This past week, the Australian sporting news landscape has seen a fortuitous conglomeration of two wholly separate stories with disturbing similarities. As news filtered through that Bulldogs prop Ryan Tandy had been arrested on charges of providing false evidence to authorities in relation to spot-fixing allegations directed at him, a storm was building on the other side of the world. Pakistan's accused trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir faced an ICC hearing on allegations of spot-fixing in a Cricket Test Match against England, while it is also been announce that the trio will face legal trial in England.
Spot-fixing is a term which is new to most people's vocabulary, if not completely new as a concept. It refers to fixing specific features of a sporting contest, usually something small and inconsequential enough in the game's overall scheme. Because bets can nowadays be made pertaining to almost any fine detail of a sporting match, corrupt individuals can involve participants in the match by promising payouts in return for a single minor action instead of something as obvious and heinous as throwing an entire match. Both of these recent examples are textbook cases of how easy spot-fixing is, and highlight the likelihood there is of far more unnoticed instances of spot-fixing.
Our local small-time spot-fixing scandal came about in September 2010, during a Round 24 match of the National Rugby League between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the North Queensland Cowboys. The preconditions for spot-fixing were rife. It was a late season match between two struggling teams both well out of finals contention, with comparatively little media exposure for an NRL match. Authorities of the NRL and TAB Sportsbet observed an unusual proportion of bets in the "first point scored" category had been placed on a Cowboys penalty goal as the first scoring instance in the match. While not especially unlikely, it was suggested that the amount of bets placed on that particular instance was outside the standard deviation of established betting patterns.
Bulldogs forward Ryan Tandy was accused of complicity when he gave up a cheap possession turnover in the opening minutes, then conceded an equally amateurish penalty in perfect kicking range for the Cowboys. The Cowboys took the surprise option of a quick tap and caught the Bulldogs off guard, scoring a try in the corner as the first points of the match instead.
Barely a month earlier in England came the spot-fixing scandal which gained worldwide attention. During the 4th and final match of a Test series between England and Pakistan at Lords, British newspaper News Of The World released a report alleging that fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir had accepted bribes from agent Mazhar Majeed to deliberately bowl no-balls on certain predetermined deliveries. Pakistan's captain Salman Butt was implicated as an intermediary in these deals. The report was the result of a sting operation by News Of The World reporters who secretly filmed Majeed counting out bribe money and stating that Amir and Asif would bowl two no-balls on certain deliveries. In the match both these predicted no-balls eventuated, and both were notably extreme oversteps.
Majeed was arrested by Scotland Yard in response to the video, and the implicated players were stood down indefinitely. Last week the ICC enquiry handed down its verdicts. Salman Butt has been banned for ten years (five suspended), Mohammad Asif for seven years (two suspended) and Mohammad Amirfor five years. The controversy has likely ended the career of two of Pakistan's best, and severely dented the career of 18 year old Amir who had been raved about in many cricketing circles as the world's next great fast bowling prodigy.
Match-fixing is not new to Cricket. A series of betting controversies plunged the game into disorder in the 1990s, centred around Indian bookmakers invariably. Cricket match-fixing made the news in Australia when it was revealed that Mark Waugh and Shane Warne had accepted money from an Indian bookmaker styling himself "John" in return to weather and pitch information a series of times throughout 1994 and 95. The scandal was heightened by the fact that the Australian Cricket Board fined the pair privately and did not release the information until it was uncovered by the media in 1998.
Most infamous of all of course were the revelations of 2000 of wide ranging match-fixing indiscretions on the part of South Africa Hansie Cronje, who was banned from all forms of Cricket for life, leaving his glowing reputation in tatters. Cronje was then killed in a light plane crash in 2002. Conspiracy theories have abounded in recent years that foul play on the part of people involved with corrupt bookmaking played a part in Cronje's death, as well as the mysterious sudden death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer during the 2007 World Cup. In both cases these are almost certainly conspiracies without wait, but it is a measure of the power and influence Indian and Pakistani bookmakers have over popular discourse. The bizarre flight of Pakistan wicket keeper Zulqarnain Haider in late 2010 is another example of the frightening immediacy of spot fixing. Haider ran from the team hotel in Dubai midway through a series and fled to London, making claims of threats against him and his family if he did not participate in further fixing. These bookmaking powerbrokers may not be capable of murder, but have the spectre and weight enough to make people think they are.
It was thought after the Cronje scandal, and the doors it opened in exposing related instances, that match-fixing had been largely stamped out of Cricket. In reality, the Cronjecreative types of bet. By now the real time nature of the Internet has reduced a pursuit which was once little more than picking who you thought would win a game, down to an almost infinite set of possibilities, where absolutely anything is fair game as betting fodder. On the subcontinent the outcome of every individual delivery of a Cricket match can be wagered on.
Rugby League has been happily free from Cricket's sordid recent history of corruption, but this is of little solace. The fact that a sport traditionally difficult to fix and consequently free of such problems, is now becoming embroiled in the same scandals, is perhaps even more disturbing. The nature of modern gambling has facilitated spot-fixing as a very profitable corrupt venture for those willing to try. Whether or not the Tandy case is a genuine example of spot-fixing is not of particular importance. The allegations have raised the awareness of fixing Rugby League matches as theoretically possible, to potential fixers and to an increasingly distrusting public. Recent rumours are surfacing that a second 2010 match involving the New Zealand Warriors could also have included an instance of spot-fixing.
The problem obviously is that spot-fixing can be done any number of ways and is nearly impossible to detect. Individual cases will come to light from time to time but there is no way of knowing how widespread the practice is. Traditional match-fixing involves rather blatant attempts at influencing the final result of an entire contest, but there is no conceivable limit to how spot-fixing can be covertly achieved.
Two solutions that have been posited in relation to both these scandals, particularly the local Rugby League scandal, have taken hold with certain prominent members of the sporting community. The first is banning players from betting on their own games, or betting outright. This is an important issue with many complex facets to deal with, but its an issue for another day. It is irrelevant to the spot-fixing problem as the players only financial dealings are with the corrupt fixers and bookmakers. The second distinctly local solution is a good old banning of gambling outright in this country. This is a happy notion, albeit pathologically naive. The argument overall is a political one, with views on both sides which smarter men than I understand far beyond my simple sports-centric opinions. Attempting to ban a practice so rampant and indelibly stamped in the economic fabric as it is on subcontinental markets, would do nothing except to cause turmoil and would not be a deterrent to such a powerful section of people. A practice with elements of seedy underground illegality would become consumed by seedy underground illegality exclusively. From an Australian perspective, legal sports betting remains well regulated and is perhaps the healthiest form of gambling in the country, operating with far less reputation for devastation than other forms of gambling. The nature of Internet gambling and its ability to reach anyone also has rendered any notions of nations bans obsolete.
The overriding fact is that spot-fixing is a unique and especially dangerous problem as its nature, as well as the power of those behind it, make it practically impossible to ever police, or to even notice a majority of the time. Pakistan opening batsman Yasir Hameed was quoted as saying 'almost every match' was fixed in some way. You'd like to hope this is not the case, but there's no way of knowing, particularly when Pakistan are involved. There are no perfect solutions and the reason spot-fixing is so frightening is because there appears to be no conceivable way to stop it.
Any delusions to a sporting world free of betting corruption are misplaced, just as gambling will always be a human problem. But steps can be taken to limit its spectre in sport specifically. Quite clearly the first of these must be a halt to the rampant inventing of new betting markets out of thin air. Yes sports betting is a complex science for its devotees, and there needs to be a variety of options and alternatives, but surely the need for a betting market on every single ball of a Cricket match is of little necessity. Spot-fixing is specifically about the small things, exploiting tiny inconsequential betting markets. If these are taken out, those trying to corrupt a sporting contest can to an extent be weeded out as they will have to commit substantially bigger high-stakes fixes. The rest of the work needing to be done is up to the sporting bodies though. Sports have to look after their players financially so they are not so tempted by the lure of bribes. The contexts of the two scandals in question are particularly relevant. the Pakistan Cricket Board is of course a dysfunctional organisation specialising in tumult, and regular disputes with players over their income are part and parcel of the idiocy. The NRL in turn has a notoriously inadequate salary cap. 2010 already showed the devastating impact this has had, with the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal rocking the league to its core. If the NRL is not careful players could increasingly turn to far more shady income sources than the AFL or Rugby Union.
The final vital key in fighting the problem of corruption is to train those involved in the sport to recognise it. Players, officials, even fans to an extent. Spot-fixing is extremely difficult to pick up on, and we can never expect to notice every instance. But if more money and manpower can be put into educating referees and umpires, as well as perhaps training specialised off field observers to know what they're looking for, in time it may become harder and harder to get away with it. But the most important education is for the players themselves, so that impressionable youths like Mohammad Amir can't fall into the trap of corruption.
Showing posts with label Rugby League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rugby League. Show all posts
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Local News Wrap - December 6-12 2010
Cricket: By far the most interesting, newsworthy and least painful (although not by much) set of breaking stories this week has involved off-field dramas of selection and injury, not the cataclysmic mess that was the cricket. The latest bizarre selection move on Australia's part is Western Australian off-spinner and general punny name cannon fodder Michael Beer being plucked from the deepest depths of obscurity for the 3rd test in Perth this week.
Rugby League: My beloved Parramatta Eels seem to be doing an unusual amount of publicity events recently, culminating in a Christmas visit to a local shopping centre. One doubts if more publicity is the best way to diffuse the speculation over Timana Tahu's future. But then it could be worse, they could have Timana's PR agents.
AFL: The amusing saga of all-round nice guy Gary Ablett and all-round vaguely suspicious character Mark Thompson continues unchecked. Recent revelations to fuel the fire were that former Geelong premiership coach Thompson was secretly in talks with Essendon well into the previous season, while simultaneously berating Ablett for considering his eventual defection to the Gold Coast Suns. Now it seems that Thompson also had the indignant hypocrisy to fall out with Ablett over his contemplation. Ablett revealed this week that the pair have barely spoken since April, angering club legend John "Sam" Newman.
"That is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard" Newman was quoted as saying. When Sam Newman is disgusted by something you know you have a problem.
Football: The A-League continues to take advantage of being the only substantial sporting league in the country over summer, with some compelling games this week. The Brisbane Roar have continued to show themselves as the real deal, scoring their first ever win in Sydney, 1-0 over Sydney FC. The result, a record-extending 16th straight game without defeat, leaves them an ominous seven points clear of Adelaide United, despite their comfortable 2-0 win over the North Queensland Fury. Gold Coast and Central Coast look solid in 3rd and 4th after a 2-0 win over the hapless travellers Wellington, and a 1-1 draw at Perth respectively. Meanwhile the Melbourne Victory pulled out one of their best performances of the year to win the local derby against the Heart 3-1.
Formula 1: Logic and reason has finally returned to the FIA's lawmakers, with the controversial team orders rule being repealed for 2011, an absurd 9 years after it came in. The rule was implemented in response to a pair of farcical staged finishes by Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello during their dominant 2002 season. Regardless of opinions on whether the fans deserve better, or should hack the fact that F1 is a steam sport fundamentally, what was always unanimous was dislike of the rule because of its arbitrariness. Teams have taken to merely using predefined codes or careful wording to disseminate the same message, resulting in a product equally as 'staged', but less honest. For 2011 team orders will return, distasteful maybe, but transparent definitely. Meanwhile Mark Webber has admitted to sustaining a broken shoulder in a mountain-bike accident before the championship-deciding last four races of 2010 (before which he led the title chase). I believe Webber if he claims that the injury did not play a role in denying him the championship, but can't help but think that after two major incidents in a row, Webber should not go near a bicycle of any form ever again.
V8 Supercars: James Courtney has wrapped up the 2010 V8 Supercar title as expected, but he tried his hardest to throw it away, with a 15th and a 14th place finish in the spectacular final weekend on the streets of Sydney Olympic Park. A violent rainstorm in Race 1 resulted in the astonishing happening of all three title contenders hitting the barriers at the same time in the same corner (Whincup and Winterbottom joining Courtney in the wall). Courtney alone of the three was able to salvage some points, scraping home 15th as Dale Wood took a hugely unexpected maiden win. Shane Van Gisbergen looked on track to make it two debut winners from two on Sunday but had the heartbreaking misfortune of running out of fuel on the final lap, handing victory to Holdsworth. Courtney recovered from a comically inexact pit stop to finish 14th and deny Jamie Whincup a hat-trick of titles.
Boxing: Wednesday December 8 saw a thoroughly arbitrary yet strangely interesting exhibition bout between two-time world champion Anthony Mundine and Foxtel reality show "The Contender" winner Garth Wood. Interesting is meant quite liberally however as the fight was of consistently atrocious quality. But it instantly took on a special meaning when Wood landed a flush blow to Mundine's chin in the 5th and left him on the canvas. Wood's KO win was one of the biggest upsets in Australian boxing history. Moreover it was a pleasant surprise and general inspirational source of hope to any decent person to see Mundine dealt the kind of come-uppance any passively interested Aussie boxing fan (any greater interest results in far too much exposure to Mundine's intolerable character) has been desperately waiting for.
Rugby League: My beloved Parramatta Eels seem to be doing an unusual amount of publicity events recently, culminating in a Christmas visit to a local shopping centre. One doubts if more publicity is the best way to diffuse the speculation over Timana Tahu's future. But then it could be worse, they could have Timana's PR agents.
AFL: The amusing saga of all-round nice guy Gary Ablett and all-round vaguely suspicious character Mark Thompson continues unchecked. Recent revelations to fuel the fire were that former Geelong premiership coach Thompson was secretly in talks with Essendon well into the previous season, while simultaneously berating Ablett for considering his eventual defection to the Gold Coast Suns. Now it seems that Thompson also had the indignant hypocrisy to fall out with Ablett over his contemplation. Ablett revealed this week that the pair have barely spoken since April, angering club legend John "Sam" Newman.
"That is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard" Newman was quoted as saying. When Sam Newman is disgusted by something you know you have a problem.
Football: The A-League continues to take advantage of being the only substantial sporting league in the country over summer, with some compelling games this week. The Brisbane Roar have continued to show themselves as the real deal, scoring their first ever win in Sydney, 1-0 over Sydney FC. The result, a record-extending 16th straight game without defeat, leaves them an ominous seven points clear of Adelaide United, despite their comfortable 2-0 win over the North Queensland Fury. Gold Coast and Central Coast look solid in 3rd and 4th after a 2-0 win over the hapless travellers Wellington, and a 1-1 draw at Perth respectively. Meanwhile the Melbourne Victory pulled out one of their best performances of the year to win the local derby against the Heart 3-1.
Formula 1: Logic and reason has finally returned to the FIA's lawmakers, with the controversial team orders rule being repealed for 2011, an absurd 9 years after it came in. The rule was implemented in response to a pair of farcical staged finishes by Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello during their dominant 2002 season. Regardless of opinions on whether the fans deserve better, or should hack the fact that F1 is a steam sport fundamentally, what was always unanimous was dislike of the rule because of its arbitrariness. Teams have taken to merely using predefined codes or careful wording to disseminate the same message, resulting in a product equally as 'staged', but less honest. For 2011 team orders will return, distasteful maybe, but transparent definitely. Meanwhile Mark Webber has admitted to sustaining a broken shoulder in a mountain-bike accident before the championship-deciding last four races of 2010 (before which he led the title chase). I believe Webber if he claims that the injury did not play a role in denying him the championship, but can't help but think that after two major incidents in a row, Webber should not go near a bicycle of any form ever again.
V8 Supercars: James Courtney has wrapped up the 2010 V8 Supercar title as expected, but he tried his hardest to throw it away, with a 15th and a 14th place finish in the spectacular final weekend on the streets of Sydney Olympic Park. A violent rainstorm in Race 1 resulted in the astonishing happening of all three title contenders hitting the barriers at the same time in the same corner (Whincup and Winterbottom joining Courtney in the wall). Courtney alone of the three was able to salvage some points, scraping home 15th as Dale Wood took a hugely unexpected maiden win. Shane Van Gisbergen looked on track to make it two debut winners from two on Sunday but had the heartbreaking misfortune of running out of fuel on the final lap, handing victory to Holdsworth. Courtney recovered from a comically inexact pit stop to finish 14th and deny Jamie Whincup a hat-trick of titles.
Boxing: Wednesday December 8 saw a thoroughly arbitrary yet strangely interesting exhibition bout between two-time world champion Anthony Mundine and Foxtel reality show "The Contender" winner Garth Wood. Interesting is meant quite liberally however as the fight was of consistently atrocious quality. But it instantly took on a special meaning when Wood landed a flush blow to Mundine's chin in the 5th and left him on the canvas. Wood's KO win was one of the biggest upsets in Australian boxing history. Moreover it was a pleasant surprise and general inspirational source of hope to any decent person to see Mundine dealt the kind of come-uppance any passively interested Aussie boxing fan (any greater interest results in far too much exposure to Mundine's intolerable character) has been desperately waiting for.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Weekend Headlines
Cricket: 1/517. That's all I'm going to say. Details here.
Rugby: How many times in Rugby history can a front rower be lauded the hero of a 40 point drubbing? At least one now thanks to Wallaby bench prop Ben Robinson. He came on with Australia locked in a 13-13 struggle with France in Paris, having just conceded a penalty try because of typically atrocious collapsible scrum work. Robinson proved the missing link and was able to keep the pack standing, then promptly scored the first try of the second half after diving across the line from a metre out. That took Australia to a 20-16 lead and with newfound confidence they went on to a rather surprising but thoroughly impressive record demolition, the final score 59-16.
Football: David Beckham showed his usual sense of generally being kind of average on a football field in Saturday's showcase against the Newcastle Jets. In all fairness however he was carrying at least one, perhaps several niggling injuries throughout the game and showed glimpses of his best, a best that remains comfortably beyond A-League class. However for the second visit from two the Galaxy strangely found themselves on the losing end against a team with an incomparably smaller and capped salary pool. The Jets coming from 1 goal down to win 2-1.
Tennis: At the end of one of the worst years of his illustrious career, former world No.1 Roger Federer has finally won only his 5th title of 2010. However this happened to be the most important-non grand slam tournament in the world, the ATP tour finals in London. What's more, Federer achieved the success, his 5th at the year end championships, with a mighty display over an equally in form world No.1 Rafael Nadal. The result reminds us that when both on their game, Federer remains comfortably the better hard court player and consequently should be favoured for January's Australian Open.
Cricket: In light of the flat beast the Gabba wicket became this week, Hobart has reminded everyone why it is so underrated as a test venue with a juicy pitch allowing South Australia to beat Tasmania by 43 runs in the Sheffield Shield despite only making 55 in their first dig. Can you imagine this at Adelaide?
Football: The A-League is beginning to have a distinctly 2 horse race feel about it, with Adelaide United's 2-1 win over the Gold Coast being backed up by a 5-1 thumping of the Central Coast Mariners dealt by the top of the table Brisbane Roar. The losing teams are 3rd and 4th on the ladder, now more than 7 points behind Adelaide on 34 points, while Brisbane dominate on a mammoth 40. Is it worth noting however that Adelaide are notorious grand final chokers and Brisbane are as yet unproven on the big stage. This is still any one's league.
Rugby League: Timana Tahu. What the hell? One has to wonder where his mind is at around this time. After a controversial year involving Andrew Johns' and then his own dunderheaded racial slurs, he had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Tahu had yet to show to practice sessions for the Parramatta Eels and coach Steven Kearney admitted he couldn't guarantee his playing future. Yet it turns out he spent last weekend playing in a charity touch competition apparently without any visible signs of physical injury or emotional distress.
Rugby: How many times in Rugby history can a front rower be lauded the hero of a 40 point drubbing? At least one now thanks to Wallaby bench prop Ben Robinson. He came on with Australia locked in a 13-13 struggle with France in Paris, having just conceded a penalty try because of typically atrocious collapsible scrum work. Robinson proved the missing link and was able to keep the pack standing, then promptly scored the first try of the second half after diving across the line from a metre out. That took Australia to a 20-16 lead and with newfound confidence they went on to a rather surprising but thoroughly impressive record demolition, the final score 59-16.
Football: David Beckham showed his usual sense of generally being kind of average on a football field in Saturday's showcase against the Newcastle Jets. In all fairness however he was carrying at least one, perhaps several niggling injuries throughout the game and showed glimpses of his best, a best that remains comfortably beyond A-League class. However for the second visit from two the Galaxy strangely found themselves on the losing end against a team with an incomparably smaller and capped salary pool. The Jets coming from 1 goal down to win 2-1.
Tennis: At the end of one of the worst years of his illustrious career, former world No.1 Roger Federer has finally won only his 5th title of 2010. However this happened to be the most important-non grand slam tournament in the world, the ATP tour finals in London. What's more, Federer achieved the success, his 5th at the year end championships, with a mighty display over an equally in form world No.1 Rafael Nadal. The result reminds us that when both on their game, Federer remains comfortably the better hard court player and consequently should be favoured for January's Australian Open.
Cricket: In light of the flat beast the Gabba wicket became this week, Hobart has reminded everyone why it is so underrated as a test venue with a juicy pitch allowing South Australia to beat Tasmania by 43 runs in the Sheffield Shield despite only making 55 in their first dig. Can you imagine this at Adelaide?
Football: The A-League is beginning to have a distinctly 2 horse race feel about it, with Adelaide United's 2-1 win over the Gold Coast being backed up by a 5-1 thumping of the Central Coast Mariners dealt by the top of the table Brisbane Roar. The losing teams are 3rd and 4th on the ladder, now more than 7 points behind Adelaide on 34 points, while Brisbane dominate on a mammoth 40. Is it worth noting however that Adelaide are notorious grand final chokers and Brisbane are as yet unproven on the big stage. This is still any one's league.
Rugby League: Timana Tahu. What the hell? One has to wonder where his mind is at around this time. After a controversial year involving Andrew Johns' and then his own dunderheaded racial slurs, he had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Tahu had yet to show to practice sessions for the Parramatta Eels and coach Steven Kearney admitted he couldn't guarantee his playing future. Yet it turns out he spent last weekend playing in a charity touch competition apparently without any visible signs of physical injury or emotional distress.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Weekly news wrap: November 21-27 2010
Cricket
Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin are Australia’s latest sporting heroes after an inspired triple century to put Australia into a commanding position of the first Ashes test at the Gabba. For more on the Ashes see my series preview and daily reports.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
After fighting admirably for ten days to hold Test No.1s India to two solid draws, New Zealand’s cricketers succeeded in thoroughly ruining yet another series for their poor superstar captain Daniel Vettori. A distinctly typical middle order batting farce saw the Black Caps bowled out for 193 and 175, allowing India to amble comfortably to 8 declared for 566 in the interim.
A few thousand Pakistani expatriates, the families of the players and half a dozen local fans gathered in Abu Dhabi’s ridiculous looking cricket stadium last week to watch South Africa’s bowlers thoroughly fail to bowl out Pakistan in the 4th innings for a second consecutive test match. Credit this time must also go to their batsmen however, for their uninspiring one paced effort at a crucial time when aggressiveness was needed.
Chris Gayle once again showed evidence of his completely lack of maturity and responsibility, by immediately celebrating his removal as West Indian captain with a mighty triple century, of rather strong maturity and responsibility. Gayle’s 333 led an admirable Windies team as they had the running of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. The substantially higher ranked home team were strangely lethargic and had to fight just to escape with a draw. This week’s 2nd test also finished in a draw, with rain ruining the match but leaving just enough time for Sri Lanka to regain the psychological edge over a less impressive Windies side before next week’s series decider.
Rugby League
The preposterous debacle of Greg Inglis shows no sign of ending any time soon. First South Sydney Rabbitohs owner and general super-spruiker had the intelligence and foresight to reveal the financial terms of Inglis’ arrangement to American late night talk show host and all-round non-Conan O’Brienish Jay Leno. Perhaps Crowe relied on the cluelessness of Australian TV and the inexplicable lack of American variety programming in this country to not disseminate such a howling admission. Unfortunately it seems that David Gallop and/or other league officials once again have shown themselves to possess magical powers beyond any mere mortal, or at least a basic understanding of Internet browsing, and came across the program.
The latest development has seen the Rabbitohs finally submit Inglis’ contract to NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert, who has given no indication of being a sure bet to pass the contract at all. To cap it off the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos have confirmed that should Inglis’ deal fall through, which remains a very real possibility, he will not be welcome back at either club.
Rugby Union
Despite kicking 8 from 9 in the win over Italy last week, Wallabies inside centre Berrick Barnes has been relieved of the goal-kicking duties for this week’s spring tour finale against France. Australian coach Robbie ‘New Zealand’ Deans has handed the duties back to the last gasp hero of our irrelevant Hong Kong Bledisloe win over the All Blacks, 12 year old James O’Connor. Mr ‘Kiwi’ Deans was quoted today as saying Australia’s success on the tour will be judged by this weekend’s result in Paris. I would say unless the Wallabies win 145-0 the tour has already well and truly been judged.
Football
This humble reporter (googling random news articles at 2am on a Saturday night is journalism now right) lives in the (very) humble Hunter Valley location of Toronto, NSW. Therefore the hype surrounding the unprecedented local visit of renowned underwear model and one time decent footballer David Beckham has reached fever pitch. Beckham’s LA Galaxy (or Donovan’s LA Galaxy as known by Landon Donovan) face the bizarrely not bankrupt Newcastle Jets at Energy Australia construction site tonight.
While the Newcastle Jets are busy making a publicity buck, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United have a golden chance to pull even further away in their two-horse race at the top of the A-League ladder when United face the third placed Gold Coast while the Roar face fourth placed Central Coast Mariners.
The decision as to who will host the 2018 and 2022 world cups is now just a week away. Australia’s bid for the 2022 tournament suffered a blow when Oceania representative and sure fire Aussie vote Reynald Temarii was suspended by FIFA for alleged involvement in yet another now customary bribe-taking and vote-rigging scandal. Our bid still looks to be on good track however, with a detailed analysis of the potential voting patterns of FIFA member showing Australia as unlikely favourites to win the rights to the world’s greatest single sport showcase. A recently leaked FIFA report showed that many on the voting panel are inclined to vote against our principle rivals Qatar and the United States for reasons of extreme heat and unfriendly time zone respectively.
Motorsport
Australia’s much loved and internationally renowned V8 Supercar series has once again lived up to its selling point by providing a series of spectacular accidents over the weekend. Holden Racing Team drivers Garth Tander and Will Davison both had high speed shunts at an absurdly unsafe kink on the Sandown circuit. Paul Dumbrell was the feel good story of the weekend by finally taking his first race win after 11 years in the sport. Dick Johnson Racing’s James Courtney increased his championship lead over reigning champion Jamie Whincup
Young Australian superstar Daniel Ricciardo has ascended to the final step on the ladder below a Formula One race drive, with the Toro Rosso team (sister team to 2010 championship winners Red Bull) announcing Ricciardo will be their third driver in 2011. With the bordering on dangerous testing ban still in place for next season, Ricciardo’s test and reserve role in reality involves very little time in the car and he will remain in the Formula Renault 3.5 series full time. But Ricciardo will gain vital experience when he alternately replaces Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari in one of the two race cars for every Friday morning free practice session. Ricciardo recently dominated a young driver test in Abu Dhabi in the championship winning RB6.
Tennis
After an exciting and unpredictable year of men’s tennis, a disappointingly predictable semi line-up of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray has been set up in the ATP world tour finals. However the juicy matchups, Nadal vs Murray and Federer vs Djokovic promise a grand spectacle for the fans London’s mystifyingly named O2 arena.
Athlete of the week
The ageless and luckless Jacqui Cooper has announced her retirement from Aerial Skiing during the week. The 1999 World Champion was considered a great chance at our first Winter Olympics gold medal in Nagano in 1998 before crashing out in qualifying. Her most infamous heart-break came when she went to Salt Lake City in 2002 as outright favourite but had a violent crash landing in practice a week out from the games, pulverising her knee. A similar fate befell has in Turin 2006 when she entered the final as favourite but crashed twice. She was selected for an unprecedented fifth Olympic campaign in 2010, the first Australian women to attend five summer or winter games. Although past her best at age 37 and unable to challenge for medals, she finally put the Olympic demons to rest with a clean trouble free run to 5th. Cooper’s importance lays in her pre-eminent as Australia first true winter sports star (along with perhaps Stephen Bradbury). Her pioneering status paved the way for the future gold medal success of Aerialists Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila. We wish her luck in her retirement. Why I am referring to myself in the plural sense I don’t know.
Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin are Australia’s latest sporting heroes after an inspired triple century to put Australia into a commanding position of the first Ashes test at the Gabba. For more on the Ashes see my series preview and daily reports.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
After fighting admirably for ten days to hold Test No.1s India to two solid draws, New Zealand’s cricketers succeeded in thoroughly ruining yet another series for their poor superstar captain Daniel Vettori. A distinctly typical middle order batting farce saw the Black Caps bowled out for 193 and 175, allowing India to amble comfortably to 8 declared for 566 in the interim.
A few thousand Pakistani expatriates, the families of the players and half a dozen local fans gathered in Abu Dhabi’s ridiculous looking cricket stadium last week to watch South Africa’s bowlers thoroughly fail to bowl out Pakistan in the 4th innings for a second consecutive test match. Credit this time must also go to their batsmen however, for their uninspiring one paced effort at a crucial time when aggressiveness was needed.
Chris Gayle once again showed evidence of his completely lack of maturity and responsibility, by immediately celebrating his removal as West Indian captain with a mighty triple century, of rather strong maturity and responsibility. Gayle’s 333 led an admirable Windies team as they had the running of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. The substantially higher ranked home team were strangely lethargic and had to fight just to escape with a draw. This week’s 2nd test also finished in a draw, with rain ruining the match but leaving just enough time for Sri Lanka to regain the psychological edge over a less impressive Windies side before next week’s series decider.
Rugby League
The preposterous debacle of Greg Inglis shows no sign of ending any time soon. First South Sydney Rabbitohs owner and general super-spruiker had the intelligence and foresight to reveal the financial terms of Inglis’ arrangement to American late night talk show host and all-round non-Conan O’Brienish Jay Leno. Perhaps Crowe relied on the cluelessness of Australian TV and the inexplicable lack of American variety programming in this country to not disseminate such a howling admission. Unfortunately it seems that David Gallop and/or other league officials once again have shown themselves to possess magical powers beyond any mere mortal, or at least a basic understanding of Internet browsing, and came across the program.
The latest development has seen the Rabbitohs finally submit Inglis’ contract to NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert, who has given no indication of being a sure bet to pass the contract at all. To cap it off the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos have confirmed that should Inglis’ deal fall through, which remains a very real possibility, he will not be welcome back at either club.
Rugby Union
Despite kicking 8 from 9 in the win over Italy last week, Wallabies inside centre Berrick Barnes has been relieved of the goal-kicking duties for this week’s spring tour finale against France. Australian coach Robbie ‘New Zealand’ Deans has handed the duties back to the last gasp hero of our irrelevant Hong Kong Bledisloe win over the All Blacks, 12 year old James O’Connor. Mr ‘Kiwi’ Deans was quoted today as saying Australia’s success on the tour will be judged by this weekend’s result in Paris. I would say unless the Wallabies win 145-0 the tour has already well and truly been judged.
Football
This humble reporter (googling random news articles at 2am on a Saturday night is journalism now right) lives in the (very) humble Hunter Valley location of Toronto, NSW. Therefore the hype surrounding the unprecedented local visit of renowned underwear model and one time decent footballer David Beckham has reached fever pitch. Beckham’s LA Galaxy (or Donovan’s LA Galaxy as known by Landon Donovan) face the bizarrely not bankrupt Newcastle Jets at Energy Australia construction site tonight.
While the Newcastle Jets are busy making a publicity buck, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United have a golden chance to pull even further away in their two-horse race at the top of the A-League ladder when United face the third placed Gold Coast while the Roar face fourth placed Central Coast Mariners.
The decision as to who will host the 2018 and 2022 world cups is now just a week away. Australia’s bid for the 2022 tournament suffered a blow when Oceania representative and sure fire Aussie vote Reynald Temarii was suspended by FIFA for alleged involvement in yet another now customary bribe-taking and vote-rigging scandal. Our bid still looks to be on good track however, with a detailed analysis of the potential voting patterns of FIFA member showing Australia as unlikely favourites to win the rights to the world’s greatest single sport showcase. A recently leaked FIFA report showed that many on the voting panel are inclined to vote against our principle rivals Qatar and the United States for reasons of extreme heat and unfriendly time zone respectively.
Motorsport
Australia’s much loved and internationally renowned V8 Supercar series has once again lived up to its selling point by providing a series of spectacular accidents over the weekend. Holden Racing Team drivers Garth Tander and Will Davison both had high speed shunts at an absurdly unsafe kink on the Sandown circuit. Paul Dumbrell was the feel good story of the weekend by finally taking his first race win after 11 years in the sport. Dick Johnson Racing’s James Courtney increased his championship lead over reigning champion Jamie Whincup
Young Australian superstar Daniel Ricciardo has ascended to the final step on the ladder below a Formula One race drive, with the Toro Rosso team (sister team to 2010 championship winners Red Bull) announcing Ricciardo will be their third driver in 2011. With the bordering on dangerous testing ban still in place for next season, Ricciardo’s test and reserve role in reality involves very little time in the car and he will remain in the Formula Renault 3.5 series full time. But Ricciardo will gain vital experience when he alternately replaces Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari in one of the two race cars for every Friday morning free practice session. Ricciardo recently dominated a young driver test in Abu Dhabi in the championship winning RB6.
Tennis
After an exciting and unpredictable year of men’s tennis, a disappointingly predictable semi line-up of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray has been set up in the ATP world tour finals. However the juicy matchups, Nadal vs Murray and Federer vs Djokovic promise a grand spectacle for the fans London’s mystifyingly named O2 arena.
Athlete of the week
The ageless and luckless Jacqui Cooper has announced her retirement from Aerial Skiing during the week. The 1999 World Champion was considered a great chance at our first Winter Olympics gold medal in Nagano in 1998 before crashing out in qualifying. Her most infamous heart-break came when she went to Salt Lake City in 2002 as outright favourite but had a violent crash landing in practice a week out from the games, pulverising her knee. A similar fate befell has in Turin 2006 when she entered the final as favourite but crashed twice. She was selected for an unprecedented fifth Olympic campaign in 2010, the first Australian women to attend five summer or winter games. Although past her best at age 37 and unable to challenge for medals, she finally put the Olympic demons to rest with a clean trouble free run to 5th. Cooper’s importance lays in her pre-eminent as Australia first true winter sports star (along with perhaps Stephen Bradbury). Her pioneering status paved the way for the future gold medal success of Aerialists Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila. We wish her luck in her retirement. Why I am referring to myself in the plural sense I don’t know.
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