Michael Clarke will have only a minor role in the Nine commentary box in his first summer since retiring as a player. Clarke is due to appear at the Adelaide and Sydney Tests, but there is now talk he is even wavering about appearing at Adelaide, which will be the first Test there since the match against India in which Clarke made a courageous century shortly after the death of Phillip Hughes last November. It's understood the one-year anniversary of Hughes' death has become a delicate matter, and it remains to be seen how Cricket Australia will handle the matter. Former Test spearhead Ryan Harris was sounded out about joining the ABC commentary box but declined because he already has a busy summer ahead. But his former teammate and opening batsman Chris Rogers is fronting a new-look ABC line-up that includes ex-Netherlands and Australian Twenty20 star Dirk Nannes and Clarke's one-time SCG sparring partner Simon Katich.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wrong call
Usman Khawaja was one of four players dropped for failing to complete his "homework" in Mohali on the now infamous 2013 tour of India. As he prepared for his Test return last week, Khawaja was asked whether he had learnt anything from that decision made under the stewardship of then coach Mickey Arthur. Khawaja was blunt in his response. "Not really, I just thought it was the wrong decision. I think the penalty didn't suit what happened. It's been talked a lot but there were better ways to go about it. I know as a captain, if the same thing happened to one of my players I would have treated it differently, but everyone has their own way. I don't think even think about it, until someone brings it up. I used to before but it feels like so long ago."
Happy Hadlee
New Zealand and Australia play for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy when contesting one-day internationals. But two countries battle for the Trans-Tasman Trophy when it comes to Tests, prompting one suggestion that all matches between the nations be for the trophy named after the famous cricketing families. However, Sir Richard Hadlee is content to retain the status quo. "It's an honour to have the one-day international matches named after us," he said.
Sunny days
The Gold Coast Suns were a lot closer to claiming the wooden spoon in 2015 than they were to finishing with any silverware. But it seems November may have brought a turnaround for the club. Suns media relations manager Stephen Wilson was on the podium at Flemington on Tuesday, the owner of a small stake in Melbourne Cup winner Prince of Penzance. Whether he's seen marshalling Gold Coast players towards the podium in early October next year remains to be seen. Wilson wasn't the only media man to have a share in the spoils, with former Age writer and now Australian columnist Patrick Smith a part owner of the winning horse in race one on Cup Day.
Be like Pendles
Former Geelong, St Kilda, Brisbane and Fremantle midfielder Adrian Fletcher is these days in charge of Queensland's AFL academy, and has been travelling the state giving free coaching courses to improve standards across the board. Previously an assistant coach at Collingwood the Cats and the Lions, Fletcher remains keen to make a difference more than a quarter of a century after making his senior debut for Malcolm Blight's Geelong side. "We make sure we share the information down to our coaches to make sure that it's an open book and everybody's in it," Fletcher told Pssst. "We want to improve Queensland as a state. We can't do it on our own. The best way is to share it." Fletcher believes that when it comes to improvement, mini-games are vital. "We encourage small games. In Queensland we think that's the best way to get our kids to have better fundamentals and better decision-making. You can't make it if you're not a great decision-maker. The fundamentals are important, but the more you can do those little games in confined spaces like basketball then you become a better decision maker. Hopefully one day you can be like Scott Pendlebury. And people have fun doing it! That's what we encourage. I went to see a cricket clinic the other day and they're starting to do the little games as well. A lot of sports are doing it!"
Disciplined Dees
Melbourne players return to the club this week as they look to try and break a nine-year finals drought. But don't expect there to be many unfit men when they return. We hear that there has been plenty of sweat already from some of the club's younger brigade, so much so that there have been warnings from above not to go too hard too early. Given how wretched the past decade has been for the AFL's oldest club, we reckon most of their supporters would be pretty happy to risk burn-out!
Streets ahead
The second FFA Cup reached its conclusion this weekend with Melbourne Victory taking on Perth Glory in the final at AAMI Park. The concept has gained plenty of fans since being implemented, with midweek games featuring state league teams a nice reminder of what life used to be like back in the old National Soccer League. But there is perhaps no one keener about the competition than Australian soccer history buff Les Street. He holds the remarkable distinction of having visited the site of all 112 venues to have ever hosted an NSL or A-League match, and is now seeking to obtain a PhD in the new knockout competition.
Bentleigh buzzing
An update on last week's story about the charity cricket match in honour of the late St Kilda staffer Emma Holmesby. So impressed was Australian football hall of famer Matthew Lloyd at the cricket exploits of former Saints Adam Schneider and Justin Koschitzke, he roped them in to appear again during the summer for his local club Bentleigh ANA. That means there are three 200-game AFL players, as well as delisted St Kilda forward Arryn Siposs in the club's side this summer. Not bad for a small club with synthetic wickets! Koschitzke, not known for his durability, says he'll only be playing one-dayers and Twenty20s, with two-day games too much of a stretch.
Numbers up
9 Brothers and sisters of Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne
$100 How much you would have made if you had put $1 on Payne's mount Prince of Penzance to win on Tuesday.
1 There's only ever going to be one woman who broke the gender barrier in "the race that stops the nation."
The watchman
One minute to midnight for...the New Zealand bowling attack
Having been ground down into submission by the Australian top order in Brisbane, it looks like it'll be a long summer for the Black Caps bowlers.
Local hero
It will be back to the suburbs for Matthew Egan, with the former Geelong defender and interim Essendon coach announced last week as the Bombers' new VFL coach for 2016. Egan, who led the Dons' AFL side for the final three weeks of 2015 after the departure of James Hird, will also be the Bombers' head of player development under senior coach John Worsfold.
They said what?
"Unfortunately international cricket isn't just about learning. It's also about getting results." — Ashes-winning captain Alastair Cook after his England team came thudding back to earth, losing a three-Test series to Pakistan 2-0.
Got a tip? Contact Daniel Cherny or Jon Pierik. Twitter: @danielcherny or @pierik_agesport
