Welcome to the column where you provide the content. The terraces were a sea of black, beige and boos on the day the Kiwis stormed the MCG, bumping the attendance to 80,473, the second-highest Boxing Day crowd for a non-Ashes Test, as their bowlers battered the Aussies with a barrage of bouncers. A grudge match said John:
“The good old underarm. No-one holds a grudge like the Kiwis.”
What goes around, said Charles:
“I remember Aussies booing Broad at the behest of that paragon of virtue, Lehman. That was bitter and vindictive.”
Nick was narky:
“There was a very good reason that their uniform was beige — their cricket matched and not much has changed.”
Brendan had a reminder:
“Remember when our crowds used to chant to the Kiwi equivalent to Bradman about Hadlee being a w***er?”
What goes around comes around.
Dennis was dirty:
“The socialist state of suck holes making excuses for the pack of bogans from across the ditch! I can imagine the headlines would be very different if the Aussies were behaving that way. Cultural cringe I think it’s called and the woke journalists perfect it!”
Casper was disappointed:
“I thought the Kiwis would have a bit more class than the Safricans and the Poms. But no. Water finds its own level.”
Leo damned with faint praise:
“I know some great people from NZ but their bogans are the most ungracious of all bogan visitors.”
Tom was terse:
“South Pacific Poms behaving like boof heads. So what’s new?”
Bryan beamed:
“Through all the boisterous and petulant behaviour — booing and throwing empty beer cups overboard — I’m pleased to report the Aussies in the crowd were subdued and behaved splendidly.”
Peter took a punt:
“Williamson may have won the toss but was too scared to bat first.”
Robert was rapt:
“Kiwi cricket fans are great and I reckon they were just having fun (not nasty and vindictive) — now if only they could get rid of the child PM who constantly lectures everyone about how virtuous she is, while she spends the money that a National (conservative) government generated, takes next to no refugees and exempts all the half decent NZ industries from climate policies.”
Geoff predicted:
“Knowing CA, this omelette will get over egged. The Kiwis will be invited out enough to be over exposed.”
Anthony asserted:
“The brown and beige colours worn by New Zealand supporters reflects the current nature of their country … stuck in the past.”
Jack jumped in:
“You should remember the past! It’s the same uniform they wore for the despicable under arm fiasco in 1981! Honourable supporters remember when they’ve been shafted!”
Susan’s husband seethed:
“I support sport but not blood sport. The bodyline era was dreadful. In my view any bowling with intention other than to potentially hit the wicket and more particularly threaten the batsman and risk injury is deplorable. Isn’t the object of the bowler to get the batsman out by bowling to the wicket? With the added opportunity of having the ball played to a likely catch. IMHO, other than on a very bad wicket and only then in exceptional circumstances, a ball passing or likely to pass more than 12” above the wicket should be declared a no ball.”
Greg said:
“Have you posted similar views whenever Australia bowl relentlessly short at batsmen? Australia’s pacemen have a long history of bowling bouncers, particularly at tailenders.”
Makybe said:
“What’s not to love about the Kiwis? They give their cricket a red hot go, and do it the right way — with a smile.”
Paul was pleased:
“It seems a lot of people must have been watching another match if they thought the first day was boring. 80,000 spectators, plenty in the wicket, a world class bowling attack, restrictive field settings and good old hard test cricket. Absolutely brilliant.”
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Nick Cater bemoaned the “dispiriting news” that the hitherto undistinguished personal pronoun “they” has been named word of the year by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and wondered if inclusivity police get their way, kids in the future would encounter gender-normative personal pronouns only in Shakespeare, and then presumably only under supervision. Sunni said:
“There’s not a lot of love in the hearts of these woke souls. They seem very narcissistic, rigid and one-dimensional.”
Mervyn remarked:
“A lot of this problem would go away if people just stopped using or paying attention to Twitter.”
Michael mused:
“The best justification for Twitter is for people like myself — small businesses, artists, hobbyists and so on — keeping our clientele or followers in touch with our new ranges, limited editions etc. But when it comes down to people just expressing personal opinions, it seems there are a lot of people who don’t mind wasting their lives spouting worthless content into the ether.”
Damien declaimed:
“I’ve said it before, nobody does intolerance and bigotry and hypocrisy like those self congratulatory smug workers, who show off and flatter themselves for being tolerant and open.”
John said:
“I’ve chosen ‘it’ as my non-gendered singular pronoun of choice. It uses less ink and is therefore more sustainable.”
Alan was a wake up:
“I woke up this morning: it means I am no longer asleep; as for the other ‘woke’ I join you in not knowing who or what it refers to. Perhaps I am in the dark on this.”
Arlys offered:
“We are way behind here on The Goldie. Up here in crass land, we still have two very definite sexes, chicks and guys, sheilas and blokes. Nobody really gives a damn about your colour or creed, or whether you are Arthur or Martha, or a mix of both, all are welcome, as long as you chill.
“I think I will stay within its boundaries, the outside world is now a scary place where your sex, political beliefs, religious beliefs, or colour, is up for discussion, and whether you pass the test. It’s all yours, we find a swim in the surf, cures most ailments, or a walk in the hinterland, please leave all your beliefs and phobias at the airport, you can pick them up on your way home.”
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As bushfires rage, Niki Savva wrote of the experience of having her ACT home burn to the ground after the greenest of councils wouldn’t allow hazardous trees to be cleared, and railed against the dearth of common sense when it comes to managing our environment. Robert sympathised:
“Yes, in Canberra some of us live in a fire zone, but we do have a tram and a rainbow roundabout.”
Les said:
“Having fought the 2009 Victorian fires around our home successfully, I have now shifted to a coastal area that has a bushfire management overlay. In each case the amount of debris, and fuel load that was/is allowed to gather is extraordinary. Clearing that does occur, typically results in branches just being dropped in the bush. Roads are never burnt along, firewood gathering is limited. It would appear that policy is based on not ‘when’, but rather on ‘let’s hope it doesn’t’.
“One outcome being more loss of life and property. The real irony is that when hot burns occur there is wholesale destruction of the very wildlife that apparently not clearing is meant to help prosper. The koala deaths in the 2009 near my home is an abiding memory. They never had a chance.”
Philip fulminated:
“The greens are around 10pc of the vote, they should be treated like that. They are a minority party who take no responsibility for their stupid dangerous actions in forest management.
Our biggest problem is the Greens get into councils around Australia and force their stupid irresponsible ideology into practice.
“The Greens need to be held accountable. If they want to force no back burning, no fuel reduction in forests or farms then they should be held accountable for the disasters which occur.”
Ramdas’s reaction:
“The writer, just like the Greens she derides, is varnishing the truth when she says that the federal government is doing nothing about climate change. We are meeting our Paris targets and are on track to meet our 2030 emissions commitments. How many countries, including those in Western Europe who lecture us on fighting climate change, can say the same?
“Secondly for those who say we should be doing more, nearly all of who are among the well-off, the question arises, at what cost? Already, our electricity bills have doubled in the last 10 years, hitting the poor and low income families the hardest, with some not able to afford heating in the winter.”
Pamela pointed out:
“Local and state governments have been derelict in their duties for too long. They must be held accountable for their lack of action. Why are political parties so frightened of the Greens? The plebs hate the Greens and their policies and they only attract 10pc of the voters. Time for the major political parties to grow backbones and block these crazy green policies.”
Last word to Angela:
“The most effective action to prevent more homes being burnt is to never vote Green in local council elections.”
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