People forget that Maxwell’s non-selection prior to the 2017-18 Ashes also came at a time where he could barely buy a run in ODIs – only 3 50s in 2 years. And the previous summer he almost left Victoria for NSW. The longer his career has gone, Maxwell has shown himself a player of flashes and moments rather than anything sustainable. Even his ‘extended’ run in the Test team was littered with starts and failures.

And it’s telling that his 278 was almost in conjunction with Aussies’ 1st innings in the Ashes at the Gabba, where notable (Victorian) journalists were actively barracking for Shaun Marsh’s demise when he came in at 4/70 odd. It’s not Maxwell in isolation, but the national sporting media (in Victoria) build him up to be something that he’s not. The fact that Joel Paris, Michael Neser, Tom Andrews, Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar all have FC centuries since Maxwell’s last one emphasises how laughable the concept of him being anywhere near the Test team is.

I think all we as a footballing public ask for in cases like this is a bit of transparency. We need to know the machinations behind why different substances are treated the way they are. Saad from memory wasn’t stood down until the B sample was tested, but that doesn’t excuse the length of time between testing.

Glenn, you and I have spoken at length about Sangakkara’s standing in the game. His appetite for runs and big scores hasn’t been seen since the likes of Lara. People I speak to still believe he is a ‘flat track bully’ given his imposing records against the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. But he has 11 scores over 185+ two of which came on notorious green seamers in Hobart (2008) and Wellington (2015). The Wellington knock will be my most enduring memory of him, in that it looked like he was playing on a different pitch as wickets tumbled around him.
Of course he dominates at home, every great batsman should. And similarly, he should dominate against lesser attacks. But do we dismiss Sachin Tendulkar’s record because he averaged 136.6 against Bangladesh? Of course not.
I personally would have him a nose ahead of Tendulkar, purely because when given the chance to bat long periods, he goes bigger than anyone since Bradman and Lara.

Good yarn Geoff, one precedent that jumps to mind is that of Mark LeCras on Will Hoskin-Elliott. Apart from LeCras jumping into the player, the contact and aftermath of player welfare is similar. Despite being collected in the head, Hoskin-Elliott was ok to take the free kick, and played out the game, yet LeCras got one week (which sufficed given his good record and Hoskin-Elliott’s health)
Judging by this, at the very least it should have been cited and Franklin should have got at least a week, two with his record.

Cam I believe that when the conduct has been ruled “intentional”, there should be no prospect for a 25% reduction due to an early guilty plea. What are your thoughts?

HI Gremlins, while I admire your attempt at humor, the game’s not until Sunday. And sorry for ruffling your feathers, but it’s in the dictionary so it’s a legitimate use of the word. Consider your feathers ruffled! 🙂

An internal investigation found that he was at the helm of a club that proceeded with a program that included: “The rapid diversification into exotic supplements, sharp increase in frequency of injections, the shift to treatment offsite in alternative medicine clinics, emergence of unfamiliar suppliers, marginalization of traditional medical staff etc combine to create a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the Club in the period under review.”
Not my words, Ziggy Switkowski’s. Every other person involved, with the exception of Mark Thompson and Bruce Reid, have lost their job. Why should Hird be given the opportunity to continue on?

Great yarn Hayley. I wrote in August that one of the reasons for Hird’s lack of governance seemed to be naivety. He was given every tool to succeed, including a two-time premiership coach as senior assistant, and with next to no experience as a coach, that inexperience has shone through in the long-running soap opera known as the Essendon supplements saga.
It seemed that his naivety and drive to be at the helm of the best club in the land led him to be at the forefront of a supplements program which has been found to be reckless and void of necessary duties of care.

Hi Stavros. I watched the interview, and I have specifically criticised Essendon for choosing to air the interview. The timing, for one, was ridiculous, and reportedly the reasoning was to “clarify what his role will be when he comes back, he talked to what he will be doing while he’s overseas, and he was able to reinforce his desire and hunger to coach so that there’s no confusion out there about where he stands and what’s going to happen when he returns.” It is well-documented that not only will he be studying overseas, but what his role would be etc. There was absolutely no need for an interview with Hird, because it did not provide any new information nor did it allow him to show any remorse. In fact, there may have been a slight sheepish change in tone when he said he would study practices of “corporate governance”.
As for the 7.30 interview, it’s not the first time Tania Hird has attacked Demetriou out of turn, and again wouldn’t you agree that the timing is curious, if not undoubtedly selfish?

Hi Steven,

Everyone does seem to be at it, except in cricket, where, associate nations and the West Indies aside, there is not another country in the world with a squad as diverse as England. That in itself could be an interesting talking point.

Hi Johan,

I explicitly outlined that it wasn’t an attack on the players who were born overseas and then moved as children (ie. the examples of Prior, Stokes etc) My issue is that a growing number of players who play for England are actually coming through the systems of other nations. The examples you named of Symonds, Khawaja and Henriques, while born overseas, came through our system. And Symonds was heavily courted by English officals after blazing 250-odd as a 19-20 year old.

The examples you used about the Aussie rugby team is very true, however this article wasn’t about rugby. It was pointing at what I saw was a troubling issue in English cricket. Feel free to write about the similar issue for Aussie rugby, by all means.

Great article Ronan, and if I could go back a bit further, Archie Jackson was touted as the best player since Victor Trumper prior to the 1930s Ashes tour of England. It’s funny how all the hype was about him, and yet we all now know what Bradman did on that tour. For Jackson to succumb to tuberculosis at 23 is one of the great tragedies, and he certainly fits into the what-if category.

I can’t disagree with the ‘flat track bully’ claims, but I think we’re looking at the wrong set of statistics. Kumar Sangakkara is a wicketkeeper-batsman by trade.
He has played 74 Tests without the gloves, averaging an incredible 69.55, placing him second to Bradman for players playing over 10 Tests by a country mile. In my opinion, those stats tell me more about the player than who he has played and scored runs against.

As a Broncos fan, that was my biggest fear heading into the playoffs, and I’m glad they have tightened up the defence. Nervous as hell for Monday morning!

Haha that interview was gold. For those who haven’t seen it or would like to refresh their memory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6x-O3kb1sI

Invers was the headmaster at Hale, the Marsh boys went to Wesley. Not a bad thought!

Totally agree on the point of the three commentators Hutcho, I think the general slide in qualiy of commentary can be partly attributed to having three blokes trying to all have their say, but trying to outdo one another. Especially when one of Benaud’s maxims were, among others: ‘never ask a statement’, ‘remember the value of the pause’, ‘and there are no teams in the TV world called ‘we’ or ‘they’. The primary objective of a TV commentator is to to assist the viewers to understand precisely what is going on out there, and not one of the current commentators are even preoccupied with that notion, except to wind up old mates about running between wickets and plugging various things/shows.

Having managed the media for women’s cricket, I can tell you how hard it is to get mainstream media coverage. In WA, the chief cricket writer once played a grade game against the skipper of the Western Fury, Nicole Bolton (who, incidentally, narrowly missed out on a Test debut at the WACA). Bolton scored 78no and what was the journo’s response? He only referred to Bolton as ‘the girl’.

I think David’s article is misguided by focussing on media coverage while highlighting the sport’s pin-up girl as the one needing the coverage. How many know of Meg Lanning’s record century off 45 balls in an ODI? Renee Farrell’s hat trick in an Ashes match? Do you think their feats received much coverage? Holly Ferling is the next star who has played against men while still in high school. Women’s cricket is definitely a tough one to promote, but it ultimately comes down to the simple fact that a team that wins is easier to promote.

I would encourage everyone to have a serious look at the live stream of the one dayers and T20s, as women’s cricket is not about power, but finesse and pointy-elbowed elegance. It’s definitely one for the purists.

And she’s also Mitchell Starc’s better half!

If the injury was sustained on Monday as reported, then what would the reaction be if he had pulled out of the tournament? I daresay it would be similar, if not worse. Unfortunately for Tomic, if he was really injured or not, the ‘tanking’ perceptions aren’t going to go away, and the people around him really need to try and get him to shake that perception.
It has to be said that, despite a very impressive opening service game, he did look extremely proppy. Personally if it was that bad he shouldn’t have played, but again he would not have avoided criticism either way.
Looking forward to watching how the two ‘K’s and Ebden go though!

The ‘friendship’ works both ways: Kim Jong-Un used Rodman as a mouthpiece to the West and Rodman regains some sort of celebrity.

And Peterson has reportedly developed a carrom ball similar to Ravi Ashwin, so he is definitely one to watch with caution

Most balanced post I’ve read concerning this issue.

I remember telling my mates that there was this short, fat kid from NSW called Warner who bowled leggies when he played in the Hong Kong Sixes a few years ago, and I used a similar phrase to your headline. That short, fat leggie has come a long way from that hit and giggle! (Warner that is)

Sharjeel, by that reckoning Syd Barnes, Fred Spofforth, Tibby Cotter or Charlie ‘Terror’ Turner all have greater claims for that third seamer’s spot. The idea that Smith could be one of the best 11 Test cricketers while having only played one Test is beyond me, but I’m happy for you to argue the point!