By Jim Morton
June 20th 2008 @ 3:10am
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Writing the first of a regular weekly column on the Australian Rugby Union [...]
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![A few weeks ago, Bruce Sheekey nominated Australian cricket’s best ever team. He selected Keith Miller at 6 so that he could have a 2/2 split of fast and spin bowlers.
For his two fast bowlers, he chose Dennis Lillee and Ray Lindwall, writing “before anyone screams ‘what about McGrath?’, seriously, who are you going [...] Greg Russell: The best Australian cricket team of my lifetime](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/best-australian-cricket-team-shane-warne-th.jpg)
![Plenty of well wishers have dropped me a line recently in light of a fairly startling turn of events. For the first time this season, Shimizu S-Pulse have moved to the top of the J. League standings.
That the provincial outfit should currently find themselves on top of the standings is of itself no great surprise.
Under [...] Mike Tuckerman: J. League is no answer to A-League’s problems](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kenta-hasegawa-th.jpg)
![I’ve always thought that Channel Nine sports presenter Ken Sutcliffe would be a good bloke to share a beer with. Thirty years of covering everything from the America’s Cup to Wimbledon means he’s probably got plenty of tales to tell.
Admittedly my rationale isn’t based on the most scientific of premises.
One year for [...] Mike Tuckerman: A-League excites despite media indifference](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/a-league-excites-carlos-hernandez-th.jpg)
![Are the Australian selectors expressing the growing concerns of the greater national cricket punditry by giving Brad Haddin a match in charge of the international team?
Haddin had shown for a number of years at New South Wales that he had the tactical and leadership nous to be a skipper at the elite level. In [...] Geoff Lawson: ACB have had enough of blonde tips and sports cars](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/why-clarke-haddin-th.jpg)
![He lay prone on the ground. All 189cms of him was still, except for what looked like spasms as his legs lashed out in pain and alone, except for the suspicious looks from the 40,000 people who surrounded him.
“We’ve seen this before” they all thought. “He better get up before he gets substituted off like [...] Davidde Corran: The hypocrisy of referee criticism](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/respect-for-officials-missing-chelsea-drogba-th.jpg)
![After attending the last two World Club Challenges in Leeds, and after seeing the Rhinos take their third consecutive title at Old Trafford on Saturday night, I’ve decided its time to start the campaign to take the fixture to the southern hemisphere.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy a few Yorkshire ales, but rather, that it’s [...] Steve Kaless: World Club Challenge should be played in Melbourne](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/world-club-challenge-melbourne-th.jpg)
![There are Test matches and there are testing at matches. Pakistan versus Sri Lankan at the National stadium in Karachi last week looked to be extraordinarily testing to all concerned, not least the poor bowlers who toiled on the unforgiving and relentless playing surface.
I can recall English seam bowler Paul Allot’s description of the [...] Geoff Lawson: Green wickets are vital for Test cricket](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/graeme-smith-green-wickets-th.jpg)
![So Melbourne Heart wants a piece of Mark Viduka and Josip Skoko? They’ve also expressed passing interest in Michael Petkovic and Ljubo Milicevic.
Can Football Federation Australia check the licence again and make sure “heart” wasn’t a typo? It wasn’t Melbourne Hajduk, was it?
In all seriousness, though, the FFA would be well served getting as [...] Jesse Fink: Melbourne’s new rivalry will revive the A-League](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/how-important-names-colours-schip-a-league-th.jpg)
![We’ve all heard the argument against A-League fixtures clashing with FIFA dates and this weekend is a case in point. The FFA admits they’ll review the situation at season’s end, but with a congested fixture list next season, it’ll be a tough decision.
The 2010-2011 Hyundai A-League campaign will see eleven teams compete for the ‘silver [...] Ben Somerford: 33 or 22 Rounds in A-League Version 6?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/five-reasons-a-league-th.jpg)
![There are a lot of easy targets in the Sonny Bill Williams saga: the headstrong runaway who’s done the dirty on his mates, the conniving managers, and the aloof CEO hypocritically demanding support from an enemy that has been savagely plundered by his predecessors for over a hundred years.
All of them make great caricatures for [...] Garth Hamilton: David Gallop, it’s time to merge the codes](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/david-gallop-th.jpg)
![To a mixed response, FFA Chairman Frank Lowy revealed this week he wants to introduce an A2-League in the “not too distant future” allowing for promotion and relegation in our top flight. And while the idea shows ambition, it’s totally premature in the Australian market.
In Wednesday’s address, Lowy outlined several plans for the game, including [...] Ben Somerford: Lowy’s A2-League proposal is premature](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/lowys-A2-league-minniecon-th.jpg)
![As we wait on edge to see what the Socceroos will achieve in South Africa, the only guarantee we have is that they won’t look good doing it. That’s the overwhelming consensus following the release of the away kit the Socceroos will wear at the World Cup and beyond that has left many Australian fans [...] Adrian Musolino: Socceroos to be the ugly ducklings at World Cup](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/vince-grella-socceroos-shirt-th.jpg)



