And that’s a wrap!
Sure, not quite the end of the sporting year yet, but near as, dammit. When the days grow cold and we grow old, what are the stand-out moments we will likely remember? Here’s a quick look back.
Biggest shock: The untimely death of Shane Warne in early March. Forevermore, most of us will remember where we were and what we were doing, when the news broke. Even now it barely seems credible that Warne is no more.
The Shane Warne mural in Dalgety Lane, St Kilda, in March.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Most cherished win: Ash Barty’s win at the Australian Open. Already the Wimbledon winner from the year before, the nation’s favourite daughter triumphed on her home soil as we roared with approval. All of it, however, was the set-up for the
Most surprising retirement: When Barty retired just two months later.
Most egregious stuff-up of the year: Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. By all means stop the unvaxxed tennis player at the border – but it should have been his border, not ours. His was a story where sport and politics collided so badly the whole thing looked like a train wreck.
Ash Barty after her Australian Open win.Credit:Getty
Biggest yawn-fest: The cricket. What happened this year? It’s so hard to keep track I’ve had to put another man on, and even then my eyes glaze over. Yes, I know we won the Ashes handsomely, but much of it since then just seems to be a blur of formats against sides that are no sooner flown in than they have gone again. “Pray take it away,” Winston Churchill once said when presented with some trifle pudding, “it lacks theme”. So too, the cricket. Against that, Pat Cummins emerged as a worthy and admired captain who displayed great skill with the ball, and great leadership on and off the field.
Best team performance: No question, it is the Socceroos in the World Cup. They were ordinary against France, but played superbly for the rest of it, beating Tunisia and Denmark, before giving Argentina a nudge without quite taking the bikkies.
Warne, Barty, Buddy and ScoMo: The best and worst of the sporting year that was
And that’s a wrap!
Sure, not quite the end of the sporting year yet, but near as, dammit. When the days grow cold and we grow old, what are the stand-out moments we will likely remember? Here’s a quick look back.
Biggest shock: The untimely death of Shane Warne in early March. Forevermore, most of us will remember where we were and what we were doing, when the news broke. Even now it barely seems credible that Warne is no more.
The Shane Warne mural in Dalgety Lane, St Kilda, in March.Credit:Luis Enrique........
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