Brendon McCullum and the getting of Wisden
Greg Baum When news arrived in Sharjah of the tragic and ultimately fatal blow suffered by Phil Hughes that day in 2014, no-one in the New Zealand cricket team had the stomach to go on with the Test match they...
Muhammad Ali: who would deny 'the greatest' his immortality?
![The champ: Muhammad Ali lands a punch on Joe Frazier the <i>Thrilla in Manilla</i> in 1975.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/06/04/7465948/Thumbnail1009989536gpbjc5image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gpbkww.png1465067868267.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum In death, Ali's achievements, in and out of the boxing ring, remain undimmed.
Cricket Australia Dukes ball plan foiled because ball behaves differently in Australia
Greg Baum Australia's plan to use English cricket balls in the Sheffield Shield next season is in doubt because – like so many English imports to Australia – they behave differently here.
Sheffield Shield no ticket to honours for Victorians
![James Pattinson has played only 17 of a possible 53 Tests since his debut in 2011.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/24/7441281/Thumbnail1009588288gn09ghimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gp2zb4.png1464101296808.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum The Sheffield Shield and the Australian Test team have become like third cousins, twice removed. You know they're related, but it's hard to remember how.
Good guys who finish first
![Good guys can win: Leicester manager Claudio Rainieri.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/13/7416493/Thumbnail1009199597glnjwlimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.goune5.png1463129353849.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum This has been a good spell for two of sport's axiomatic non-winners, good guys and losers.
Baggy green stays in Australian hands
![The iconic Baggy Green will still be made locally](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/12/7414210/Thumbnail1009162522go4t7nimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gotusa.png1463107195389.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum By a narrow squeak, the iconic baggy green cap will continue to be made in Australia after a buyer emerged this week to save troubled manufacturer Albion.
Vale Tony Cozier, the voice of West Indian cricket
![Masterful: Tony Cozier, pictured in Somerset in 1995.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/12/7413843/Thumbnail1009158637got0qmimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gotrsd.png1464176768571.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum One of cricket's most distinguished and distinct voices is now forever quiet.
The Phillip Hughes review: More protection, no guarantees
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/11/7409728/Thumbnail1009088291gl9b2kimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gos9ib.png1462946065724.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum David Curtain's prescription is so thorough that he recommends even for nets bowling machine operators to wear helmets henceforth.
Leicester City's Premier League win much more than a miracle
![Party time: Leicester's Marc Albrighton celebrates after scoring against Swansea](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/05/03/7391571/Thumbnail1008754668goh04aimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gol430.png1462308300882.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum To call Leicester City's feat a miracle is to undersell it. A miracle is an instantaneous things, achieving in a blinding, transforming, water-into-wine flash what would not be possible even with...
Hillsborough and the way we were
![Tragedy: Supporters are crushed against the barrier at Hillsborough Stadium.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/04/29/7383581/Thumbnail1008621946gofncyimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.goi9oa.png1461917842474.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum There were 112,838 people at MCG for the 1970 second semi-final.
Adam Scott: traitor with a two-iron
![No thanks: Adam Scott has turned his back on the Olympics.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/04/22/7367293/Thumbnail1008373539gobjk5image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gocy03.png1461312963184.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum Poor Adam Scott. He surely cannot know the curse he has called down upon himself by turning his back on the Olympics.
Jordan Spieth at the Masters: Hiccup or choke?
![Mental collapse: Jordan Spieth (left) and caddie Michael Greller after the final round of the US Masters.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/04/15/7349462/Thumbnail1008078862go600oimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.go6mmm.png1460712675847.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum In making a quadruple bogey at the 12th at Augusta last Sunday, did Jordan Spieth choke, or was it as he said, that he put a couple of bad swings on the ball at the wrong time? Is there a difference?
Saggy green? Not us, says cap maker
Greg Baum The long-term maker of the iconic baggy green cap has moved to reassure Cricket Australia that the company was viable in the face of reports that the company is under stress.
The rebirth of calypso: West Indies turn the world upside down
![The West Indies celebrates their World Twenty20 triumph.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/04/04/7323736/Thumbnail1007664685gnxu4dimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gnxr1p.png1459772040308.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum They were four balls that shook an already shaken-up cricket world. When Carlos Brathwaite was done, and had floated back to earth, the West Indies were world T20 champions for the second time, and...
Victoria v South Australia: The shielded final
![Victoria's players celebrate after winning the Sheffield Shield final against South Australia.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/04/01/7319256/Thumbnail1007591948gnwi7limage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gnw6x8.png1459496916172.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum You'd be excused for not having noticed, but Victoria this week won their second Sheffield Shield in a row and their 30th all up.
Cricket Australia swings to Dukes ball
![In the spotlight: The Dukes cricket ball will be used in some Sheffield Shield matches next summer.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/03/29/7310731/Thumbnail1007454776giuydpimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gnt92w.png1459252651231.png-90x60.png)
Greg Baum English-made Dukes cricket balls will be used in the second half of Sheffield Shield seasons from next year, Cricket Australia will announce on Wednesday.
Will this Sheffield Shield final be all it seams?
Greg Baum The drafting of veteran seamer Clint McKay into Victoria's squad for this weekend's Sheffield Shield final against South Australia is the surest sign yet that this may be a different sort of finale...
How do you absolve a problem like Maria?
![Maria Sharapova](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/03/08/7264877/Thumbnail1006717472gndjziimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gndg68.png1457445971988.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum The way this looks and walks and quacks, it is beginning to appear very much like a duck.
Maria Sharapova drama: Year of net loss for tennis
![Maria Sharapova.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/03/08/7263981/Thumbnail1006702672gnd0zjimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gnd4r4.png1457397776062.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum It is grimly ironic that the positive drug test now endangering Maria Sharapova's career was taken after her defeat at the hands of Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
Swearing by the Davis Cup won't win it
![Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160613151621im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/03/07/7262615/Thumbnail1006679169gnbyj3image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gncmm9.png1457354179016.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Greg Baum Australia's competitive future resides in the hands of various on-court charmers, lead by the man who branded a linesman a 'f--king cheat' in his last match.