Sorry time for English sport

Press, 31 October 1986, Page 24

Sorry time for English sport

NZPA-AAP London England’s sporting pride has been sorely wounded by the recent string of defeats at the hands of sportsmen from Down Under. Nigel Clarke lamented the lack of English success against Australia in his column in the “Daily Mirror.” “And how they love to rub it in. Second to the sound of beer cans being opened, what they enjoy most is listening to whingeing Poms,” wrote Clarke. His tale of woe starts with Australia’s victory over England in their Davis Cup confrontation at Wimbledon in July.

Then came Greg Norman’s golfing successes, followed by the Australian hockey team’s defeat of England in the final of the World Cup. “Last week-end was a treble blow,” said Clarke. “The kind that would have left Dame Edna choking on the amber nectar as she dabbed a hanky to her eyes. “The Aussies came to Old Trafford in the first rugby league test and hammered us out of sight. “Then Allan Border, in charge of Queensland, led this tinpot state to a five-wicket win over what was England’s test

cricket side, as near as dammit. “A Pom, Nigel Mansell, was all set to bring us home some glory by winning the world drivers’ championship in Adelaide. Then suddenly his tyre blew out on that rotten Australian road and he finished in second place instead.” It’s no longer the Aussies who have the ball

and chain around their feet, Clarke suggested: “They’ve passed it on to us. And we are dragging it along in a pathetic attempt to keep up.” With the second league test coming up and England’s cricketers facing “real” cricket soon he can see only one possible source of assistance. “God help us,” he concluded.