Criticism of Longmire is out of bounds (on the full)

TFF has been bemused this week by some of the commentary on the departing Swans coach, John Longmire, with a few stroking their chins and noting that while he did indeed guide the Swans to five grand finals, he sadly finishes his time with them boasting “only one grand final win”.

The tone of much of that commentary is that Longmire in some ways let the side down by only presiding over a single win in five times at bat.

Hello?

Hellooooo?

Just how outstanding a coach did he have to be, to get into a position to have that admittedly disappointing stat at the end of his resume? I would say so outstanding that there is barely another coach in the country to match it. Five grand finals in 14 years in charge? If only the rest of us could let the side down in such a manner in our own careers.

And as Brandon Jack pointed out to me over the blower: “Most impressive is John’s ability to do it with three completely different sides over the years. Each iteration of the Swans under him had a new identity and group of players, but he still got each of them into the grand final arena.”

Outgoing Swans coach John Longmire and his replacement Dean Cox.Credit: Rhett Wyman

The bottom line is, he’s been a great coach and leaves the Swans in infinitely better shape than he found them. He’s been revered by his players, respected by the press, and admired by the Swans supporters. Good bloke, done fine.

Once Father Time gets to work, resistance is futile

As to Steve Smith, 35, falling short once again in Perth – 0, and 17 runs – seriously, isn’t there another way? Of course, he has been a great servant of Australian cricket – the finest of his generation – but even his most ardent defenders can’t ignore that he ain’t scoring runs like he used to. Ditto, Usman Khawaja, another great batsman –and an ornament to the game – but now 37, and only contributing 8 and 4 runs in Perth himself.

We saw exactly the same drop-off in form with Dave Warner whereby, after a stunning career that displayed superb timing for 90 per cent of it, it was in fact Father Time bowling from one end and Mother Nature from the other that regularly skittles his stumps in the end.

Steve Smith walks off after being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj on day four of the First Test against India in Perth.Credit: Getty Images

Blokes like that are such legends of the game they are all but impossible to drop, and if they don’t go voluntarily, all that remains is to suffer an ignominious trailing off in their still glorious career, until either they or the selectors can’t stand it anymore. But watching that first Test, it feels like we are there right now.

This observation likely precedes a century from one or both of them in this week’s Test in Adelaide. But it cannot alter the core problem: somehow, the selectors have given us a team top-heavy with ageing players who are faltering precisely when Australia needs them most.

Fire at will, see if I care.

I said exactly this about Steve Smith in this space last year, only to be shouted down, but who else thinks he is a quarter of the force he once was?

‘Hello, Peter. It’s Nick Hockley’

Still on cricket and you will recall TFF’s item last week expressing mild dismay that Cricket Australia should have recorded financial losses totalling nigh on $60 million over the last three years.

I equally noted Cricket Australia “openly acknowledge being in the ‘down cycle’ and are relying on this India tour and the coming Ashes to fill the coffers,” but the piece nevertheless occasioned a gentle phone call from the outgoing CEO of Cricket Australia, Nick Hockley, followed by an even more gentle cup of tea and a chat.

He wished to further emphasise the very point I made, that even though their annual income has moved through a few lowlands exactly as I described – and they further lost $100 million of income because of COVID – it is the series against India this summer and England next summer that are their Himalayan peaks and there is, therefore, no drama.

“In simple terms,” he says, “Cricket Australia has a four-year cycle during which revenue fluctuates markedly depending on the touring team, with India and England being the big years. We smooth the effect on states and territories by maintaining a consistent level of distributions, which is achieved by CA incurring losses [after distributions] in low years and retaining surpluses in high years.”

He went on.

“Crowds for Test cricket remain strong, with 96k attending in Perth compared to 80k last time India came to Perth.”

Nice bloke, and I wish him well.

The next CEO of Cricket Australia, seeing as you ask, should be my mate and yours, Todd Greenberg.

A cricketer of some note himself, playing first grade for Randwick back in the day, he has cut his teeth in sports administration with the Canterbury Bulldogs, then as CEO of the NRL, and now as boss of Cricket Players Association – which means he already knows the commercial cricket landscape as anyone, and already has the respect of the players. No-brainer. Pick him.

Dream still alive for Wallabies

Bugger, bugger, bugger.

The Wallabies looked so strong in that first 20 minutes against Scotland, that it seemed sure that they were going to keep on track for their grand slam attempt – only to finally go down 27-13. What could have been!

It alters nothing from the glory of the Tests against England and Wales, and I repeat – they have at least saved the farm. But a win against Ireland in the wee hours of Sunday morning would be more than welcome. Better rugby brains than mine have assured me they just might do it. Ireland, while a mighty team, has been a little on the scratchy side of late, while at the end of this grand if not grand slam tour the Wallabies will be able to put their best side on the park and cut loose.

What They Said

Cricket commentator Bharat Sundaresan on the phenomenal performance of the Indian captain in the first Test: “Jasprit Bumrah walks off with a stump after posting his first Test win as captain. He could have taken the ball, the pitch and the Perth Stadium with him if he wanted. A special performance by the future long-term Test captain.”

Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc: “Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I did my job, but being nice f***s me over all the f***ing time, all the f***ing time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful. I know I need to shut up but ...”

Emma McKeon on hanging up the goggles: “Leading into Paris, I knew it would be my last Olympics, and the months since have given me time to reflect on my journey and think about what I wanted my future to look like in swimming. I am proud of myself for giving my swimming career absolutely everything, both physically and mentally.”

Joe Schmidt on the Scotland loss: “But Scotland are a good side and hopefully people can still see that there’s some quality starting to be built through an Australian side that’s actually starting to show a bit of depth, albeit with some pretty inexperienced players.”

Eddie Jones making light of former England scrumhalf Danny Care’s book which doesn’t paint Eddie in a good light: “I’ve got a new book deal coming out. It’s called Caring about Care. Get all the details in that.”

Pat Cummins on the upcoming second Test, after a very dispiriting beginning, and end, in Perth: “I’d be very surprised if we changed anything. I’m not a selector but I dare say there won’t be any changes.” Ok, but if the same thing occurs in that second Test, and you still take the same view, you may change your last name to Malone.

Statement from Phillip Hughes’ family marking the 10th year of his passing: “Phillip, we love you, we miss you and we are forever proud of you. We think about you every day and we are so thankful you were ours. Thank you for being the most extraordinary son and loving brother.”

Eels coach Jason Ryles.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Novak Djokovic on hiring Andy Murray to join his coaching team: “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner.”

New Eels coach Jason Ryles on if he will emulate Craig Bellamy whom he did an apprenticeship with: “No, there’s only one version of me and that’s the one I know the best.”

NRL player Valentine Holmes on joining the Dragons: “Everyone knows the history of their 15 premierships, it’s the iconic Red V, which matches up perfectly for me being Valentine.”

Team of Week

John Longmire. Suddenly retired as coach of the Swans after a long and successful stint.

Italy. Won the Davis Cup, if anyone still cares. Did you ever see an international comp in more urgent need of a complete change of format?

Wallabies. Sure, the grand slam is no longer on the line but bravo to the Wallabies for a great tour. After starting with a bang at Twickenham, they did a number on Wales, got taught a lesson at Murrayfield and now can hopefully finish well against Ireland.

Elvis Smylie. The young Australian golfer and son of former tennis star, Liz, won the Australian PGA Championship.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The 13-year-old Indian batsman, just nailed down a $200,000 contract to play for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL – the youngest by three years in the history of the comp.