Sport

GEORGIE PARKER: This grand final is another chapter in the fierce battle between these titanic heavyweights and its the best thing that could be happening for the sport.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Ben Stokes, and England, need to get some runs on the board — and maybe a Test win — before sledging their own greats as their hubris was clearly their undoing in the first Test.

DANE ELDRIDGE: There is nothing a Kiwi hates more than admitting an Australian is right, but Brendon McCullum’s refusal to see the writing on the wall is beyond the pale.

LISA STHALEKAR: Travis Head’s heroics should signal the end of Usman Khawaja’s Test career and he only has himself to blame.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to charges he engaged in rigged high-stakes poker games that prosecutors said had ties to the Mafia.

JUSTIN LANGER: It was sensational to watch, but two-day Tests will kill the Ashes.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Usman Khawaja’s injury fiasco could cost him his farewell tour - even if he is fit to play at the Gabba - with the Aussie dressing room unlikely to be impressed.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: You must be at your best for the ultimate sporting showdown as any weakness will be fully exploited by your opponent.

EDITORIAL: Test cricket is a strange anachronism in today’s attention deficit-riven society. Australians forgo their phones in favour the hypnotic thwack of red leather against English willow. 

MITCHELL JOHNSON: England talk a big game, and maybe they believe it. But talk doesn’t score runs or take wickets out here.

GIDEON HAIGH: From time to time, people try to wean themselves off the Ashes for a number of reasons. The Ashes simply nods, smiles, thanks you for your time, and waits — it knows you’ll be back.

DAVID ‘BUMBLE’ LLOYD: The biggest rivalry in sport is not for the faint of heart; here is my simple message to the combatants in this blockbuster series.

DANE ELDRIDGE: We never really liked him when he played for New Zealand and probably like him less now he is bringing his ‘Bazball revolution’ Down Under.

LISA STHALEKAR: Everyone’s talking about Bazball and selection headaches — but the real concern is something else entirely.

GEORGIE PARKER: The fact there is now a game in Melbourne shows what an utter failure the concept has become.