The Wrap - A Pane of Glass in the Hall of Mirrors

1. Great win in the T20 World Cup Final. Warner, Marsh the heroes...Zampa too. Yet we never see Zampa in Tests? A week later and no one quite remembers a ball bowled in anger! Langer can breathe again... sort of...

2. Tim Paine. I have always worried about Tim Paine. His batting was never as great as they said, his glovework solid (fastest ever gloveman to 150 dismissals - 33 test innings) yet his comments behind the stumps v Pant and the babysitting were a nonsense - and other sledging. You will recall he first led us to a 5-0 ODI drubbing v England in 2018, lost to Pakistan in the UAE and then there was the Ashes disaster with Ben Stokes beating us (but we retained the Ashes in England with a hollow 2-2 result) and then India trouncing us in Brisbane last summer and he dropped catches off Lyon when we seemingly could not lose! We were unstable. Perhaps Tim Paine may have been too, but to send that stuff right before his international cricket comeback seems most odd. 

A sad and very public end, but can someone explain why Paine is still with the team? So he will be keeper, but not skipper? Surely we learned something from the days with Gatting-Atherton-Stewart-Gooch that if the captain falls... get rid of them. No suspension? This will end poor old Justin Langer as well (like Darren Lehmann with Steve Smith-Dave Warner). 

Alex Carey needs to come in straight away, or the Queensland keeper bat, Jimmy Peirson. He can play too. Move on. Can you imagine the sledging when he comes out to bat? It could derail the whole summer as he drops catches and reacts to the inevitable pressure. You can't promote a new broom and keep the old one in the cupboard.

The tears from Australian captains over the years have been interesting. Graham Yallop, Kim Hughes, Steve Smith... The Border-Taylor-Waugh era set a very high standard! Maybe the need to cut a few more out of Cricket Australia management is required too as the media go after the cover up? The hall of mirrors beckons.

As nice a fellow as he is, I am not sure Pat Cummins is the man. Going back to Steve Smith may be a problem too. What of Nathan Lyon? 

Interestingly Ian Chappell captained Australia 30 times (15 wins, 5 losses and 10 draws - 50% win and 16% loss record) ...Paine captained Australia 23 times (11 wins, 8 losses, 4 draws - 47.82% win and 34.78% loss record). Paine's losing percentage is the worst since Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop. Oh and Shane Watson who has a 100% loss record after one test and one loss in India.

3. Parramatta Recruitment. Gutherson saw the writing on the wall. Sign moderately or be left out in the cold. He has lost pace and is on the decline sadly. Mahoney is worth pursuing and so is Junior Paulo. There seems to be some hard line club stances here, but still no premiership likely until they bring through a crop of youngsters together. That is the key. Build a culture and look after them as a group of talent.

Nikore is no great loss with his ill discipline and I wonder if Papali'i will produce in that notorious footballing graveyard of the Wests Tigers. A good pick up with the Tigers however, who have Luciano and Garner as well on their edges. Josh Hodgson talk has simmered since. Their problem is in their halves and centres. Getting Brooks to Newcastle could assist. The composure of Sheens and Benji will help too. No more Foxtel documentaries either...

4. Bulldogs Kennell Resort. The Bulldogs are writing their own salary cap cheques now. They have bought some players! Clearly they had a lot of overpaid blokes. The Kikau photo was ordinary. Why would you take that photo a year out? Joe the cameraman lives on.

5. Sheffield Shield - NSW. Their bowling stocks are woefully thin. Chris Tremain is past it, but getting wickets again. The batting is not so great either. Where is Moises? No shield for them this year. Kurtis Patterson can hardly hit the ball off the square at present, yet has played for Australia. That is a sad decline. Daniel Hughes remains the only bright hope. 

Is cricket in NSW declining and dying amidst changing expectations from parents, wives, partners, spouses, families? Can the time be justified as it once was in a different era?

6. F1 - Hamilton (Mercedes), Verstaffen (Red Bull). Claim and counter claim... cheating and appeals... After a while this stuff bores everyone to death. Bottom line? Hamilton needs to catch Verstaffen and is behind by 14 points with three races to go. A win is worth 25 points, but second (18), then third..15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2... Pretty hard to peg back once you are behind someone who has talent. Nothing a crash and a DNF can't fix I guess.

7. Socceroos. A draw v lowly China almost spells the end of their World Cup qualification campaign. They are in deep trouble. They have stuttered v the Saudis, Japan and now China. They need bigger guns. Maybe Tim Tszyu and his family play football too? He can beat the best of the Japanese and their iron will.

8. Chinese Tennis. Horrific story re Peng Shuai, but hardly surprising after what has been seen with their swimmer, Sun Yang, as well. Hopefully she is OK, but dodgy emails and fake announcements are hard to cop. Imagine if we had the same in our sports? So many complaints about all sorts of matters and administrators (thinking recently: hockey, football, women's rugby league, etc)...for the understandable serious matters through to the disgruntled player, we'd have nowhere to put them all. 

Peter Nevill (100+ Shield appearances for NSW) was refreshing in not blaming anyone for his axing from the Australian cricket team. Not chirpy enough? Please... maybe he was what we needed all along.

9. Racism - Yorkshire Cricket. A huge story in England at present centres on the alleged comments by cricketers like Gary Ballance, Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard...against English born Pakistani cricketer Azeem Rafiq and other Pakistani cricketers. The racist term 'Paki' is at the heart of it as are other arrogant comments. Parliamentary inquiries, sponsors leaving, denials, counter claims, etc. Vaughan is very outspoken on a number of issues and matters in cricket, but he has gone quieter too. Damage control big time here. Rafiq himself is grappling with his own anti-Semitic comments and comments to others that are surfacing now. A mess. 

Interestingly, the only shining light is Jason Gillespie who it was stated ended the racial comments and tensions in his short reign as coach at the Yorkshire Cricket Club. Bravo to him.

10. ManU. They are in disarray, losing to Watford of all teams overnight. They have to cut their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (and probably have by the time you read this), even though there are no real options out there. He has all the big names, but few big results.

11. Wallabies. A 0-3 European Tour, but to be fair they have looked better under Dave Rennie. What about the refereeing? Incredibly bad. Can anyone explain the deliberate knock down of a pass as foul play? Please. What a joke. But a loss and the pathetic nature of world rugby lives on. Hopeless referees getting in the way of great players. We put up with it annually in all tests in Australia. Interested to see Will Skelton and Slipper back. Like a scene from the Blues Brothers...Beale, Cooper has been there too... maybe there is longer term hope and a bit more spirit that it appeared.

The Wrap - NRL Signing Safaris - Scary But Nobody Cares

1. T20 World Cup Cricket. As exciting as the Auckland Nines, but a great effort to beat Pakistan and make the final. Who else to rescue us, but the most competitive two players on the team - Warner and Wade? Wade was incredible. Usually he is holing out meekly to mid on...this time he was ramping sixes everywhere. Now to play New Zealand. They are a clever team of talent. Their pace bowlers and batting delivers now more than when we tossed them in the 2015 ODI World Cup. It will be a struggle. Finch needs to do something or this is it for him. 

All the while Justin Langer is breathing again. Not a respirator in sight. Interesting his mantra has become 'back yourself' and 'be courageous'. He was always that cricketer himself. Yet he has always been a cranky man however too. 

Conversely, India should be ashamed of their meek exit. The IPL is meant to be the world benchmark, but it has sapped energy and spirit and resulted in a tame exit against the glorious victories v Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan. A national embarrassment in many ways for their richly talented team. India should be world champions in all formats, every year, every tournament. Shastri to retire with much achieved. Dravid was never a T20 player.

2. Socceroos. We draw with Saudi Arabia and lose to Japan... maybe we are simply not that good? It has almost become a national expectation these days, when once upon a time it was unachievable. There is hope yet, but they need to string a few wins together now. Any slip ups against the lesser teams and we are finished.

3. Celtic - Ange Postocoglou. His wily ways are seeing more victories and successive wins, keeping the ever critical media and club fans at bay. There is no one in world sport with shorter patience than a football fan. Sitting second with a goal differential of +21. Impressive thus far.

4. NRL Signing Safaris. What a wasteful joke the interstate tours by Brandon Smith, Reed Mahoney and Junior Paulo seem to be. The pandering is incredible, but the game playing is interesting too. Like the African Lion Safari at Wallacia..."it's scary, but nobody cares!".

5. Parramatta. Signing Curtis Scott... of course. More baggage than Mascot. More tats than Angry Anderson and a rap sheet the length of a Saturday morning Woolies docket. Beware the one year contract. A nonsense devised by limited thinking, uncertain club executives for a desperate player. Yet they can't land the proper fish they need. Paulo, Mahoney...these guys should be locked in long term. Gutherson should sign soon or he won't have a club. Most clubs have their rosters firmed up now.

6. Tim Tszyu. An immense boxing talent, but we will see on Wednesday night if he can outlast his Japanese opponent, Takeshi Inoue. Tszyu is relentless and fit. Surely he wins.

7. Sheffield Shield. Some great performances thus far, but our batting is pretty dreadful really. Jhye Richardson is stepping up, Head, Green and Khawaja have scored runs...but many are flat. Boland's wickets send a strong message to selectors too, but he lacks a bit against the best batsmen.

8. Wallabies v England. Very occasionally you get to see something great...and it is not the Wallabies sadly. The Irish beating the All Blacks yet again is great news. However, with the Wallabies, what is the reverse of a European Grand Slam? A dud slam? They tried hard, had fun, are enjoying their footy...but lost!

9. Josh Hodgson. Surely the Tigers would be better off with Robbie Farah? They really struggle with their recruitment. Hopefully Sheens and Benji can transform them. Benji will be the coach before too long.

10. The Unvaccinated Sports Players. Personal choice, personal views for sure. Good luck to them. What is hard to believe is that players who refuse will not get a medical contraindication to prove their medical case. I wonder if COVID had a massive physical impairment like polio caused, whether you would have any unvaccinated folk in society at all and whether we would even be talking about it. Those working closely with animals and in the meat industry have been having vaccinations for ever. 

The Wrap - T20 Attitude

1. T20 World Cup. Dave Warner has looked horrible lately, going too square and not hitting down the ground. A common fault with age! His innings v the Windies though was exceptional. Under pressure and dominant. The number of reverse sweeps he can play is amazing. He is so talented, but nearing the end of course. Who will ever forget his ton before lunch at the SCG v Pakistan in 2017? He is a man you want in your corner.

Glenn Maxwell needs to produce something soon under pressure, but it is Aaron Finch who is the concern. Australia need to set a new team in place for the future after this carnival. Finch cannot be part of it. To make the semi finals is a top result really for Australia. Adam Zampa is quite the revelation now. Like a lot of leg spinners (Jim Higgs, Peter Sleep, Bob Holland), they get better with age.

If India make the semis, they will win the whole thing. They have not fired yet, but can.

2. Wallabies v Scotland tonight. The Aussies get themselves in a groove and then multiple team changes make club needs tower over national needs. Incredible. Play club rugby in Japan before the Wallabies? Surely a contract change needs to be made here!

3. EPL. ManU are under the pump. Man City are under the pump, but pumped ManU. They were once feared, but not anymore. The coach needs to go very soon. 

4. NRL. It didn't take long with Brad Arthur sounding our Curtis Scott for an outside back role. Parramatta are club that is hard to love for fans... their recruitment work seems glacial, but a few lads are getting the dollar signs in the eyes, rather than seeing their true value. You can't blame them for that. The Dolphins have unsettled quite a few. Regan Campbell-Gillard was a critical re-signing. As is Junior Paulo. Not so sure about Gutherson and his temperament - or price. Will he win a comp for you with his pace (or lack of it)?

Meanwhile the Roosters keep building and building. Brandon Smith would be a top signing. Without some of the top brass from recent years (Morris brothers, Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend...), they have space and money. Connor Watson could well be the buy of the year.

5. Sheffield Shield. It never ceases to amaze me how ineffective Nathan Lyon can be in the second innings of some games of cricket. The curator in him comes out. Talented and the best ever (although the recent passing of Ashley Mallett brought some interesting comments forward) but highly ineffective at times too. Also striking how weak batting is generally in all states. We could be in for a lean trot as a nation soon.

I wonder whether future generations will have the patience to wait around all day watching and playing cricket. 

Victoria have completely smashed NSW in all forms of cricket in 2021.

6. Verry Ellegant. Top win in the Melbourne Cup. How about James McDonald? 10 wins in the one carnival over two weeks. He may be seen at property auctions in coming weeks. He'll be the bloke with suitcases of cash! A top effort.

7. NFL. Tampa Bay Buccaneers are motoring along nicely again. 6-2 makes them well positioned for playoffs once more. No doubting the Brady effect. How the Patriots (4-4) must rue that one!

8. Formula 1. What about the greatness of Lewis Hamilton? 100 F1 wins! Incredible. A far cry from Andrea de Cesaris in 1981 who crashed 19 times in practice or competition! He led two races and NEVER won!

The Wrap - Dolphin Plod

1. NRL Trade Deadline. Well finally 1 November is here and Parramatta are about to be exposed. $700,000 a year for Reed Mahoney...please. $750,000 a year for Gutho...please. These blokes are in dream land. They are also dreaming if the Dolphins look like doing anything stupid too soon. They will be shrewd. The greedy player managers/ players better move fast however or they will be closed down. Parramatta should secure Papali'i and big Junior Paulo instantly. Nuikore is a penalty risk and sin bin risk every game. These blokes have a limited shelf life in the modern game. 

Meanwhile the Roosters look like getting the great Kevin Naiqama this week on a one year deal apparently. Never shy of being different. Connor Watson is a great pick up. They need some speed in their centres now though...as does every club.

2. Dolphin Torch. Blokes signing one year contracts at the moment are going to the Dolphins are they not? Cody Walker is off soon!

3. Wigers. Has Tim Sheens arrived yet? The row boat should be sighted soon. There is no quarantine from tomorrow, so he should be right...shouldn't he? Michael Maguire's bank manager must be getting a nervous feeling.

4. Australian cricket. We really struggle. Fancy a Marsh being dropped under Langer's watch. Clearly that was a point of his feedback...stop picking WA players who struggle. But he put Agar into the side, so maybe not! Warner has developed a terrible dab shot which gets him out every time. Steve Smith seems to struggle more and more in this format of the game. A decent quick pitch might help of course. England look sharp...Pakistan the surprise packet so far. We face the Windies soon. They have not fired yet and could do a number against us.

5. Melbourne Cup. Surely Incentivise goes close this year. However, what won last year? Twilight Payment #1. I suspect it could be close again. Surprised to see Damian Lane on 'The Chosen One' at $51. Something is up there that is for sure. Delphio and Persan go close. JMac on Verry Ellegant is in sparkling form!

6. Jarvo The Goose. Great effort by Jarvo #69. he gets into the All Blacks team photo now. The ground security in England must be non existent. Incredible. He represented at every Test match and now the rugby. He must have some gear at home near all his fines!

7. EPL. ManU bounce back. Tottenham and Leicester are dropping off the pace now mid season. Chelsea on fire! The likes of Burnley, Leeds, Newcastle and the canaries, Norwich are doomed for the drop! (already).

The Wrap - T20 Auckland Nines

1. NRL. Mitchell Pearce has suddenly become a desired commodity on the market. A sensible halfback who knows how to play. France is a great option for the ailing body. 15 seasons of NRL is a long career on anyone's books.

2. Wigers - Has Tim Sheens arrived yet? He would have to be coming by row boat for all the time it has taken him. The 'godfather' figure arriving soon (a bit like Bronson's Xerri's B-Sample) and talk of Luke Brooks leaving... The club has a lot of issues. It seems to have lost its soul, but getting Joey Leilua on a 'earn and learn' contract was not such a bad idea. Joey will keep shuffling on. He looks to have burned a few bridges in his time.

I noticed the new Premier is a Tigers fan. I hope his career goes better than a few at that club at present.

3. T20 World Cup. Is winning the T20 World Cup like winning the Auckland Nines? Australia absolutely limped home. 18 needed off the last two overs. The decks look very slow and low. Ashton (#98 Ashes innings) Agar might play a big role yet. Maxi's hair looked like the council cut it. 

Between Finch and Warner, we will be looking for new openers soon. Carey from SA? Justin Langer may need to put the pads on himself!

4. Windies. A stacked T20 side obliterated by England. They continue to disappoint - Hetmeyer, Gayle, Bravo, Pooran, Russell, Pollard... zip. No Narine? He is an EPL star.

5. Joe Mennie. Retired this week as a member of the famous 'One Test' brigade!

6. MLB World Series. Boston Red Sox. In the hunt this time last week up 2-1 v the Astros and then promptly lose 4-2. Gave up 23 runs in the last three games, scoring only 3. Thumped really. The under performing bridesmaids, the LA Dodgers, lost again to the Atlanta Braves. So Astros v Braves? The Astros for mine...despite uncovering their horrific cheating scandal not so long ago.

7. Matildas. Crushing defeat of Brazil! Lots of controversy needs to be ironed out too.

8. International Football. Celtic - Ange Postecoglou continues to scale the dizzy heights there, despite the huge pressure. What about Norwich? 7-0 down to Chelsea and Brighton also smacked. A long way to the top of that show! Everton copped a hammering themselves too.

9. Wallabies. Unconvincing, but got there. Great Britain will be a different story I suspect.

10. Cox Plate. State of Rest gave some protest excitement with Anamoe bumped 80 metres out. Incredible finish, but Verry Ellegant was a disappointment. No Zaaki was bad too. Winning on a Melbourne track is very different to the hard Brisbane or Randwick/ Rosehill surfaces.

The Wrap - World Cup of Coaches

1. Great news re the Redcliffe (shhh) Dolphins joining the NRL. Is there any difference to the Manly Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels, Canberra Raiders, etc. Huge to get Wayne Bennett whose mission will be to beat the Broncos into submission. Suddenly there is a lot more spice in the games they play up there. Four QLD teams - North QLD Cowboys, Broncos, Titans and now the Dolphins - to rival the NSW teams.

It will really shake up the player market and signings.

Regan Campbell-Gillard. Not taking up his option with Parramatta? This could be a worrying sign to come as the Eels try and pin down their off contract players. They seem keen to allow them to hit the open market on 1 November. Could be time to do a bit of signing or pay a heavy price. Will Smith is handy, but he has gone too.

2. Josh Hannay. This guy is the Mr Fix It Coach of the NRL. He was a strong first grader and went from the Cowboys top the Sharks and now to an Assistant job with the new Billy Slater led QLD Origin team. He gets plenty of opportunities, but not a lot of success. Hopefully he can do better here in this role.

3. EPL. Speaking of which, it may be time for ManU to get a new coach. 4-2 loss to Leicester. Unheard of in the past.

4. Cricket. Hard to believe Cameron Bancroft is still in the top WA team. Struggling for runs since the sandpaper incident and should not have really been there either, but for a coach who knew of his potential. Still waiting to see it realised. Khawaja a big Shield ton... always scored before the start of the season and not another one until next year.

5. World T20. Off to a flyer with Oman (host nation) v Papua New Guinea. A 'Group A' contest. Thankfully these are short games. India and England will shine here when we finally get to the main draw next week. Australia were very lucky not to be in this 'secondary' draw themselves. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are there and need to go through that avenue to progress. We could join them soon if we can't lift.

6. IPL. Big win by the Chennai Super Kings. Hazelwood did alright. Have to laugh when "wickets" are taken by bowlers when the ball is rescued from a six over the boundary. Hardly awe inspiring bowling. Probably like a top edged six, but bowlers who are the best in the T20 format are mastering yorkers. I would be looking to sign Moeen Ali in my BBL team. Dominant and humble. BBL needs a player makeover and more cash injected into it.

7. Nature Strip. What a cracking win in The Everest! Get on Masked Crusader for next year! The work of Incentivise in the Caulfield Cup was something else too. Surely the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup double lie ahead. Get on it now!

8. Boston Red Sox. Can they do the near impossible? A wild card entry to the post season and now sitting at 1-1 with the Houston Astros with two home games ahead. The best of seven will be hard fought, but they could be 2-0 up but for a Game 1 meltdown. A super unexpected end to the season.

9. Koroibete. Not going abroad... they will need some strength and speed to replace him and Vunivalu surely has to be the man to step up.

The Wrap - Sporting Bankruptcy

1. The Sport Cycle in Australia. We really hit rock bottom after our football code seasons pass. The women's cricket is alright (what about that off cutter that cleaned up Alyssa Healey? Amazing), but we turn internationally for some enjoyment! Even the EPL is on holidays with the international round... not even motor racing this weekend!

2. New NRL Expansion Team(s). Great news for the game and a chance to break the Broncos monopoly as well. Hopefully up and running very soon. They will weigh into the player transfer/ contract market real fast. I note Brad Arthur has a new deal and the Parramatta draft horses are moving to finalise the players. They are working off a sun dial so it seems. There are  some ordinary administrators in the game sadly.

3. Brandon Smith and Cameron Munster and the other bloke...cocaine sniffing fools. And getting filmed! Deservedly hit with fines, but fines put on delay are a bit soft. Fancy being those who filmed it and releasing it to the public (for cash presumably). What sort of world have we gotten ourselves? In the end, people will just keep to themselves and not even talk to others lest they get to visit the Integrity Commission. Getting rid of drugs from your game might be a start.

4. Ashes. What a pack of whingers are the England team. Nothing ever changes. Brearleyesque. All sorts of petulant demands and quarantine demands from England. Typical England. However, we cancelled tours ourselves...so have New Zealand, so it's the new power play.  No Ben Stokes or Joffra Archer coming. Joe Root will be under fire, but is in career best form. It looms as an excellent opportunity for the post COVID rebuild of Australian cricket if it ever starts.

The BBL looks to be getting more boring every year. Same faces and skill level.

5. Socceroos. Graham Arnold has done a top job there. The 3-1 win over Oman puts them within striking distance of Qatar World Cup qualification. Big game this week v Japan that could just seal the deal with a win.

6. Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder. Fury is a huge man with a special reach. Big personality (mouth) too. A knock out eventually, but the heavyweight game still attracts the big dollars and the big attention.

7. Zaaki. Shock loss in the Might and Power Stakes at Caufield on Saturday. Cox Plate favouritism has wavered - even if was at Winx odds. How good are the Melbourne Damia/ens as jockeys? Damian Lane and Damien Oliver. Dominant. 

8. IPL. Glenn Maxwell is smoking them everywhere. He is a rare talent and to think he was abandoned by the IPL franchises (a fickle lot) and has now gotten into the semis with King Kohli. Catches and wickets to boot. Nathan Coulter-Nile has been good too, but not in the Australian squad.

If Australia get pumped in T20 cricket, does it matter? maybe only to Justin Langer.

9. The AFL Draft. Limited talent there, but clubs are right to demand compensation. Jordan 'Doorknobs' Dawson was a no name for the Swans and now Adelaide want him for nothing... Cerra to Carlton is a good pick up. Lots wanting in to the new world at Carlton which is interesting.

10. NFL. Brady sneaks a narrow NFL win v New England Patriots last week, but what price a return there to new England for a final season post his contract with Tampa Bay?