The Professor and the panel of the Judge, the Gelding and Paul Dalligan speak with special guest, Dr Alan Pearce, Neurophysiologist about CTE & concussion and the diagnosis of the first female athlete with CTE. Paul Dalligan previews State of Origin 3 and looks at round 19 of the NRL season. The Gelding comments on Johnny Bairstow’s unusual dismissal in the second Ashes test and says the third test is delicately poised prior to the fourth day’s play with Australia needing quick wickets to put the pressure on England.
Tag Archives: test-match
Gillon McLachlan – the AFL is in an ‘incredible’ position…really?, NRL round 2, why aren’t more women broadcasting AFLW matches? & more – Sportzfan Radio #479
The Professor and the panel of the Judge, the Gelding and Paul Dalligan query whether the AFL really is in an ‘incredible’ position. Paul Dalligan reviews round 2 of the NRL season, the Judge queries why there aren’t more women commentating on AFLW matches, the Gelding looks at the fourth test in India and also gives his best bets for today’s Echuca and Stony Creek race meetings.
Sandy Jamieson talks 1ClubGolf and the challenges facing golf post Covid on show #448
The Professor and the panel of the Judge, Paul Dalligan and the Gelding talk with special guest, Sandy Jamieson about his 1ClubGolf initiative and the challenges facing the sport of golf post Covid.
Paul Dalligan reviews round 1 of the NRL and round 3 of the NRLW.
The panel discusses the suggestion of moving the start of the new AFLW season to late August 2022 and the Professor asks if independent grounds keepers should prepare test cricket pitches given the ‘road’ that was used for the first test between Pakistan and Australia.
Sportzfan Radio #422
The Professor and the panel of Sarah Radlow, the Gelding, Coutta, Paul Dalligan and the Judge talk with special guest Lynne Anderson, the CEO of Paralympics Australia, Paul Dalligan reviews the NRL finals played to date and previews the Eels v Knights final, Coutta talks about unseeded Emma Raducanu’s stunning win in the women’s singles at the US Open, Sarah Radlow discusses Cricket Australia’s announcement that the one off Test match against Afghanistan may be cancelled and the Gelding gives his red hot tips for today’s Cranbourne and Donald race meetings.
You can watch this episode here.
Monday musing – cricket, when is it too hot to play?
It is no surprise that English cricket captain, Joe Root was admitted to hospital last night suffering the effects of severe dehydration. 
Root spent nearly all day on the field yesterday during the fifth test at the SCG. He was so badly affected that he did not resume batting this morning and was replaced at the crease by Moeen Ali. What is surprising was that other English or Australian players didn’t end the day in hospital as well.
Sydney’s weather was described as a ‘scorcher’ yesterday, with the temperature in Penrith at 3.00pm hitting 47.3C degrees – the highest temperature recorded since 1939. The temperature at the SCG was not far behind at 43C but a ‘heat stress tracker’ at the ground showed a reading of 57.6C on the oval.
It is unfathomable to me that Cricket Australia would send the players out to play in such heat and allow them to remain on the field 
all day. This is an occupational health and safety issue that cannot be ignored. The Australian Open tennis tournament suspends play when the temperature reaches 40C, many enterprise bargaining agreements allow for employees to cease work when the temperature reaches 35C and I am aware of one football league that does not permit training or matches to be played where the temperature exceeds 30C.
The question remains why cricketers are treated differently to workers and other sporting participants? It seems ironic that it is 
quite permissible for cricketers to leave the field when it rains but don’t have the same latitude when it gets too hot. With the hospitalisation of an elite cricketer, Cricket Australia needs to take action to impose a temperature limit on all matches under its control.
Wednesday musing – cricket, MCG pitch mania…….
The International Cricket Council (‘ICC’) has now called the MCG pitch ‘poor’ based on the report by match referee, Ranjan 
Madugalle. It hasn’t taken the press long to jump all over that with the Age reporting that the MCG pitch produced for the Boxing day Test has become ‘infamous’ because it is the first Australian pitch to be described as poor. If that pitch was poor, then I wonder how pitches prepared on the sub-continent or in England would be described?
One only needs to Google the topic to find descriptions of sub-
continent pitches as ‘diabolical’ and ‘a minefield’. One article reported the much vaunted South African Proteas’ batting line-up being skittled for a mere 79 runs with 33 of 40 wickets taken in the match falling to spin. In the 2015 Ashes series, there were complaints that pitches at Trent Bridge and the Oval had been doctored to suit England. In the Trent Bridge Test, Australia made only 60 runs and were all out before lunch on day one.
Certainly the MCC served up nothing as bad as that. The match referee’s rating was driven by his view that the pitch did not allow an even contest between bat and ball. Is that a bad thing? Clearly the ICC thinks so but I think it is much ado about nothing. But the fans didn’t agree as 260,000 spectators watched the Melbourne Test over the full five days.
With the new ICC points system coming in from 1 January 2018, the MCG has dodged being slapped with a three point penalty. Any 
ground that totals five points over a five year period can be
suspended from being used for ICC matches for one year. Given the past history of Test pitches, it would seem there will be plenty of grounds not seeing Test cricket due to suspension….can the ICC or Cricket Australia afford to suspend a ground that draws a crowd of 260,000? I think not!
What do you think?
Weekend musing – The Ashes, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh, Tim Paine…..
I didn’t see a 3-0 start to this Ashes series on the cards but after watching the first three test matches, it appears Australia’s bowling
is a cut above the English and the Aussie batsmen seem to have been able to make runs at important times in each match. With the Ashes firmly in our grasp, all the carping at the selector’s decisions prior to the first test seem like so much hot air now. Just stuff to fill tabloids and the internet. I think we over analyse things at times.
Before the Perth test I didn’t think Peter Handscomb deserved to get dropped and when Mitch Marsh bowled only nine overs without taking a wicket I thought the selectors had pulled the wrong rein. 
How wrong was I? Marsh came out and made 181 and his partnership with Steve Smith probably won the test match for Australia. Perplexingly, at the start of the English second innings he only bowled three overs and that was it for him for the match. I thought he was brought in by the selectors to support the bowlers but he only bowled a total of twelve overs across two innings. I am perplexed, but on his batting alone, it is hard to say the selectors got it wrong.
I was a supporter of Tim Paine from the start of the series and now people are starting to sing his praises. As I mentioned at the time he
was always considered to be the heir apparent to Brad Haddin, but 
finger injuries cruelled his chances and now he is getting his opportunity and taking it with both hands, literally!
The Melbourne test is now a dead rubber, but day one is sold out and last time the English were here it was also a dead rubber with over 90,000 people attending that game. Seemes everyone loves a winner.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year and we will muse again in the New Year!
Weekend musing – World Cup qualification, Socceroos, Elyse Perry, the Ashes, Shaun Marsh….
It was great to watch the Socceroos qualify on Wednesday for the World Cup in Russia. I didn’t think they played that well, but deserved the win and deserved the free kick and penalties which resulted in the goals. It is hard to fathom how the Honduras captain could come out and suggest the referee was on the take! While I 
didn’t think the Australians played to their potential, the Hondurans were very ordinary. Australia’s big problem is the best finisher in the side is Tim Cahill and he is now 38 years old. Cahill himself wants more game time for Melbourne City to hone his skills for the World Cup, but at 38 he doesn’t get to as many contests as he may have in his prime. His finishing against Syria won the game for Australia, but his contribution between goals was negligible. This is a delicate balance because they need him in and around the team. I do not envy the task of Melbourne City manager, Warren Joyce.
Also great to see Elyse Perry get a 200 for the Australian women’s 
cricket team. She is a genuine all-rounder in all forms of the game and a match winner. I doubt Australia has produced a better all-rounder in men’s or women’s cricket. Not only that, she has also represented Australia in women’s soccer. What a player!!
Speaking of cricket the men’s squad for the first test was announced today with a few surprises. Shaun Marsh being re-called for an 8th time was a big shock, but Cameron Bancroft almost picked himself with his recent record. Also out of left field was the selection of Tim Paine as the keeper. Before he started breaking fingers he was the 
heir apparent to Brad Hadin, but Paine isn’t even the first choice wicket keeper for Tasmania so what do the Australian selectors know that the Tasmanians don’t? While it was out of left field I support the move because he is a very good keeper and a very accomplished batsman. Marsh effectively taking Glenn Maxwell’s spot is the real bolt from the blue. Maxwells’ shield form has not been that bad with a couple of 50’s and a 45 not out in the most recent game so his form had been okay compared to Matt Renshaw. I have questioned the selectors before and most of the time they seem to get it right, but Marsh has more often than not been a disappointment when selected for Australia so I can’t agree with them there.
Have a great weekend!
Weekend musing – Test series wrap, Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield……
A disappointing end to a very interesting test series in India with Australia capitulating in the second innings of the fourth test. Up until that stage, the series had been evenly poised and was one of the most talked about series in India that I can remember. Steve Smith clearly the star for Australia with the bat and Pat Cummins making a successful comeback to test cricket augurs well for the future. A lot has been made about friendships between the teams being sacrificed in an all out attempt to win. All I’ll say about that is the friendships cannot have been too solid in the first place if a bit of name calling and sledging has brought them undone.
Sticking with cricket, it was great to see the Vics salute again in the Sheffield Shield for a record third straight win. It also must be 
remembered that none of the wins have been on home soil. The first win was in Hobart, the second an away win against South Australia and the third was in Alice Springs. It cannot be underestimated how valuable Cameron White has been as Captain of the Bushrangers. His experience and tactical ability has come to the fore once again.
There was an article in the Herald Sun this week discussing the success of the Victorian horses in Sydney this year. It has been put down to the heavy tracks in Sydney which has meant the Victorian horses are going up there fitter than their northern counterparts. I think there could be a parallel with the two Sydney football teams based on their performances last week. Both Sydney teams played teams from Adelaide where the weather has meant that full training outside has been undertaken, whereas, perhaps the weather in Sydney has meant that a lot of their training has been indoors. Certainly something to keep an eye on in coming weeks.
I am also amazed that various pundits are prepared to write teams off after one round of football. It is a bit like making too many predictions on a pre-season series which doesn’t mean much.
Have a great weekend!
Weekend musing – fourth test in India, Seltun, Sheffield Shield final….
Great to see the Australian cricket team hang on in the third test in India. Peter Handscombe obviously took my previous musing to heart and produced his best innings of the tour and in the context of the series, perhaps the best innings of his fledgling career. I think this
is probably the first time since the third test of the 2005 Ashes series when the Australian team has batted out a day to save a test. On that occasion Ricky Ponting batted nearly the whole day and we escaped with a draw with one wicket in hand. The Indians really took the game away from Australia on Sunday and to hang on as we did was a great effort and keeps a very interesting series alive going into this weekend for the fourth and final test of the series.
I was tickled on last weekend to see the horse Gingernuts salute in Sydney. Being a chestnut gelding this is quite a creative name by the owners and I am surprised it got through the authorities. It reminds me of the horse Seltun which is Nutles(s) backwards.
It is interesting that this weekend we have two sporting finals where the host team is playing away from home. The Victorian Bushrangers have made a habit of it recently and are hosting South 
Australia in Alice Springs in the Sheffield Shield final and in the AFLW we have Brisbane Lions hosting Adelaide Crows on the Gold Coast. As Victoria has won the last two Shield’s perhaps it is a winning formula, but clearly not ideal for local cricket fans. This scenario was apparent at the start of the season, however, the AFLW grand final is a bit more embarrassing for all concerned. The groundsmen in control of the Gabba apparently see their primary job to prepare the ground for the first test match of the year and AFL football takes a back seat. Leigh Matthews has said that this situation has existed since the Brisbane Lions started playing there and perhaps now with the Queensland state government getting involved, football might be treated a bit better.
Have a great weekend!