MITS on tour: Reporting from the road
January 07, 2009
My annual sporting break in the lucky country is underway. I've been making a pilgrimage to Australia every summer for a few years now to take in the sun, surf and the fabulous sport on offer.
Luckily, Mandy and I stay with some patient relatives which makes it affordable, plus all the Black Caps cricket is on the telly here.
In this first blog from the Land of Oz, I want to bring you some snippets I've gleaned in the last few days, mostly with a Kiwi connection.
First, the heart-rending tragedy of Sonny Fai's presumed drowning has had a major impact in Australia's sporting media.
Images of a tearful Steve Price dominated today's sport stories, both on television and in the papers. Price who is regarded as a modern-day icon by Aussie sports fans of all denominations, showed his country men that he has as much compassion off the field as he has courage on it.
Price was quoted here as saying that Sonny Fai summed up everything that he loves about the Polynesian people.
"Incredibly beautiful, incredibly respectful," Price stressed.
I'm certain those sentiments are mutually felt and Price's leadership and depth of feeling will be of critical support in the sad days ahead for Sonny Fai's family and kinfolk in the team.
A RARE ASSET
Daniel Vettori's umpteenth, exquisite, one-day bowling performance to bury the Windies in Wellington underlines what Michael Slater was recently quoted as saying about the Black Caps' captain.
"If we had a spinner with anywhere near the ability of Vettori, our team wouldn't be in half the trouble they are now," the ex-Aussie opener told a reporter.
I couldn't agree more with Slater. In fact, I reckon you can add Jeetan Patel to Slater's wish-list when it comes to the dearth of quality spinners that the Australian selectors have currently to choose from.
Nathan Hauritz showed no real magic against the Proteas, especially at Sydney which is traditionally a user-friendly haven for tweakers of all description in the international game.
IRREPRESSIBLE
Their capacity for self-delusion is extraordinary at times. Large sections of both the Aussie sports media and fan-base really can convince themselves at times that black is white when it suits.
Take for example, much of the reaction to Australia's dramatic victory in the final, dead-rubber test at the SCG, most of which I was fortunate to attend.
The mood in the crowd around me when it looked a doddle for Australia for most of the final day, strongly suggested that the losses in the first two tests were merely an aberration and normal transmission had been restored.
Never mind the fact they've suffered series losses against India and now, South Africa, a bloke sitting near me emphatically stated, "that was 2008, things are looking good for 2009."
I shook my head in disbelief but I suppose this never-say-die attitude is what makes the Aussies so damn tenacious in every code they embrace.
Any thoughts you have on any of the above are most welcome.
Luckily, Mandy and I stay with some patient relatives which makes it affordable, plus all the Black Caps cricket is on the telly here.
In this first blog from the Land of Oz, I want to bring you some snippets I've gleaned in the last few days, mostly with a Kiwi connection.
First, the heart-rending tragedy of Sonny Fai's presumed drowning has had a major impact in Australia's sporting media.
Images of a tearful Steve Price dominated today's sport stories, both on television and in the papers. Price who is regarded as a modern-day icon by Aussie sports fans of all denominations, showed his country men that he has as much compassion off the field as he has courage on it.
Price was quoted here as saying that Sonny Fai summed up everything that he loves about the Polynesian people.
"Incredibly beautiful, incredibly respectful," Price stressed.
I'm certain those sentiments are mutually felt and Price's leadership and depth of feeling will be of critical support in the sad days ahead for Sonny Fai's family and kinfolk in the team.
A RARE ASSET
Daniel Vettori's umpteenth, exquisite, one-day bowling performance to bury the Windies in Wellington underlines what Michael Slater was recently quoted as saying about the Black Caps' captain.
"If we had a spinner with anywhere near the ability of Vettori, our team wouldn't be in half the trouble they are now," the ex-Aussie opener told a reporter.
I couldn't agree more with Slater. In fact, I reckon you can add Jeetan Patel to Slater's wish-list when it comes to the dearth of quality spinners that the Australian selectors have currently to choose from.
Nathan Hauritz showed no real magic against the Proteas, especially at Sydney which is traditionally a user-friendly haven for tweakers of all description in the international game.
IRREPRESSIBLE
Their capacity for self-delusion is extraordinary at times. Large sections of both the Aussie sports media and fan-base really can convince themselves at times that black is white when it suits.
Take for example, much of the reaction to Australia's dramatic victory in the final, dead-rubber test at the SCG, most of which I was fortunate to attend.
The mood in the crowd around me when it looked a doddle for Australia for most of the final day, strongly suggested that the losses in the first two tests were merely an aberration and normal transmission had been restored.
Never mind the fact they've suffered series losses against India and now, South Africa, a bloke sitting near me emphatically stated, "that was 2008, things are looking good for 2009."
I shook my head in disbelief but I suppose this never-say-die attitude is what makes the Aussies so damn tenacious in every code they embrace.
Any thoughts you have on any of the above are most welcome.
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