Sports of All Sorts

Today About Time launches a regular sports column. Please let us know what you’d like to see covered. Send your opinions to our sports editor, Goal Mouth.

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NRL/AFL: ‘Outsiders’ threaten the homes of football

The natural homes of football – Sydney for the NRL and Melbourne for the AFL – are under threat from ‘outsiders’.

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With the finals fast approaching, Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm and NZ Warriors occupy three of the top four spots on the NRL ladder.

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In the AFL, Adelaide, Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney, Fremantle and even Gold Coast are breathing down the necks of Melbourne-based power teams Collingwood (4th) and Hawthorn (8th), with Geelong (2nd) well in the premiership race as usual.

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This reminds me of an old friend, an ex-Melburnian living in Sydney. He supports the Storm in the NRL because he knows how much that annoys Sydneysiders and Sydney in the AFL because he knows how much that annoys Melburnians. No wonder he’s a friend.

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Cricket: Ugly England loses its moral compass

Are the English turning into ugly Aussies on the cricket field? The players seem to have listened to their coach, New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who urged them to be less friendly to opponents. McCullum’s comments came during England’s gripping series against India, which ended 2-2 after England collapsed in the fifth and final test to lose by just six runs.

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In the drawn fourth test, captain Ben Stokes became bad tempered when Indian batters Ravi Jadeja and Washington Sundar wanted to keep batting until they reached their centuries rather than call the game off early.

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Stokes and his teammates – regarded by many English fans as the ‘moral guardians’ of cricket – turned nasty when they realised they couldn’t win. They barely acknowledged their opponents’ milestones, made spiteful remarks and half-heartedly chased the ball to the boundary.

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It seems that the England players’ commitment to entertaining cricket works only if they’re on top. They’re becoming hard to like – and, if Stokes and co try it on when they come to Australia this summer, they’re bound to feel plenty of heat from local fans.

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Athletics: Run like the wind

Australian teenage sprinting sensation Gout Gout has a new rival. Gout, who is 17, has a fastest legal time of 10.17 seconds for the 100 metres (he has broken 10 seconds twice, but they were wind assisted).

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Japan’s Sorato Shimizu, who is just 16, broke the under-18 world record at a recent high school meet, clocking 10 seconds flat. That’s flying, but it’s still a fair way short of Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set in 2009.

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Gout and Shimizu could clash in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships which start on 13 September.

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Meanwhile, Australia’s other sprint star, Lachie Kennedy – who has a legal time of 9.98 for the 100 metres – has pulled out of the championships with a stress fracture in his back.

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F1: Racing towards a world title

Boy, that is some driving. In little more than a year, Oscar Piastri, 24, from Melbourne, has won eight Formula One races and is on course to become world champion, emulating Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.

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For the record, it took other Aussie drivers Daniel Ricciardo 14 years to win eight races and Mark Webber 12 years to win nine.

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Rugby union: A tour to remember

Once in 12 years, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team and their hordes of fans tour Australia. More than 40,000 Lions fans made the tour this winter and revelled in their team’s 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies. At the same time, they provided a welcome boost to the Australian economy.

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According to NAB, the Melbourne leg of the tour alone generated more than $20 million at accommodation, food, retail and entertainment outlets.

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The highlight was a dramatic finish in the second Test at the MCG, watched by a world record crowd for a rugby union match.

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A senior English medico, Neil Tolley, joined the Lions throng with two old friends. This is what he said about his time Down Under:

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“We received a fantastic welcome in Australia, explored wonderful cities and countryside and visited iconic venues, with the highlight being over 90,000 rugby fans at a packed MCG to watch a closely contested and exciting game.

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“The series is now over and our collective experience of meeting fans, enjoying the rugby and the wonderful Australian people and the country will sit forever in our memories. Thank you, Australia, for putting on the very best of shows and giving us the time of our lives!”