Macca

Glad you're confident mate ... the Poms will be, that's for sure. A bit surprised that Lehmann described the first test debacle as a "hiccup" ... did we win even one session in Cardiff? Nevill is playing his first test and he may be more worried about not making a mistake. There's pressure on Voges to perform - he doesn't get the same luxury of patience that a younger player would get ... he was brought in to make runs from the get-go and the time is nigh. Mitch Marsh is playing his first test in England and it won't be easy for him either. I reckon he's got a lot to offer but unlike Voges, we need to be patient with Mitch. If our top order doesn't perform, we could easily go 2 nil down. Bayliss has got England playing with confidence and aggression. I still believe we can win of course but we'll need a number of things to go our way.

I reckon England will be happier with Nevill & Mitch Marsh in the side as opposed to Watson & Haddin ... we've lost a lot of experience in one hit and suddenly our middle order and late middle order looks suspect . Clark is still a bit more vulnerable at 4 rather than 5 and a batting order of Voges, Marsh and then Nevill is hardly going to make England all that fearful. Make no mistake, they'll be going all out for a win and we'll need to bring our A game in order to win. Lose this and we can just about kiss the Ashes goodbye. The red herring is that Stokes & Wood are excellent exponents of reverse swing so their attack will once again be a handful. They bat deeper and have a settled side who know how to play in their home conditions. We were comprehensively outplayed in Cardiff and it will take a major turnaround for us to win this test. They've got their tails up and we need to improve big time. What is going to most interesting is the state of the pitch - the Aussies shouldn't be expecting a lively track - white, flat, dry & a bit on the dead side is my tip. Obviously hoping for the best but I can't say I'm all that confident.

Current standings Over the next 3 nights the riders venture into the Pyrenees ... 3 tough stages which should start sorting out the general classifications. Froome leads the way but the other notable riders in the race aren't all that far behind him. There's sure to be an attack or 2 over the next 3 nights (it should also be noted that we're in the Alps next week for another 4 tough stages) Preview stage 10 Preview stage 11 Preview stage 12 And here are the 3 profiles ...

The next test is in 5 days and we'd want to get our act together in a hurry - we seemed to have played as if we came in under prepared. We've been thoroughly outplayed on every day of this match (have we even won a session?) If Starc is out injured I reckon they'll play Cummins over Siddle (as long as Cummins is not too much of a risk due to a lack of match fitness) Siddle doesn't inspire but he does offer a decent line and length. We also need a 5th bowler with strike ability so Mitch Marsh may well be preferred over Watson. Edit: And Watto is out LBW again (and in the same way) - egads. I'm loathe to ever single out one player in a team sport but he'd now have to be facing the axe. However, I'm not convinced that Voges should be an automatic choice either. Also, it should be remembered that the selectors will often give any given player the first 2 tests of a series as a way of proving or establishing themselves. We haven't had too many players put their hand up in this test in all reality. We need to re-group and we need to do it quickly. .

History tells us that it's a tall order for the Aussies but I'd expect us to make at least 300 (which is only 112 runs short of the target) We'd need a lot of things to go in our favour and I suppose you just never know - England would have wanted to bat us out of the match and they haven't quite done that ... a 470-500 target would have been their preference. If we can get to 3-250 we're in with a chance - on this wicket, that's a bit of an ask.

We're looking at a largish deficit on the first innings now ... and obviously, we have to bat last on a wicket that may play lower and lower. The truth is we've been thoroughly outplayed thus far and it will take a huge turnaround to somehow get back into this match.

It's England's test to lose from here. We haven't batted or bowled well (so far) according to the condition of the pitch - far too impatient. Hopefully Watto and Haddin can put together a big partnership and our tail can make runs ... or we get lots of rain :-)

South Australian Rohan Dennis wins the time trial in record breaking style ... he may hold on to the yellow jersey for a while if the next few stages end up being decided by the sprinters (remembering that the riders don't hit the Pyrénées until stage 10) ... Tour de France: Next challenge for Rohan Dennis after time trial win - show he can climb

The Tour de France starts tonight as many are aware ... Froome and Quintana are joint favourites whilst Contador and Nibali are joint 2nd favourites. Rodriguez is an outside chance and Porte is at long odds as he's in the same Sky team as Froome. The course is reasonably flat until we get into the 2nd week when it really hots up ... before the last flat stage (stage 21), there are no fewer than 9 of the 11 prior stages that involve climbs ranging from extremely difficult to reasonably difficult. Many of those stages involve multiple climbs. So there's quite a lead in after an initial week and a half of basically flat stages. I'll post up some profiles in the 2nd week but here's the official site with the stage previews Also, here's the profile of the 3rd last stage (stage 19) ... the leading riders will have already completed 7 difficult stages from their last 9 completed stages before embarking on this one ...

Wimbledon starts on Monday ... both of the following links are constantly updated ... Ladies seeds, draw & schedule Men's seeds, draw & schedule On the Ladies side ... Serena, Ivanovic, Sharapova & Safarova are in one half of the draw whilst Wozniacki, Halep, Makarova & Kvitova are in the other half of the draw. On the men's side ... Djokovic, Nishikori, Wawrinka & Raonic are in one half of the draw whilst Ferrer, Murray, Berdych, Federer & Nadal* are in the other half of the draw. There's plenty of Aussie representation as well ... 13 Aussies in all are represented in the singles. *Nadal is seeded at #10 and is drawn to play Berdych in the round of 16 and Murray in the Quarter finals (if all 3 players make it that far)

The new season of 'True Detective' has started ... Foxtel is showing the new series on their showtime channel. Keep an eye out for 'Mr Robot' too ... looks another winner.

It seemed to be more a match-up issue with Bogut ... also, the way Kerr designed his team to beat the Cavs, Bogut became surplus to that design. He certainly aided in a big way to getting the Warriors to the playoffs though so he fully deserves his championship ring. He also did quite well in games 2 & 3 against the Rockets in the conference finals. The Warriors seem to have a team that can get back to the final too - Thompson, Green & Curry have just hit their prime and on an overall basis, they've got a very good roster with excellent flexibility. The issue for them is always going to be the strength of the Western conference. ... anyway, the league is soaring ... NBA salary cap projected to hit $108 million in 2017

Yep, the Blackhawks just too good ... their 3rd Stanley cup in 6 years and 6th Stanley cup all-time - highlights game 6 ... here's Jonathan Toews with the iconic moment ...

The aggressive declaration make sense when considering the strength of the opposition. There isn't any rain forecast so it could be supposed that we wanted to have a crack at them late on the 3rd day - so far, it's worked. All the same, the wicket is taking a bit of spin and all our fast bowlers are in good form - they might get to 250 and one of their batsman might get stuck in. All our bowlers would be itching to get their hands on the ball.

Smith's batting average went up from 51.86 to 55.06 after his mammoth innings and I'm tipping he'll end up averaging over 60 for his entire career. Apart from "The Don" only 4 players have averaged over 60 in Test cricket ... Highest Career Batting Averages* His confidence at the crease is amazing and he's in top, top form - I can't see why he can't keep getting better. For the first Test in England you'd reckon that Rogers will come in for Shaun Marsh whilst Mitch Marsh may be preferred for Watson ... I can't see the selectors not picking either Mitch Marsh or Watson for balance (especially if Starc & Johnson both play) Harris might have to sit out for a bit too - Hazlewood is in fine form. *minimum 15 innings .

From all reports Tampa have been the better team in the Blackhawks 2 wins ... the teams are evenly matched all the same (the stats from the 4 games thus far back up that claim) Chicago have the experience but Tampa aren't going away in a hurry either ... a 7th game is on the cards.

Cleveland rocks Matty is the talk of America today and the Cavs are just willing themselves over the line ... however, Curry found his range in the 4th quarter and there's still a lot to be played out - LeBron has been superb. The vital 4th game coming up on Friday (our time) ... you almost feel it could be the defining game now - either the Cavs go 3-1 up or it's all square heading back to Oakland. A more than fascinating series so far.

Cleveland have turned both games into scraps with James being a domineering force. With the next 2 games being in Cleveland the series could go either way now. I still expect Golden State to hit their straps and win the series but the Cavs are playing very good defence even without Love & Irving ... we can probably expect more of the same. Game 2 was a fascinating match. My guess is we'll go back to Oakland with the series tied 2 all.

It's a big ask now isn't it? ... the Cavs just have to win tomorrow to get into the series. For that to happen it'll probably need a monumental performance from James, all the same. Maybe 1 or 2 of his teammates can step it up - that needs to happen as well.

Tampa get one back so at least their home fans will get to see them at least one more time ... I reckon the Lightning might sneak a win out of the next 2 in Chicago anyway - if not, then the Blackhawks will be hard to stop with a 3-1 lead. ... today's highlights

Yep, they're one hell of a team GV ... the dominance of them, Real Madrid & Bayern seems set to continue as well. Not sure that any of the England clubs can get near them to be honest ... Juventus did very well to make the final and they might have a bit more spending power after their successful run - they'll need that of course to keep pace with the other 3 big European clubs. All three teams (Barca, Real & Bayern) have absolutely quality strikers and/or goal scorers who can also all work in unison. Messi would have to be the most unselfish "great striker" that I've seen play. He would be a nightmare to try and mark (any defender marking him would also be constantly making sideways glances at Neymar & Suarez in the process - quite a task!)

A 3-2 Barca win is my tip ... Juve will need to come out and try and score goals but the firepower from Barcelona should be too much. Came across this article focusing on Andrew Jennings in today's Age ... he's the man responsible for exposing much of what is now being revealed about the goings on at FIFA The reporter who exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter

Adam Voges set for Australian Test debut as Fawad Ahmed's chances drift Australia (likely): David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke ©, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. West Indies (likely): Kraigg Brathwaite, Rajindra Chandrika, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shai Hope, Jerome Blackwood, Denesh Ramdin ©, Jason Holder, Jerome Taylor, Shannon Gabriel, Veerasammy Permaul. The above teams haven't been confirmed but the Aussie team that is listed by the journo (Chris Barrett) seems the most logical eleven. Watson in the all-rounders spot at no.6 is a good move and the move of Smith to no.3 seemed an inevitable one given his rapid rise as a batsman. Fawad Ahmed can count himself a little unlucky as the wicket might take spin. The match starts at around midnight tonight.

Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president amid corruption scandal

In further developments there's apparently some talk from Uefa of a "breakaway" World Cup in 2018 (or another European Championships) ... not sure that Uefa could get all it's member nations on board though - especially the eastern European countries ... also, Spain & France voted for Blatter in last Friday's elections - obviously Russia wouldn't be a part of it either. The top South American nations could be invited to this alternate World Cup as well ... on the surface, it seems like quite a far-fetched idea but I'm thinking there might be some kind of split regardless. Here's the story anyway (from The Independent) ... Fifa corruption: Europe plots to stage an 'alternative World Cup' in place of Russia 2018 Also, things might hot up if Blatter ends up being implicated in the bribery scandal ... and then there's the separate issue of the Swiss authorities investigation the awarding of the World cups to Russia & Qatar. Bribery Inquiry Drawing Closer to FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter