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commonwealth games

Cricket in the Olympics - But when?

It has been 112 years - two years longer than an Allen Stanford prison sentence - since two club sides from Great Britain and France played what, to date, has been the one and only game of cricket at the Olympic Games. We may not have to wait so long again for the sport to return to the modern Games, but there will be many hurdles to overcome first.

Suppose they offered a Commonwealth Games and nobody bid?

Does the sporting world really need a Commonwealth Games every four years? Is it worth the trouble, the cost, the sporting overkill, the anachronistic vestages of empire? You can probably tell which way I'm leading these questions.

Australia versus the ROTC, stumps day two

The medal tally after Friday night's episode of the Channel Nine reality show "The 18th Commonwealth Games" reads as follows:

Australia 12 gold, 9 silver, 8 bronze.
Rest of the Commonwealth 17 gold, 19 silver, 21 bronze.

The way Channel Nine are covering these Games you'd think it was really Australia versus the Rest of the Commonwealth. Just think, if it wasn't for the women's weightlifting we'd probably be in front now.

Belated thoughts on the opening ceremony

My enjoyment of Melbourne 2006 peaked early. The sheer joy of explaining an opening ceremony to your three year-old daughter is something that cannot adequately be put into words. To her, it all made sense: the flying tram, the absurdly colourful clothes of some of the nations, the big red dragon on the Welsh flag ("I want to see the dragon again, Daddy" was to be heard frequently on Wednesday night), Ron Barassi walking on water, Dame Kiri singing Happy Birthday to the Queen.

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