Young guns
There are exciting young cricketers around. The likes of Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly and Geelong’s Oliver Peake, pictured above, are talents to be brought forward very soon to inspire young kids to play the game.
But you can bet, under current policies, they’ll be allowed to stagnate while 30-35 year olds are recycled.
As a few cricket-lovers said to me just the other day – ‘our Test side is now more like a cozy old boys club’.
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P. S. Since I penned this story the young West Indies side has won a sensational victor were the Aussies in Brisbane.
Inspired by young Shamar Joseph, the lad from a remote jungle village who destroyed our batting line-up, the West Indies played with discipline and courage.
Shameful
It trades on the name Cricket Australia, CA, but couldn’t acknowledge Australia Day.
Instead, it chose to align itself with the woke brigade.
Do cricket bosses – and Pat Cummins – not realise that thousands of Aussie cricketers from the elite levels to the remote bush clubs gave their lives or were maimed in both World Wars?
They paid the supreme sacrifice in defending their country and its way of life.
Not only players but countless fans of cricket paid a terrible price so that today’s woke minority can make lots of noise and shut down mainstream Australia.
The heroes of cricket’s glorious past, from Victor Trumper to Shane Warne, from wherever they are in Valhalla, will be shaking their heads in disbelief and sadness.
Pat Cummins wants Australia Day changed. Whatever day it may be changed to, will not appease the grievance mob, they will never be happy.
The Australian captain, his teammates and CA bosses should read Greg Growden’s fine book ‘Cricketers at War’.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea if elite sports organisations, including AFL, NRL, Tennis Australia, concentrated on their sport and highly-paid players kept their opinions within the boundary.
High fives
Plenty of ‘high fives’ as the Aussies demolished Pakistan and West Indies.
However it should be noted the former was rated the weakest Pakistan side ever to come to Australia. While the once mighty Windies was in reality their Second XI.
Their top players can’t afford to play for the Test side and seek the riches of the franchise leagues so, as one put it ‘we can feed our families’.
Australia’s top players like India and England are all millionaires, some multi. India comes here next summer for five Tests, England the summer after for the Ashes.
If George Bailey and his CA selectors don’t start building for the future, our cricket will be in a poor state in four or five years time.
India has beaten Australia in their most recent two series here while we were unable to win the Ashes series in the UK in 2019 or 2023.
The national XI is an ageing one – almost ‘Dad’s Army’ status and will not be getting better.
Yet we hear these veterans are vowing to go to England in 2027 on ‘unfinished business’, how disappointing for up and coming payers if this is allowed to happen.
George Bailey should be looking at Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis from Western Australia, Victorian Matt Short, Queenslanders Nathan McSweeney and Spencer Johnson, and a number of others.
A trick was missed by not introducing some youth into the team this summer, given the nature of the opposition.
Cooper Connolly, the thrilling young Western Australian is another who should be encouraged.
We were a bold cricket nation for most of our history but not now. Aussie fans could do with a bit of ‘Bazball’.
How on earth have the Poms overtaken us in the crowd-pleasing stakes?
With Warner gone, watching the Australian top four – Khawaja, Smith, Labuschagne and Green – is at times like watching paint dry.
Fans have to wait for Head to appear at number five to get some value for their hard-earned money.
Sadly, Steve Smith, once a great player, is in decline and has morphed into a different player than the star he has been for years.