Good cricket and golf, the Breakers at breaking point, and points deductions highlight this week’s eagerly anticipated dose of ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’.
GOOD
Any win in cricket over our nearest neighbours, Manawatū, is worth celebrating, but the manner in which Post Office Hotel Wairarapa dominated their opponents in the weekend’s Furlong Cup match at the Oval was impressive. After dismissing the visitors for 130, Wairarapa built a 97-run lead and had Manawatū battling at 62–3 when rain brought a premature end. Could this be the momentum needed for a big push for a Hawke Cup challenge? Masterton golfer Ben Campbell makes the cut in this column for the second straight week, but making the cut in the Indonesian Masters looked a forlorn hope when he was tied for 93rd on two over after the first 18 holes. Rounds of 65, 63, and 65 saw Campbell rocket up the leaderboard to finish third for another tasty payday following on from his win in the Hong Kong Open.
I’m not the biggest fan of Aussie cricketers, mainly due to their Ocker cockiness more than their playing prowess, but one has to admire their ability to continually peak at the right time when the big prizes are on the line. World Cup number six was the result, and how good was Travis Head and his match-winning 137? Very, very good, and to top it, he was remarkably un-Aussie cricketer-like and very humble.
BAD
Only India could get away with changing pitches at an ICC-controlled tournament, but did they?
It worked in Mumbai against the Black Caps in the semifinal. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around and the change to a used pitch for the final at Ahmedabad bit the hosts fair and squarely on the bum. Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lack of class in begrudgingly presenting the World Cup to Pat Cummings and then leaving the Aussie skipper stranded on the podium by himself.
Modi’s body language said it all about what he thought of the result.
Everton being deducted 10 points and dropped into the relegation zone by an independent commission for breaching the English Premier League’s financial rule is bad for the club and bad for the EPL. That’s unless, of course, you’re from the “red side” of town, and you might think it’s a good thing.
The Toffees are likely to appeal the decision, while a Liverpool MP Ian Byrne has taken the matter to parliament, saying the punishment is “grossly unfair”.
What is likely, though, is that the saga could open a big can of worms, with relegated clubs from the last two seasons [Leicester, Leeds and Burnley] threatening to sue Everton for millions of pounds of damages. There could also be bigger clubs in the firing line, with Chelsea and Manchester City two of the big names being bandied about [now that might not be a bad thing]. Top it off with the countless controversies over the officiating and influence of VAR, and the EPL is quickly turning into an ugly beast.
UGLY
What is going on at the NZ Breakers? Last season’s ANBL runners-up are a shambles and are heading to the depths of despair after going down 69–65 to cellar dwellers the Illawarra Hawks in Auckland and a record of three and seven. It doesn’t get much uglier.
The ugly goings on at Australian Rugby were brought to a head with the sacking of chairman Hamish McLennan, which, according to most reports, is a good thing for rugby on both sides of the Tasman.
