Grafters will always win out over flashes in the pan

Ash Barty a lesson Australia's polarising men's stars just won't grasp.

India's Test and One Day captain Virat Kohli. Picture: Eranga Jayawardena

OPINION

SPORT provides without doubt some of life's best stories.

It also creates this odd environment where flip flopping between standards is par for the course.

Take this past week.

The Ash Barty bandwagon has gone into overdrive after the Ipswich battler conquered the world to claim the French Open.

Power to her.

Incredible result, on clay, and it was so refreshing to see an Aussie tennis player showing a bit of grit and courage, instead of choking up and throwing a tantrum when the going gets tough.

But the bandwagon support was, as always, pretty predictable, and sad.

We'll embrace her as our national hero now, for a few minutes at least, but how many of those people were following her as she carved out a cricket career, then battled away as a lower-ranked player on the international tennis circuit?

My bet would be nowhere near as many as those cheering her name now.

Regardless, it's great to see female sports stars killing it on the world stage and she deserves every plaudit she gets.

If she was to plummet down the rankings now, I'd like to think there'd still be millions cheering her on.

There probably wouldn't be, but it's a nice thought.

Humble, hardworking athletes deserve our support more than those that rely on overpaid brat antics to stay relevant.

Speaking of antics, the crowds were giving hell to Steve Smith in the World Cup blockbuster against India the other night.

Relentless booing of the talented batsmen prompted Indian skipper Virat Kohli to urge his fans to applaud Smith instead of jeer him.

Kohli's never been short of critics, especially in Australia, but even his harshest markers would be struggling to deny the class of the man after that.

Personally, I reckon Smith, Warner and Bancroft are fair game.

Yeah, they did the crime and the time, but they also brought a whole heap of shame to the Australian shirt and would be silly to think they won't cop a grilling, especially in England.

But credit to Kohli, he considered Smith had paid his dues and didn't need to be subject to more widespread condemnation.

I was watching a fair bit of that game, at least the Indian innings.

They absolutely dismantled the Aussie bowling attack.

I don't really understand the dislike of Kohli.

He's a competitor. A straight-up, hardcore competitor.

His intensity on the field is awesome.

If he were an Australian I reckon the public would adore him.

There's a common thread here though.

One the likes of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios are yet to grasp.

It's not just talent, but hard work, desire and determination that eventually elevate sportspeople to hero status.

A grafter will always be more loved than a flash in the pan.