SuperCoach AFL 2025: Caldwell conundrum, Pedlar yes or no, and a huge Tom McCarthy call!
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Sydney Morning Herald
3 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum
Increasingly, the balance of world opinion favours an Indian win in the final game. Why? Because the posturing that accompanied England's Bazball revolution has got to the point that even some among their countrymen are beginning to tire of it all. There is also the fact that the self-appointed great entertainers, all about saving Test cricket and making the game more enjoyable, are now increasingly inclined towards the kind of flinty attitudes held by teams rather more concerned with winning. The contradictions are piling up. Steve Smith, for one, picked this up during the Manchester Test. 'They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,' Smith told the BBC's Test Match Special. 'They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.' Loading Back in 2023, England's posturing included barbs about having effectively won a game at Edgbaston that they actually lost, then a flurry of indignation at Jonny Baristow's legitimate stumping by Alex Carey at Lord's. This was closely followed by dog whistling to ensure that Australia's players were given hell for the rest of the trip - the unpleasantness escalating even to death threats. But of course, England did not win the series nor regain the Ashes. Similarly, they are yet to win a series against India under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. And their white ball team has slipped a long way from the heights of the 2019 World Cup, and got to the point last year that McCullum was asked to take over the all-format program. So this year, with India and the Ashes both looming large, there has been a rhetorical shift towards more pragmatic cricket, but also more unpleasant behaviour on the field, in search of tactical advantage. Open discussion of team meetings where tactical sledging was discussed certainly raised the eyebrows of Australian players, seven years after their own descent into the infamous Cape Town Test and all the introspection that followed. Loading Members of that 2018 team are well aware that the path of sledging and unsavoury behaviour is a slippery one, leading to ever-greater animosity. They were amused to hear Stokes mimic their old phrase after a spiteful lord's Test match: 'At not one stage did we go over the line.' The Australians also recall that if the sledging didn't work, it would result in a backlash of commensurate fury from the likes of AB de Villiers or, some years earlier, Brian Lara. McCullum has even called in Gilbert Enoka, his old friend from the New Zealand cricket team and a longtime advisor to the All Blacks, to help shape the culture and identity of England's Ashes challengers. Enoka still has some work to do. Faced with an Indian side that did not want to dance to their tune, England looked churlish, bad-tempered and even a little bit brittle: happy and jovial when things go their way, but sulky and childish when they don't.
The Age
3 minutes ago
- The Age
Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum
Increasingly, the balance of world opinion favours an Indian win in the final game. Why? Because the posturing that accompanied England's Bazball revolution has got to the point that even some among their countrymen are beginning to tire of it all. There is also the fact that the self-appointed great entertainers, all about saving Test cricket and making the game more enjoyable, are now increasingly inclined towards the kind of flinty attitudes held by teams rather more concerned with winning. The contradictions are piling up. Steve Smith, for one, picked this up during the Manchester Test. 'They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,' Smith told the BBC's Test Match Special. 'They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.' Loading Back in 2023, England's posturing included barbs about having effectively won a game at Edgbaston that they actually lost, then a flurry of indignation at Jonny Baristow's legitimate stumping by Alex Carey at Lord's. This was closely followed by dog whistling to ensure that Australia's players were given hell for the rest of the trip - the unpleasantness escalating even to death threats. But of course, England did not win the series nor regain the Ashes. Similarly, they are yet to win a series against India under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. And their white ball team has slipped a long way from the heights of the 2019 World Cup, and got to the point last year that McCullum was asked to take over the all-format program. So this year, with India and the Ashes both looming large, there has been a rhetorical shift towards more pragmatic cricket, but also more unpleasant behaviour on the field, in search of tactical advantage. Open discussion of team meetings where tactical sledging was discussed certainly raised the eyebrows of Australian players, seven years after their own descent into the infamous Cape Town Test and all the introspection that followed. Loading Members of that 2018 team are well aware that the path of sledging and unsavoury behaviour is a slippery one, leading to ever-greater animosity. They were amused to hear Stokes mimic their old phrase after a spiteful lord's Test match: 'At not one stage did we go over the line.' The Australians also recall that if the sledging didn't work, it would result in a backlash of commensurate fury from the likes of AB de Villiers or, some years earlier, Brian Lara. McCullum has even called in Gilbert Enoka, his old friend from the New Zealand cricket team and a longtime advisor to the All Blacks, to help shape the culture and identity of England's Ashes challengers. Enoka still has some work to do. Faced with an Indian side that did not want to dance to their tune, England looked churlish, bad-tempered and even a little bit brittle: happy and jovial when things go their way, but sulky and childish when they don't.
West Australian
3 minutes ago
- West Australian
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon carries Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera on his shoulders after Melbourne heroics
Not even the usually bristly Ross Lyon could contain himself as the St Kilda coach partied hard with match-winning star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera after their historic comeback against Melbourne. The Saints stunned the Demons to overturn the biggest-ever fourth-quarter deficit in AFL/VFL history, erasing a 46-point margin at the final break to win after the siren on Sunday. At the centre of it was Wanganeen-Milera, who kicked the last two goals of the game inside 55 seconds, to finish his night with four goals and 34 touches. In a post-match function at Hotel Brighton, Lyon is seen holding Wanganeen-Milera up on his shoulders as they danced to blasting music, as his Saints teammates cheered. Lyon said a win like that can be something the club can build their brand around, despite another season stuck in the lower mid-table. 'At the end of the day, it's four points ... get a bit of belief and we all get together (tonight),' Lyon said. 'We're trying to build out the mortar of the club, we've got a family function at a hotel - we're all getting there. 'We'll enjoy each other's company but the stone-cold reality is in 24 hours you're preparing and it just keeps coming at you. 'But we did talk about the joy at half-time of playing footy, don't let it get you down. As a kid, you'd love to be here. We just dive into that space. 'Just the joy of playing football, let alone AFL football.' However, it remains to be seen if Wanganeen-Milera will stay a part of that club brand with the 22-year-old out of contract for next year. The Saints have offered a $1.4 million deal over the next two seasons, but Port Adelaide and Adelaide are reportedly coming hard for the South Australian native. And his price tag is only going to increase as he puts together more match-winning performances.
