Sport

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Scott Boland must be included in the Test team for the foreseeable future, but which ageing quick needs to make way for him?

GEORGIE PARKER: Steve Smith showed us why he is a legend of the game as a new Ashes battle gets underway.

JUSTIN LANGER: His role off the pitch has probably become more important than it ever was on.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: There are a lot of what ifs from the Border Gavaskar trophy but there is one key decision the visitors made I did not agree with.

Never has a tour of the island nation been as important with a chance to shape the team’s future beckoning for selectors.

LISA STHALEKAR: After the best home series in living memory fans are chomping at the bit to see the major nations play each other more often, but is it really a good idea?

MITCHELL JOHNSON: When tempers flare in the middle, some players would be wise to let their batting do the talking, none so more than Sam Konstas.

GEORGIE PARKER: The teen sensation is just the tonic the cricketing public were looking for, but his youthful exuberance comes at the risk of alienating him from those he needs most.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Australia and India has become the most-watched Test series, and when you look at the population of India, that makes sense

Remember it was about this time last year that we celebrated and cried with Mitch Marsh as he accepted and spoke about what it meant to win the Allan Border Medal as the best Australian male player of 2023

GEORGIE PARKER: The penalties tennis players face are often seen as arbitrary and seem influenced by factors such as their reputation.

LISA STHALEKAR: While Test cricket will always take centre stage in this country, what has been pleasing to watch is the resurgence of Big Bash. However, let’s not go too far.

Foxtel has been sold in a $3.5 billion deal that will bring UK sports entertainment juggernaut DAZN to Australia’s shores — and catapult local codes such as AFL and NRL onto a bigger global stage.

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Boxing Day is looming as D-day for Australia’s top three but selectors should show more patience with one of them, despite his failure to fire this series against India.

Several cricket legends are facing a moment of truth this summer with one having to face the toughest call of all.