Horse racing: Lone Aussie proves a point

Legendary trainer Bart Cummings would have been delighted with the win of Australia’s only representative in the Melbourne Cup this year, Half Yours.

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The 5-year-old chestnut gelding, ridden by Jamie Melham, powered to the finish line, leaving a field of international raiders in his wake. In doing so, the horse and rider completed the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double.

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Cummings, who died 10 years ago, was known as the “Cups King”, winning 12 Melbourne Cups in an illustrious career. As Scott Heinrich of The Guardian wrote, Cummings “was dead against the internationalisation of the Melbourne Cup, which these days is commonplace but 20 years ago was seen by some as an invasion”.

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“It is much easier for the foreigners to qualify,” Cummings once said. “It is becoming very one-sided, and they are pandering to the internationals. If they keep going like this, we will have to ‘spot the Aussie’ in the Cup.”

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Melham, who recently married fellow jockey Ben Melham, is the first female jockey since Michelle Payne (Prince of Penzance in 2015) to win the Melbourne Cup and the first to win the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double.

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Motor racing: Piastri’s F1 title hopes nosedive

The Formula 1 world title that Australia’s Oscar Piastri had in his grasp mid-year has been “headlocked” by his McLaren teammate, Englishman
Lando Norris.

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Piastri led the championship by 34 points mid-season but has fallen 24 points behind Norris with three grands prix remaining – Las Vegas on 23 November, Qatar a week later and Abu Dhabi on 7 December.

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Norris has won the past two GPs, in Mexico and Brazil, while Piastri has gone six rounds without a win and has not finished ahead of Norris since the end of August.

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Cricket: Shock loss ends World Cup run

The Australian women’s cricket team has set the standard for so long that its defeat in the semi-final of the World Cup to India was a major upset. The Australians had enjoyed an unbeaten run of 16 World Cup matches stretching back to 2022.

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They were expected to win again, especially after reaching 1-180 in the 28th over, thanks to brilliant young opener Phoebe Litchfield (119) and Ellyse Perry (77). But the Australian batters lost focus and were all out for 338 in the final over.

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Then some poor Australian fielding and bowling allowed a determined Indian side to chase down a record target in women’s one-day internationals. The hero was player of the match Jemimah Rodrigues, who was 127 not out as the home side celebrated a famous five-wicket win.

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India went on to win its first women’s world cup with a 52-run victory over South Africa in the final.

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AFLW: Roos make it 25 on the hop

North Melbourne’s men’s AFL team has finished last or second last in the past five seasons. But its women’s team has not lost a game since its grand final defeat to Brisbane in 2023.

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When the Kangaroos’ AFLW team steamrolled a goalless Hawthorn in the qualifying final on 7 November, the Roos took their run of victories to 25. On the way, they broke a 72-year VFL/AFL record (23 consecutive wins by Geelong in 1952-53).

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No one would be willing to bet against the Roos making or winning the AFLW Grand Final on 29 November. I’m certainly not.

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Soccer: Ange sacked again – after 39 days

Australian manager Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest in October after just 39 days and eight winless matches (five in the Premier League).

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This gives Postecoglou the “distinction” of the second shortest managerial stint in the Premier League, behind only Sam Allardyce, who lasted 30 days at Leeds in 2023.

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It was the second time he had been sacked by a Premier League club in four months, following his removal by Tottenham Hotspur in June.

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What to look out for this summer

Cricket and tennis dominate summer sport in Australia. This summer will be no different.

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The Ashes begin on 21 November in Perth and continues with the day-night test in Brisbane, starting on 4 December. The other tests are in Adelaide (17–21 December), Melbourne (26–30 December) and Sydney (4–8 January).

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The Australian Open at Melbourne Park begins on 12 January and ends on 1 February. The women’s singles final is scheduled for 31 January, and the men’s singles final on 1 February.