Saturday, 20 November 2021

The Hollow/Weak & Powerless: My possible last blog of the year 2021

Well, the All Blacks begin their northern tour with a right old thumping against the United States at Washington DC (The AB's 1st game in America (And our 3rd) since 2016 in which Ireland claimed their 1st ever win against New Zealand in international rugby in Chicago) therefore bouncing back from defeat against the current 3 time Rugby World Cup holders the Springboks (Who became the 1st rugby playing nation to defeat the AB's since Argentina (Who had an upset win against New Zealand last year in the Tri Nations in Sydney but Japan's historic upset win over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup was better because it has always been the greatest upset of all time in the history of international rugby union (Compared to James 'Buster' Douglas knocking out 'Iron' Mike Tyson (Who was previously undefeated before losing to Douglas & is one of my favourite boxers) in a boxing bout 23 days after his mother's passing to become the new heavyweight boxing champion in the world at the time in Tokyo, Japan in 1990 as one of sports greatest upsets but the Miracle on Ice is way better when the strictly amateur US team famously defeated the fully professional Soviet Union side during the winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York in 1980 just before the Americans struck gold as they defeated Finland in the last game of the men's ice hockey tournament at the winter Olympics) last year but during the final Rugby Championship match that the Boks have unveiled a mystery playbook which proved to be successful by bringing the entire reserve front row early in the 1st half to replace the starting front row which had a mediocre performance that won themselves the game (Unlike the Canterbury Bunnings NPC provincial team that they also revealed their mystery playbook by bringing on reserve halfback Mitchell Drummond on early in the 1st half that made the difference to replace the starting halfback Luke Donaldson who had a mediocre game) in that dreaded Rugby Championship game on the Gold Coast (There was a hat-trick to AB's winger Will Jordan, a double to All Black prop forward Angus Ta'avao & a also a double to New Zealand flank forward Luke Jacobson + there was a test debut to 19 year old young Taranaki lock forward of Josh Lord (Who was called up to the squad as injury cover for Scott Barrett) but there has been an update such as New Zealand who thrash Wales to pieces by stunning them to bits at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff with star AB's first five Beauden Barrett (Father of Billie (Niece of both Scott & Jordie) who he named his daughter after the famous American pop singer of Billie Eilish) being the top performer of that game after being awarded man of the match honours for his all round performance when he scored a try off an intercept & after being awarded player of the game, he scored another try again off an intercept in his 100th test but there has been another update as the AB's record another victory after a dominant display against Italy in Rome with AB's hooker Dane Coles picking up his player of the game honors by getting a double along with reserve All Black hooker Asafo Aumua (And it has been a amazing day of All Black hookers picking up 2 tries in the match each but the All Blacks in the 1st half have been a bit scratchy by picking up a heap of handling errors as well as conceding far too many penalties) but there's more rugby news such as Ireland (Who became the 2nd side after the current World Cup holders South Africa to defeat the All Blacks this year but our penultimate match of the Northern tour is like a Rugby World Cup semi final game) overpower the AB's (Whose hopes for victory have been evaporated (Including losing Beauden Barrett earlier due to concussion (He is all but likely ruled out of the next test against France (Who haven't beaten us since 2009 in Dunedin) along with Brad Weber (Who had left the field with concussion but failed his HIA during the match against Italy & was ruled out of the remaining tests against Ireland & possibly France (Although Weber did play against France as he recovered from a head knock sustained in the match against Italy) just like Devon Conway in which he won't play because of an injury in tonight's T20 World Cup final against Australia) & Codie Taylor getting a yellow card (Known in te reo Maori as kari kowhai/French as carton jaune & Spanish as tarjeta amarillo) for a high tackle on an Irish player) meaning that we had another dreaded game, invoking memories of 2018 where both Ireland (Who are now along with Argentina, Australia & the South Africans as our main challengers of the 2023 Rugby World Cup) & South Africa beat us) for their 3rd win against us in international test rugby (And the Irish curse has struck New Zealand for the 3rd time in one of New Zealand sport's darkest weekends along with the Black Caps T20 World Cup final defeat against the dominant Australians) in front of their 60,000 adoring home fans at Aviva Stadium in Dublin (This is like the South Africa game in the Gold Coast but this is also like 2016 in Chicago & 2018 in Dublin all over again & I mean what went wrong for the AB's to lose a test like this? They didn't bring AB's halfback TJ Perenara off the field so they should've brought Finlay Christie (Who didn't come on for Perenara & if Christie replaced him, that would've made the difference but this is terrible stuff for the All Blacks by not bringing Christie on for Perenara (Unlike in 2001 where I remember that game where Richie McCaw (The greatest All Black forward ever produced & future twice Rugby World Cup winning All Black captain (Who was John Smit's successor & Siya Kolisi's predecessor as the RWC winning skipper) who played alongside & against one of the all time greats & household names of the New Zealand rugby scene, the late Jonah Lomu (Who was one of my rugby idols growing up as a kid compared to German F1 racer Michael Schumacher who was one of my sporting idols along with Tiger Woods the great American golfer) as well as David Kirk's successor as the Rugby World Cup winning captain for New Zealand) made his test debut along with Dave Hewett & Aaron Mauger (The nephew of the late speedway legend Ivan as well as the Bachop brothers of Graeme & Stephen, brother of Nathan, & cousin of the Garden-Bachop brothers of Jackson & Connor who is the new coach of the newly formed Moana Pasifika (Known as MP as I label it) team competing in the newly formed Super Rugby Pacific) against Ireland at the old Lansdowne Park (Before it became Aviva Stadium) in which he was awarded player of the game) on for sure meaning that Perenara played the full 80 resulting in a sensational upset win for the Irish (Who came so close in 2013 where Ryan Crotty scored the try with a kick to come (It was Dane Coles who set it up but Welsh referee Nigel Owens had to go upstairs whether the pass from Coles was fine before being given the all clear to award the try) before Aaron Cruden missed the vital conversion but he had another shot after the Irish charged in early which proved to be successful meaning that the All Blacks were able to end the year 2013 undefeated but they are now competitive since they 1st beat us in 2016 in Chicago, Illinois in America & they can now able to win at home against the AB's twice in both 2018 & this year in Dublin) therefore costing us a chance of winning the test match) but there has been another bad news as the All Blacks suffer yet another test defeat (Our 1st since last year against both Australia & Argentina (Who are now the All Blacks main challengers for the next Rugby World Cup in 2023 along with South Africa, Ireland & most recently the host nation, France but like I said in my next blog that I have hardly mentioned England in terms of the test matches outside of the Rugby World Cup) & 2nd time it has been happened in the last decade), this time against 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis with the now best halfback in the world Antoine Dupont being the top performer of the French side (He won the battle of the halfbacks during the game over Aaron Smith due to the new age rivalry that Smith hates Dupont a lot in a column on a New Zealand rugby magazine) as they cruise to their 1st win against the AB's since 2009 & on home soil since 2000 but what went wrong for the AB's to lose another test like this? They were inconsistent & have been outplayed by the French who made a promising start in the 1st half then the All Blacks were on a comeback trail in the 2nd half until they began to lose shape as France ended New Zealand's hopes of a victory as well as snapping a 14 match losing run (And I was like that the All Blacks famously lost to France oh mon dieu (That means oh my god in French/en Francais but I forgot to say it when New Zealand missed out on a win (And that's the 1st time the AB's end the year with back to back defeats since 1999 at the Rugby World Cup where they lost to the French in the semi as well as the South Africans in the 3rd & 4th place playoff) meaning that the All Blacks hopes of returning to winning ways have been dead & buried (100 per cent mon ami) but it's reminiscent/shades of the Irish game in Dublin in which Ireland had dominated meaning that karma has struck New Zealand rugby union once again (And it was one of NZ rugby's darkest days that we had but I mean this is terrible stuff for the All Blacks (And I totally agree that our coach Ian Foster should lose his job according to Pops due to his dismal, coaching woes on the field which affected our performance (Scott Robertson could've replaced him meaning that he would've been a good coach but he's not available to coach the AB's as he is signed with the Crusaders until at least 2024) & we have not got a world class second five since the good old days of Ma'a Nonu (He was a really handy player who was relatively good from his debut in 2003 (Originally on the wing but can play in both midfield positions such as centre & his main midfield position of second five) until his retirement from international rugby in 2015 after another Rugby World Cup success & was playing for Ngati Porou East Coast in this years Bunnings Heartland Championship & are now starting to win games under Nonu but did not make the finals of both the Meads (Won by South Canterbury (The now dominant province in the Heartland Championship) & Lochore Cups (Won by our most successful province in the Heartland Championship of Wanganui (That's 8 overall including 6 Meads Cup & both Lochore Cup titles) with both current All Black second fives David Havili (Of the Tasman Mako) & Quinn Tupaea (Waikato) now struggling throughout their form.

And in Bunnings NPC news such as Otago thrash Manawatu in the 1st semifinal last Friday a day before Taranaki get another win over Southland to reach the Bunnings NPC Championship final followed by defending premiers Tasman who got the job done over Hawke's Bay in the Premiership semifinal then Waikato were too good against Canterbury in Rotorua to book a place in the Premiership final before the 2 Heartland Championship finals of today but 1st, our Whanganui side win our 2nd Lochore Cup title (And 8th overall to add to our 6 Meads Cup titles) when we gained revenge of our Meads Cup final loss in 2019 over North Otago in the wet & miserable conditions here at Cook's Gardens in my hometown of Whanganui followed by Mid Canterbury who turned the tables on Thames Valley in a rematch of the 2018 Meads Cup final at Alpine Energy Stadium in Timaru but there's been an update as Taranaki defeat Otago to win the Bunnings NPC Championship title (It was disappointing that there is no promotion/relegation system for this year due to the difficult times surrounding the corona virus as well as the withdrawal of the 3 Blues affiliated provinces such as Auckland, Counties-Manukau & of course, North Harbour, to say the least) & their 1st since 2014 at TET Stadium & Events Centre in Inglewood before Waikato have denied Tasman's hopes of a three peat therefore ending their 15 year wait of winning New Zealand provincial rugby titles as they won the Bunnings NPC Premiership in front of a reduced crowd at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton in the Waikato area which is now under alert level 2 since 4 days ago.

And there are major story lines to tell in the world of cricket as the ICC World T20 returns after 5 years under a new name called the T20 World Cup which is held in both Oman & the UAE (It was originally going to be held in India but the host country had to be changed in wake of the ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak) such as the Black Caps who are chasing more silverware after our success in the historic first ever World Test Championship against India in the final in Southampton in England then the Indians who thought that this is going to be their year after losing to New Zealand in the WTC final, haven't triumphed at the T20 World Cup since 2007 followed by England who are now ranked the best T20 cricket playing nation in the world, has never won since 2010 & of course, the current 2 time holders the West Indies (Who were the powerhouse nation that stunned the cricket world in its heyday during the 1970's & 1980's) who are looking to defend their title that they won at the last tournament in 2016 against England in the final in Kolkata but the semifinalists have confirmed as England (Who topped Group 1 despite losing to South Africa in the final group game) will face New Zealand (Who lost to Pakistan in the opener but won all games against India, Scotland, Namibia & Afghanistan en route to the semi) in a rematch of the 2016 semifinal which was dominated by the English followed by Pakistan (Who is the only unbeaten team in the tournament therefore topping the other group & they have got their best spin attack of the competition & they are now red hot favourites to win the tournament for the 1st time since 2009 & is set to join the West Indies as 2 time winners if they reach the final & go on to win the competition (The batting coach for the Pakistanis is Australian Matthew Hayden while South African Vernon Philander (Who played in the dreaded Cricket World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand in 2015 which ended in a losing effort (Including South African born Black Cap Grant Elliott (Who now works for Spark Sport & TVNZ as a cricket commentator) cleared the rope with a match winning maximum with both deliveries to spare to go through to our 1st Cricket World Cup final) despite being semi-fit (One of the impressive South African bowlers of Kyle Abbott should have been picked by the selectors instead of Philander throughout his good form in the quarterfinal against Sri Lanka in which South Africa won by 9 wickets) is the bowling coach for Pakistan who took over from Waqar Younis) who'll face Australia (Who had lost to England in the group game but they defeated South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies & Bangladesh to qualify for the semis) in the other semi but there's been an update as the Black Caps of New Zealand have defeated England (It was revenge after 5 years) in the 1st semifinal in Abu Dhabi with Daryl 'Dazzler' Mitchell (Who is best known as the son of John Mitchell (The former All Black, Western Force, USA & Bulls coach as well as formerly the England rugby team assistant coach & ex Waikato loose forward during his playing days) putting on his batting heroics when he scored 72 not out by outsmarting & outwitting the English bowling attack (Who were good especially from one man which is Liam Livingstone (The one who can bowl both leg & off spin) who picked up both wickets in the match but they didn't contain Mitchell from scoring big) but there is some bad news that Devon Conway has been ruled out of the final due to a broken hand sustained in the semifinal against England (And I mean that is a huge blow to lose someone through a serious injury like that meaning that Conway won't take further part in this final) & there's news in the 2nd semifinal as Australia are on their way to their 1st T20 World Cup final after dominating Pakistan in Dubai (The final of the 2021 T20 World Cup final (Or should I say the Trans-Tasman final) between New Zealand & Australia (And are they thinking vibes of 2015 in which they succeeded by crushing the Kiwis (Who beat them in a group game at Eden Park in Auckland) in the final which resulted in a one sided affair at the MCG in Melbourne (Including New Zealand captain at the time of Brendon McCullum who got easily dismissed by the relatively great Australian pace bowler of Mitchell Starc (Was one of the 50 over Cricket World Cup winning players for Australia in 2015 along with Josh Hazlewood (Not involved in the 2015 final), Pat Cummins (Also not involved in the 2015 final along with Hazlewood), Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell & current Australian limited overs skipper Aaron Finch) was a turning point in the match as the Black Caps continued to lose wickets after McCullum was gone) is going to be like a grudge match meaning that the Aussies are clear, heavy & strong favourites because of their experience playing the sport of cricket (The English invented it then the Aussies perfected the art but they always dominate us in every sport except rugby union) as well as Conway (Who has easily been one of the Black Caps best players throughout the entire tournament) having to pull out of the final through injury (Compared to the Aussies who have no real injury concerns) but there's bad news as the Black Caps miss out on the T20 World Cup title as Australia (Who played like the Irish rugby team in which they defeated the AB's for the 3rd time in international test rugby) outsmarted the Kiwis to claim their 1st ever T20 World Cup title in Dubai (And the 6th different cricket playing nation to win the tournament after India, Pakistan, England, West Indies (Who did it twice) & Sri Lanka) in the UAE after a dominant batting display in the 2nd innings (Their bowling department was mediocre (Despite Josh Hazlewood (Who was one of the stars of the T20 World Cup for Australia along with Mitch Marsh, David Warner & Adam Zampa) who was the pick of the Australian bowlers when he claimed 3 wickets in the 1st innings) but what an incredible comeback with the batting (Especially the danger man of the Aussie cricket team of Warner who provided his heroics with the bat) as the Kiwi bowlers had no clue to get rid of the Aussie batters which cost us our big chance & it was shades of 2015 where Australia ended New Zealand's hopes for victory but Aaron Finch (And I mean what a good player he is) has become the 1st Aussie captain to lift the T20 World Cup trophy after Australia's prolonged celebrations (And they'll be celebrating in places like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra & of course, Hobart) but what went wrong for New Zealand to lose a final like this? Well, our bowling had been wayward & ineffective on that occasion in the 2nd innings which proved to be the game changer (It was Glenn Maxwell who hit the winning runs resulting in a famous win for Australia in the final) & we could have used Conway should he had not been injured).

And I told Carole last week about the suggestions of who will play in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final & she said that it is going to be the All Blacks (Who have never won since 2015) playing either England (The last time England triumphed at the RWC was in 2003) or hosts France (Who are looking to end 36 years of hurt after reaching the final 3 times in 1987, 1999 & 2011, but they failed to win each one of them) as the AB's preferred opponents in the final instead of both the tough South Africans (The 3 time current holders of the Rugby World Cup) as well as the much improved Australians (Who haven't won the tournament since 1999) but I can now remember that comment from Dad about the reason why the AB's lost to England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal as well as our dreams of winning a hat-trick of Rugby World Cups had been tarnished & gone through was a selection blunder gone wrong from previous New Zealand coach Steve Hansen before the crucial semifinal game against the English that one of the best form players in the team, Ben Smith should've been picked but they chose George Bridge instead, but if Ben Smith played instead of Bridge, we could've won them the semi & faced South Africa in the final but what a crucial error to make therefore costing our big chance of winning our record 4th Rugby World Cup title.

And I now remember telling Andy (Carole's son) in June that my favourite rock music genres are in fact alternative rock (Known as alt rock) & heavy metal because I love both of them (And the reason why I love rock music was when I moved in with Dad, his 2nd partner & his 2nd partner's family as well as Jans back in 2007 when I was 1st listening to The Rock FM then Brian FM because Brian is an ad free radio station compared to The Rock).

And there's news in Germany (Along with Denmark now in a worsening state of the corona virus but the world is possibly on the brink of destruction not only this possibly might be the end of the world) that Bavaria has enforced a shutdown due to the growing number of corona virus cases in Germany's wealthiest province/state as well as people who haven't been vaccinated aren't welcome in bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas & other points of interest like sporting events in Germany's capital of Berlin & that COVID-19 thing is still damaging our reputation & haunting us Kiwis forever especially with the Delta strain that we had in our country (And with the 5 New Zealand provinces of Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Counties Manukau & Waikato still currently under state of emergency measures but there had been a confirmed case in Waiheke Island (They have turned Waiheke into corona island) a few days ago) since August (And don't worry that I'm vaccinated 5 months ago along with Pops, Carole, Dad & Jans but I wonder the vaccine should work because it gets rid of the corona virus).

And we had a great year in sport in 2021 (Not such a great year along with last year with the COVID-19 pandemic (Which began in March 2020 half a year after the 1st confirmed case of the corona virus had recorded in Wuhan in China in November 2019 (That was 2 years ago) still going) such as the America's Cup success in March in Auckland against the Italian challenger of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Winners of the Prada Cup (They defeated INEOS Team UK (Team New Zealand's challenger of record at the next America's Cup in 2023) in the Prada Cup final to go through to the big dance to challenge for the 36th America's Cup which went unsuccessful) which is led by Max Sirena with both Australian Jimmy 'Jimmy the Pitbull/Pitbull Jimmy' Spithill & Francesco 'Checo' Bruni at the helm) for the Peter 'Pete/Pistol Pete' Burling led defenders, Emirates Team New Zealand (Who are 4 time champions of the America's Cup (They 1st did it in 1995 (Which was Pops standout America's Cup moment) in San Diego against Stars & Stripes aboard the Young America yacht (The 1st time we triumphed the America's Cup) then 2000 in Auckland against the Luna Rossa Challenge of Italy (That was the 1st time that we completed a successful defence), 2017 in Bermuda against the all Aussie crew of the mega funded Oracle Team USA (I quite liked that one where ETNZ successfully challenged for the Auld Mug for the 2nd time just like in San Diego in 1995) & this year (Which is by far, one of my standout America's Cup moments (Our 2nd successful defence of the Auld Mug) compared to the other 3 previous successful campaigns) as I mentioned before (In the famous words of the voice of yachting of PJ Montgomery during the presentation ceremony on St Patrick's day this year after Emirates Team New Zealand triumphed in the 36th America's Cup: So let me remind you, San Diego 1995: ''The America's Cup is now New Zealand's cup'', Auckland 2000: ''The America's Cup, is still, New Zealand's cup'', Bermuda 2017: ''Once again! The America's Cup is New Zealand's cup!'' And in March 2021 in Auckland: ''The America's Cup, remains, New Zealand's cup!'' (Or more like according to Scotty Stevenson on TVNZ's coverage of the 36th America's Cup: ''The Auld Mug, is Aotearoa's again'' or in Stephen McIvor's case in the world feed commentary: ''Sailing's most treasured prize, the America's Cup, stays in New Zealand!'') as well as the Kane Williamson led Black Caps with an amazing win against the Virat Kohli led India in the historic 1st ever World Test Championship (1st time that the Black Caps won an ICC sanctioned tournament since 2000 in the Knockout Trophy (Before it became known as the Champions Trophy then the WTC replaced them) & the most successful Olympic Games ever in Tokyo with 7 golds (The most successful in modern times (Just 1 shy of the all time record set in Los Angeles in 1984 (The Olympic champions at Tokyo for New Zealand were Kerri Gowler & Grace Prendergast in the women's pair along with Emma Twigg (Who finally managed to become an Olympic champion after missing out on both occasions in London 2012 & Rio 2016), the rowing men's 8 (New Zealand's only golden boys of Tokyo), the Black Ferns sevens (Who had an incredible but magnificent turnaround from missing out on the gold against Australia (Who got knocked out by Fiji in the quarterfinals during the Olympics in Tokyo in one of the greatest upsets in women's rugby sevens at the Olympic Games) in the gold medal match which proved costly in Rio in 2016 to finally becoming Olympic champions in our own right with a ''It is our time, it is our moment'' attitude to savor against France in the gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021) & of course Lisa Carrington (Who is by far, New Zealand's most successful Olympian by picking up 6 medals which is 5 gold medals & a single bronze medal) who did it 3 times (Twice on her own in the K1 200m & 500m events & once with Caitlin Regal in the K2 500m event) as well as Regal who was with Carrington), 6 silvers & 7 bronzes (In which by far that we won 20 medals (The most successful Olympics ever).

And finally my last thoughts of 2021 so far? Although I'm leaving, the force will be with you, always.

So that is my 452nd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 52nd of this year, stay safe (That of course is during the pandemic) & one love (And you have a good Christmas & a safe new year (It has been a pleasure, we look forward to seeing you next time, bye from us).

P.S. And just to clarify on a sad note as the rugby world is again in mourning when the great Maori All Blacks player & of course the Chiefs, Bay of Plenty & Taranaki player of Sean Wainui has tragically passed away in a serious car crash (I wonder he was drunk at the moment) after so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the family of Sean Wainui in memory of him, may you rest in peace.

Sean Wainui

1995 - 2021

And in other rugby news such as the England rugby team (Who are the favourites according to Pops to win the 2023 tournament) who were in fact without their injured skipper Owen Farrell has ended up winning against the Siya Kolisi (Who is in fact a inspirational leader as well as the man who was a savior of South African rugby along with Rassie Erasmus when they ultimately succeeded by becoming world beaters as they changed the fortunes around & Pops once told me that I know that he is always a good player who excelled) led South Africa (Who will end 2021 as the number 1 ranked rugby playing nation in the world since the AB's failure to achieve a test win against the 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts France while the English have ranked the 3rd best rugby playing nation in the world behind New Zealand but were without the suspended Erasmus until August next year for his off field antics during the British & Irish Lions tour match in South Africa) in a test match as well as the rematch of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham (And it was redemption 2 years in the making after suffering a horrific but tragic loss to the Springboks at the last Rugby World Cup final at the International Stadium (Same venue that England triumphed over the AB's in the semifinal) in Yokohama, Japan in 2019) in London.

And finally in the cricket news department that the Australian test team captain of Tim 'Painey' Paine (Who took over the captaincy from Steve 'Smithy/Smudge' Smith in 2018 after Smith, David 'Davey Dave' Warner & Cameron 'Cam' Bancroft had been suspended (Smith & Warner had to serve a 1 year ban as a result compared to Bancroft who was banned for 9 months) for playing their part in the ball tampering scandal during their cricket tour to South Africa which shocked the cricketing world (And most Australians especially their cricketing followers were outraged & not happy about it as a result when Bancroft was involved in an incident after television cameras found in which he was caught tampering the ball (Both Smith & Warner were the instigators in fact by instructing Bancroft to shockingly change the condition of the cricket ball) during day 3 of the 3rd test when Australia was in further trouble (They made a promising start on day 1) by using sandpaper) had to resign over a scandal which I cannot comment about which is an issue/a problem throughout our society that shocked Australian cricket, a month out from defending the beloved Ashes series on home turf (And regular test pace bowler Pat 'Patty' Cummins (Who plays for the Brendon McCullum (Whose nickname is always Baz (Whom McCullum coincidentally shares a similar nickname to the late British motorcycle racer & motorsport commentator of Barry Sheene & former Pakistani cricketer turned broadcaster/commentator Bazid Khan) as well as B-Mac occasionally/sometimes & best known as the brother of Nathan) coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL (Indian Premier League) along with the 50 over Cricket World Cup winning captain for England of Irish born Eoin 'Morgs' Morgan), from New South Wales, has been given the Australian cricket team captaincy in the test format immediately after Paine's shock resignation) against England (The country that I'm backing now because of our family's roots since I support both countries in cricket such as New Zealand & whoever was playing against Australia) who have never won the Ashes test series since 2015 (Same year that Australia had their success at the 50 over Cricket World Cup by overpowering New Zealand in the final at the MCG in Melbourne), last held it in 2018 (Australia have been the current holders since & the last time the Ashes series was held, it was in 2019 in England (Who had their success by taking victory over New Zealand in the final of the last 50 over Cricket World Cup which was decided by a historic first ever super over in the final but it was the English who had done it according to the boundary count back rule at Lord's in London) in which the Aussies dominated for the 1st time on English soil in 18 years) & the last time England triumphed on Aussie soil was in 2011 (Which the English featured the likes of both Andrew 'Straussy' Strauss (Who was once married to Ruth Strauss (Compared to Aussie cricket legend Glenn 'Pigeon' McGrath's marriage to the late Jane McGrath) who passed away due to a terminal illness) who was captain at the time & Alastair 'Cooky' Cook as well as the 2 old firm main pace bowlers currently playing today such as Stuart 'Stuey Broady' Broad & James 'Jimmy' Anderson).

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