My three sporting highlights of 2022, so far…

2022 is halfway done. Here are my highlights of the sporting year so far.

Highlight one: England’s last innings heroics

The magnificent victory by England over India in the recent cricket Test at Edgbaston is, in my mind, one of the three sporting highlights of 2022 so far.

What a victory! I seriously gave no chance to England and was honestly believing Bazball may have been pronounced too soon.

But the match turned with the opening partnership between Alex Lees and Zac Crawley of 107 runs, which laid the foundation for Root and Bairstow to plunder the bowling.

Even as an opposition supporter it was enthralling viewing, receiving my total attention. Captain Ben Stokes commented he had secretly hoped India had set 450, just to see if they could achieve the target, such is their confidence at present.

I would suggest that Stokes has been instilled with great confidence from Brendon McCullum to captain as he wants to.

It has always amazed me how teams are so reluctant to chase considerable targets in the fourth innings with many ending in tame draws, not rewarding for teams and spectators. Why not separate the innings and treat it like a limited overs match, with runs per over the main target?

It is exactly what England are doing at present, making it compulsory viewing for all cricket spectators. As Joe Root said, it is great fun to play again. It was also McCullum’s philosophy during the 2015 Cricket World Cup where they gained both New Zealand and overseas fans.

Long may it continue, there will be losses and Bazball may not work all the time, but it is incredibly exciting and I look forward immensely to the next series against South Africa in August.

Ben Stokes (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)

Highlight two: Tiger’s baaaack

The second highlight for me is the miraculous return to top golf for Tiger Woods at The Masters at Augusta back in April.

If you did not feel any emotion as a golf fan over this, then you have a heart of stone.

A car crash almost cost him his right leg, still leaving him with a noticeable limp. I thought his days were done and can only marvel at his recovery and desire to play again.

He made the cut remarkably but the toll of playing again meant he finished his worst ever round in 47th. Was he playing to win his 16th major or was he just so relieved to be playing again? I would suggest the “new” Tiger was content with the latter.

He is a noticeably contrasting character now, more smiles and a happy demeanour which is a stark contrast to the steely eyed, aloof Tiger of old.

He is a family man, who enjoys playing with his son Charlie and is grateful to be enjoying the fruits of his labour. Enjoying life seems to be his priority now.

No matter what his form or position on the ladder, he will always have his legion of fans who will be able to tell others, that he/she saw the great Tiger Woods play. A magnificent achievement to play in the Masters.

(Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Highlight three: Jack Jumpers jolt Tasmania

The third highlight in 2022, is the feel-good story of the Tasmania Jack Jumpers making the Grand Final of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in their first season! A remarkable achievement and way beyond supporters’ expectations.

A new franchise normally sticks to the formula of “we are aiming to be competitive” and “we will be happy to finish in the top half of the competition.”

Not the Jack Jumpers, they won their first game, finished the regular season in fourth and beat the first-placed Melbourne United in the semi-finals.

Then onto the Grand Final, losing 3-0 to the Sydney Kings. A comparison would be the Gold Coast advancing to the AFL Grand Final in their first season or the NZ Warriors doing the same in the NRL. What was the secret to their success?

They were well coached by Scott Roth, but in my view, it was the incredible support they engineered from the local community who relished the opportunity to support a local franchise.

The “Ant Army” was established to build a loyal following of support and the team promised to play their hearts out for the whole of Tasmania. The blueprint of their success should be compulsory learning for any new franchise. Well done the Jack Jumpers.

So there you have it, my three sport highlights of 2022 so far. I have a feeling there will be more to come!