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Riley Dash
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By Riley Dash
This is an article I had written for the Badger
The latest edition of the ashes is nearly finished, England will look back at this tour as a missed opportunity. All the talk prior to the series was around this being the worst Australia side in History. Despite this the series ended 4-1 to Australia. England can look at this tour with some happiness with them winning their first test match in Australia in 18 test matches. The article will dig into a brief history of the Ashes and give the highlights of each test match.
History:
The Ashes have been a series between England and Australia since 1882. The term ‘ashes’ originated from a British newspaper which said that English has died, and that Australia hold The Ashes. In 1882, then England captain said they would regain the Ashes;it has held that name’s sake ever since.
1st test
The first test match was one with great hope for England, who held a strong belief that they could regain the ashes. However, hopes were dashed quickly, with fast bowler Mitchell Starc claiming 7-58 with the visitors getting a low score of 172 in the first innings of the match. However, in reply the hosts struggled scoring 132, giving England a lead of 40, in a remarkable first innings which lasted around a day for both teams. However, the next day was far more dramatic with England going from being in a comfortable position, to losing the game in 3 hours with a dramatic collapse followed by a batting masterclass by Travis Head who scored 123 runs in just 83 balls. Allowing the hosts to chase down a score just above 200 to ensure a 1-0 lead in the series in just 2 days,
2nd test
The day night test followed, in which history was made. With England’s potentially greatest ever batter, achieving his first century down under. Unfortunately for him, his side around him failed to reach the same heights, with a collapse in the 2nd innings allowing the hosts to cruise to a win, chasing 65 in the final innings. Leading a 2-0 lead and piling the pressure on the England side and the coaching staff.
3rd test
The third test was one marred in controversy, with Snicko being in great focus. Snicko refers to the review system in Australia checking if someone hit the ball. Australian wicketkeeper Carey was on 72 runs, when he appeared to edge the ball behind to the England keeper Smith. However, the equipment was not synced up correctly, leading to Carey being given a reprieve. Despite this, England struggled throughout the game, and never really got a command in the test. Leading to a win of 82 runs by the hosts, and an unassailable 3-0 win therefore retaining the ashes.
Nosa
Controversy arose with some members of the England team such as Duckett and Bethell, appearing to be on a night out, leading to rumours of the former being out drunk, with footage being released.
Boxing day
The boxing day test was one of great controversy with there being 20 wickets in the first innings, with Australia starting the day by batting and ending the day doing the same. However, England eventually were left chasing 175 which they did with a 6-wicket win.
5th test
Despite fabulous centuries by Jacob Bethell and Joe Root, England lost the final test with a collapse in the first innings summarising the series for the visitors.
The ashes continue to be one of the greatest series in cricket if not the world.
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This is an article than I had written for the Badger
By Riley Dash
Two months have passed since the tragic passing of Billy Vigar, and the world of football is still mourning the tragic event. The wall at Wingate and Finchley has since been demolished. Many tributes were made with Arsenal describing the player as “quick, powerful and fiercely determined”. However, it is the aftermath of the incident which I wish to discuss today, and the potential effects it could have on football.
Coroner inquest:
There has since been an inquest into his passing with the coroner warning the family that it will ‘not be a short process’ the inquest is not only looking at the wider club and the infrastructure, but also looking at the contact between the two players involved.
Of course, the event itself remains a tragedy, and it is the correct thing for them to be an inquest into how the event happened. This being done through looking at the infrastructure itself is the perfect way of ensuring that an event like this will never happen again.
In my opinion this can be done without looking at the collision between the two players The chief coroner in this case stating, “What I would like the investigation to cover is the nature of the contact between the two players involved.” Now this in my opinion, could raise questions about the sport and the future of football in the 21st century.
Future of football:
Now I raise the issue of the coroner’s enquiry due to its discussion over the contact between the two players. Despite the tragedy of the issue, it is my opinion it is unfair to apportion any blame to the player involved. Football is a contact sport and at its root collisions happen. If we are going to blame the player, I fear what this will mean for the game. Collisions would become less and less common. With football moving away from being a contact sport. I believe that attempting to blame the player The FA could be attempting to shift some responsibility, I believe this collision is due to the concrete border around the ground. Collisions happen all of the time, the reason for tragedy isn’t because of the collision, If the ground was truly safe this would not happen.
In an era of football, marred by VAR controversy and tight offsides. If we start limiting collisions I do truly fear for the game and what it will become. This off the back of managers such as Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim speaking out against ownership which potentially played a part in them parting their respective clubs (Chelsea and Manchester United) this Raises severe questions around the future of football and what happens to the game, and we could be approaching a point in which managers are ‘puppets’ for owners saying what they want them to say.
In light of the change in management of Chelsea, with Strasbourg being poached of their manager (Liam Rosenior) which can be attributed to a dodgy multi-club ownership model involving the Ligue 1 side and Chelsea. Additionally, Crystal Palace were kicked out of the Europa League due to their owner having partial shares in another club. Yet something like this can go ahead and no-one bats an eye
If this coroner report comes back and pins some of the blame on the player involved, I believe it will set an awful precedent for football. In my opinion it would be the final nail in the coffin showing how the game has truly changed for the worse. Players are subject to abuse at a ridiculous level, imagine if we are truly blaming players for collisions how much this would increase.
Billy Vigar’s death was and still remains a tragedy which should never happen again. However, the solution is not blaming the player, who likely suffers trauma from the event. If the player is Blamed however, I truly fear for the beautiful game.
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Verbruggen stings Bees
In a game in which, lacked quality at times, it was a moment of Brilliance from Ver Bruggen
which gained the seagulls 3 points, in a feisty mid table clash.
The 2nd top scorer in the prem, Thiago, proved to be a handful for the Brighton backline, who started without captain Lewis Dunk due to illness, with a lovely backheel to Ouattara leading to a rash tackle from Baleba giving the visitors a penalty in the 29th minute of the game, which Thiago comfortably tucked away, past Verbruggen.
At half-time, the home side were meet with boos from the home fans, clearly not happy about the lack-lustre performance from the home-side in the pouring rain. Leading to a double substitution with Baleba, who struggled to get up to speed in the game and the booked Boscagli coming off. With Hinshelwood and Dunk coming on.
The best chance for the Seagulls, came in the 55th minute with Daniel Welbeck spooning over his shot over the bar. Following great work from Yankuba Minteh.
The bees struggled to get out of their own half in the second half, leading to a Brighton onslaught which eventually led to Danny Welbeck scoring in the 70th minute following a wonderful cross from Minteh, setting it up for the Premier League veteran, fresh of an England snub, from Thomas Tuchel.
Eventually the pressure grew too much, leading to a late goal for the host side, with the returning Jack Hinshelwood, volleying a bouncing ball from the edge of the box past Kelleher, with the goal again coming from lovely work from Minteh on the right-hand side.
The drama, however, would not end, with a late penalty for the visitors, following a pull in the box from substitute De Cuyper. This is incident was checked by VAR however the penalty was awarded.
Thiago stepped up to the penalty, following mind-games from Verbruggen which resulted in a yellow card for the keeper. However, the result would not be the same with the Brighton goalkeeper providing a crucial stop, for which was his only 2nd ever penalty save. The seagulls getting a crucial 2-1 win putting them up to 5th in the table.
Managers-
Hurzler, on his 50th game, believed that the result was deserved, and if Welbeck keeps up his good form, he has a good chance of going to the world cup in the summer.
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A civil war within Liverpool, similar to that of Ronaldo vs Ten Hag. If reports are true Salah is set to be left out of Liverpool’s travelling squad to Milan for a crucial game on the 9th December.
A picture of Salah’s mural However, this situation is far more complicated than the Ronaldo situation. With Liverpool’s third highest goal scorer signing a lucrative contract in the summer, running until 2027,
This in combination with the reigning champions struggling down in 9th place this season, following a 6 goal draw with relegation threatened Leeds United. In which the Egyptian remained on the bench despite the Reds struggling.
This led to a remarkable interview with the forward, in which he accused to club hierarchy of ‘throwing him under the bus’
He also refused to rule out the possibility of the upcoming game this weekend against Brighton of being his last game for the reds saying ‘he does not accept the situation and he has done so much for the club’
This combined with the growing pressure on Arne Slot, leaves the club in an impossible decision. Do they sack the man who won the premier league so comfortably only last season. Or they do they let a premier league legend leave to Saudi Arabia.
A growing number of Liverpool fans want to manager to be sacked after a poor title defense in which they are realistically not going to retain their title.
This situation is definitely one to keep an eye on, especially with AFCON about to start meaning the forward will be unavailable for at the most 29th with the tournament starting on the 21st of December potentially running to January 18th.
No matter what happens questions have to be raised with the sporting director of Liverpool with both Salah and Van Dijk both not reaching the same heights of last season after getting their lucrative contracts in the summer.
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I could do less panicking and fear over my actions. I used to grew up thinking everything was binary, that you were either right or wrong. Whilst in some situations this is correct but in wider society things like emotions, reasoning and past experience play a big factor in the way people act.
Also feel I sometimes treat others as binary as that they either are good or bad. I am attempting to change this view that I hold. Therefore it is something I could less off.
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Riley Dash 