England retained the Ashes in 2014. That’s not a wistful statement from a parallel universe, it’s a fact. A fact relating to women’s cricket, though, not men’s. As crestfallen fans will know, the men lost…
The Australian cricket team’s turnaround Ashes win shows how a building culture of team work yields results.
AAP
Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ll know that Australia has convincingly won the Ashes 5-0. They have done this not by fielding a team of champions but rather, a champion team. Most agree…
Australia regained the treasured Ashes urn after whitewashing England five-nil. What are the key cultural lessons from the latest series?
AAP/Paul Miller
When the end came to the Ashes, it came quickly on the third day at the Sydney Cricket Ground – five-nil to Australia. After ten Ashes tests in seven months, 2015 will be well advanced before Australia…
Hawk-Eye is a device used to reconstruct the track of the ball for LBW decisions in cricket and for line calls in tennis. It will be much in evidence during the remaining Ashes tests and is now being used…
Australia’s cricketing mojo has returned in this Ashes series. While effective, their methods have not always been pretty.
AAP/Dave Hunt
After losing three Ashes series on the bounce and following much soul-searching about the decline of its national sporting prowess, Australia is giving England a pounding in the cricket. For many, all…
Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke became involved in a sledging imbroglio after stump microphones picked up a comment aimed at Englishman Jimmy Anderson.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Picture this scene: you and a colleague sit down for a meeting with your counterparts from another organisation. Before discussions begin, one employee leans over and questions whether you know what you…
By developing effective concentration and cognitive strategies, athletes can learn to ignore or reframe comments by their opposition.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
In cricket it’s known as sledging; in basketball, it’s trash talk; in ice hockey, chirping. Whatever you prefer to call it, the banter that occurs between players, whether it is on the field, court, or…
Rupert Murdoch may look to a more sympathetic government for reform to the anti-siphoning list of sporting events.
EPA/Drew Angerer
As the dust settles after a decisive change of government, it is time for the main support players to call in their favours. Among the cheerleaders for a Coalition government, none was more vocal than…
Gentlemanly pursuit … also played by Australians.
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire.
“Bring it on” says Thommo my Brisbane host, “your WG Grace started it. And if hurting people is the issue remember there was Bodyline”. The self-styled Ugly Australian is back and revelling both in a first…
Spice boys: the English cricket team’s leaked dietary requirements while on tour caused much mirth in Australian press.
AAP/Dave Hunt
An Ashes series – the latest set to commence in Brisbane – symbolically ushers in the Australian summer in a manner akin to the loud soundtrack of thrumming cicadas. The media will cover the sporting exploits…
We’re about to reach intermission in the ten-part Ashes series. What have we learnt about the way we consume the sport of cricket as a social and cultural construct?
EPA/Peter Powell
The end of the English summer beckons, and Act One of the current Ashes drama is reaching its appointed denouement across the Thames from London’s Theatreland at The Oval. The interval will last until…
The Ashes series is already plagued by controversy over technology’s role in cricket. The latest allegations of equipment tampering haven’t helped. Australian TV station Channel Nine has reported some…
The science of spin bowling yields some interesting – and practical – results.
Wallula Junction
After the first day of the third Ashes test cricket match between England and Australia it may be a good time to consider how spin bowling might affect the outcome of the series - and how science can be…
If the current Ashes series tells us anything, it’s that the roles of Australian triumphalism and British despondence when it comes to sport have finally been reversed.
EPA/Tom Hevezi
The caravan tour of the England-Australia Ashes series, spanning two hemispheres and ten Tests in the space of six months, now rolls on to Manchester’s Old Trafford ground. The current series has so far…
The Ashes juggernaut moves on to Lord’s, the so-called spiritual home of cricket. And what of the “spirit of cricket”? How has it coped over the first few weeks of back-to-back tours between two bitter…
Australia fell just short in the first Ashes Test.
EPA/David Jones
The first Ashes Test was indeed a veritable thriller. England edged Australia by a mere 14 runs, after an absorbing four-and-a-half days of action to go one-up in the best-of-five series. For those not…
Did playing against his brothers in the proverbial great Australian backyard help Ashton Agar to his stunning Ashes debut?
EPA/David Jones
Cricket fans worldwide are in awe of the talented teenager that threw Australia back into the ring to contest the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. Melbourne cricketer Ashton Agar chalked up 98 runs in…
Cricket commentators like Richie Benaud attract cult followings and satirical impersonations.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The Ashes are now upon us, and both sets of players are in the midst of the first Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground. As we sit down to watch the Test on television, it is worth reflecting on the…
How can fast bowlers, such as Australia’s Mitchell Starc, minimise the likelihood of injury?
AAP//Dan Peled
Another Ashes cricket series is upon us and, once again, all the talk is about who has the most potent bowling attack. But, of course, injuries can thwart the best laid plans – so how can biomechanics…
The Barmy Army, England’s loud travelling band of cricket supporters, may add colour to the Ashes series, but are they just rehearsing colonial stereotypes of Australia?
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
When Australian prime minister Julia Gillard was summarily dispatched in June by her parliamentary team, the British media were bemused. Hadn’t Australia weathered the global financial crisis with aplomb…