th v 7th Test playing nations.

2. Captaincy. Some of the Pommie field positions were completely ridiculous. They did not learn from last test with their deep fields in the fourth innings, letting the Aussies off the hook and paying heavily with 0/173 and losing. They were too inventive - started stupidly - and probably confused themselves. The bloke fielding right near the bowler - Anderson - was completely useless. Smith needed to step away and laugh at them loudly. Broad behaved like a tool and will come under fierce scrutiny when he bats. Short pitched bowling at the head might be a fan favourite.

3. Pink Ball Cricket. It really just becomes a game of survival at night. The cricket is interesting, even intriguing - but not entertaining. The ball dominates too much and slowing down the over rate becomes crucial for the batting team. The fewer overs played under lights the better for the batting team! The swing bowler becomes more lethal. Get your runs in the daylight overs or you will struggle! The rain break on night two was perfect for England because had they played on they were in strife. Joe Root is going to get smashed when he comes to the crease.

4. Batting Brilliance. Thought the Shaun Marsh innings was exceptional in the circumstances. Not often I write that. I also thought Paine turned the game our way with aggression. Still worried about Handscomb and Stuart Broad smells an LBW victim every time. Better from Kahwaja.

5. Rugby League World Cup Final. Brutal contact. Great fast game. Dry conditions in Brisbane makes rugby league such a better spectacle. The rain tested them too later! It's rare that these Queenslanders ever lose at home. Maguire played well. Gillett superb and even Aaron Woods was excellent early. Hard to write, but he offloaded and hit the line forwards, not backing into the defence for once. When he came on later he was off the pace. His connection with Klemmer was strong. The Poms put it to the Aussies...great chasing game.

Sam Burgess is a complete goose. Dumb liability and ill disciplined. It would not surprise if Souths cut him, but Rusty is a huge fan. They have some big units those Pommies. They would all love to come and play out here. Liked their halves. Tough and skillful.

Had to laugh when James Graham said he regrets nothing about his foul language in the middle of a World Cup Final. Turn the volume off was his recommendation. I think he is correct! Cooper Cronk continues to make himself look superb. He will be a long term NRL coach or commentator whenever he wants. A true professional.

6. Quayde Cooper. Gooone. Nick Frisby gone. The experiment is over and Brad Thorne has laid it on the line. About time QLD rugby had a makeover. Take nothing for granted and take as much money when you can.

7. Virat Kohli - 243. His run making skill is getting better and better. Not the most popular bloke, but clearly one of the best in the world - and likely to be ever. Averaging over 50 i nall forms of the game - Tests, ODI and T20. Incredible.

8. Jarryd Hayne. The human headline needs to shut up and work hard on his game. No crap. No laziness and no excuses. No looking around at other blokes when you miss a tackle or don't pass it to a bloke when he is destined to score. Tough it out and harden up. There are no promises and expect nothing. The only positive is that he will be better than Brad Takiarangi. Otherwise he will enjoy the sights and sounds of Wenty Leagues. I am still suspicious of his signing with Radradra coming off contract in July as well. Someone is not staying/ coming.

9. Ange Postocoglou. It didn't take long before the family excuse (a Hayne/ Foran special) was forgotten and cash took over. An excuse maker and whinger. The World Cup draw of Peru, Denmark and France was outstanding. It may now make another coach look brilliant. However who might score goals for us is a mystery. We have nothing at the front.