Terry Venables, who has died aged 80, was a gifted, charismatic, influential coach who achieved much success, notably with Barcelona, and was popular with players and fans alike. Nevertheless, in Australia and England he will always be remembered for what he nearly achieved. In 1994 he picked up an England team that had failed to […]
The A-League Men needs a lot more games like the Sydney Derby
In another time and place, Marko Rudan might have been watching on from the Sydney FC bench as local junior Zac Sapsford smashed home the winner for the Sky Blues in the Sydney derby. Rudan was one of the first names ever inducted into Sydney FC’s Hall of Fame. And there’s no doubt that at […]
Shot clock could be great for cricket – if teams aren’t allowed to exploit new rule like the latest pitch shenanigans
The ICC will give a shot clock a trial run and it should not only become permanent but be more stringent to speed up cricket in all three formats. Starting with next Sunday’s West Indies vs England men’s ODI series in the Caribbean, fielding teams will have 60 seconds at the end of each over […]
Team of the Month: A November-born World Cricket XI
This is the most watchable team in the entire series, and one of the strongest. I’d travel far, and pay a lot, to see it. Many players are crowd favourites who regularly delivered match-winning performances. The inclusion of four pre-WWII batsmen gives its top order a vintage flavour. It also includes one current player. 1. […]
‘Seeing the players as people’: How a Western Force meet reminded me of the beauty of grassroots rugby
Recently, members of the Western Force left their HQ in Floreat, Perth and travelled to Albany to host a rugby festival called the Force of the Fields. This was an open rugby clinic for children between the ages of 8-15 years old predominantly, however, fans and supporters were welcome too. Among the Force players who […]