2010 Wisden is out: Ashes victory secret finally revealed

The 2010 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack - the 147th Edition of cricket's Bible - is out, with the definitive word from England captain Andrew Strauss on how the team regained the Ashes in 2009. It was, writes Strauss, all down to England's "unbreakable" team spirit. That's a relief. Here was I thinking that it had something to do with (a) the deadly spin of Marcus North unaccountably not being able to prise out the final English wicket on day five at Cardiff; (b) Mitchell Johnson serving up a constant diet of four-balls to England's batsmen; (c) Mike Hussey deciding that bat use was optional for a batsman; (d) all England batsmen getting a half-hour of unthreatening rubbish to acclimatise themselves to the crease; (e) maddeningly acquiescent captaincy from Australia as momentum shifts went against them; and (f) multiple complete failures of technique and application from Australia's batsmen, handing multiple collapses to the likes of Onions, Swann and Broad. But it turns out that England was simply "united." That's all right, then.

Essendon - the interstate surrenders continue

First win under its belt, a bit of momentum, a trip to Perth to face the winless and unimpressive Eagles - Bombers fans were hoping for a statement to be made. There was one made, all right, but it was: "Sorry, we were away from Melbourne, and it was all too hard." It was not just the ridiculous over-use of handball; it was not just the constant holding free kicks given away inside 50; it was not just the awed spectating of Naitanui. It was the palpable defeatist mentality that really grated on Bomber fans (as well as the stark contrast, next day, with Carlton's commitment.) Seriously, Essendon has lost the plot when it comes to travelling. Early on in the national competition, travelling (for the Melbourne clubs) was seen as hard. It was written about and spoken about ad nauseam as a difficult thing to do, to the extent that a ready-made excuse for a poor effort was created. And Essendon, more than any of the Melbourne clubs, has gone to that well repeatedly. In the last eight seasons, it has won seven times on the road, from 40 attempts. Travelling interstate in Australia is not hard. That fit young men run out on to a football ground already beaten because of the pre-programmed excuse of being on the road is a disgrace.

Great weekend for the Brisbanites

It doesn't get much better for Queensland sport fans than the weekend just gone: they had the choice of watching the rugby union Reds pull off an inspirational upset of defending Super 14 titleholders the Bulls; the rugby league Broncos bounce off the bottom of the NRL ladder with an emphatic 44-16 demolition of Cronulla; and the AFL Lions run all over the Bulldogs in the second half to make a mockery of a four-goal halftime deficit. In particular, the corporate boxholders at Suncorp Stadium got their money's worth at the weekend.

The 28-year-old rookie

James Podsiadly must have thought that his AFL chance had passed him by, after failed stints at Essendon and Collingwood. Kicking regular bags of goals in the VFL for years seemed to be his destiny. But Geelong was looking for forward-line back-up, and chose to punt on a man it had already brought to club for a development and fitness job. At 28, Podsiadly is now a prong of a potentially lethal forward set-up at the Cats, but it is not just a heartwarming story of him personally: more importantly, with Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney set to hoover up all the best draft picks, Podsiadly has trod a path that has put a spring into the step of many a player in his mid-20s in a second-tier competition. Thanks to him, their dream still lives.

Three goals to Tatyoon's David Astbury on debut at the MCG yesterday

It was sensational to watch David Astbury, 19, snaffle three goals on his AFL debut, for Richmond yesterday. In February Astbury kicked a goal with his first kick in league football, in the NAB Cup game against Hawthorn at Launceston. He didn't quite repeat that feat on his Premiership debut, but he got Richmond's first and added two more. Astbury played his TAC Cup football at North Ballarat, and also played for Caulfield Grammar, but learned his football at Tatyoon, a highly successful club from the Mininera League in western Victoria. It is the kind of salt-of-the-earth football club that is the heart and soul of its community, but which doesn't always get the credit for the development of the kids that are funnelled upward into TAC Cup feeder clubs. They would have been as pleased as punch at Tatyoon yesterday. (Disclosure: I know his parents, and I played Under-13 and Under-17 football for Taty.)

Well done, Sam Stosur

Few groups of athletes cop the sustained level of criticism that is the lot of Australia's women tennis players. Usually, it's fair enough, because they tend not to win very often, and there is no ranking low enough for them to be confidently expected to beat any opponent. But credit where it's due: Sam Stosur's effort in winning her second WTA title at the weekend in Charleston was an excellent one. Now ranked 11th, Stosur thrashed No. 22 Vera Zvonareva in the final and is looking a good thing to repeat her 2009 effort of making the last four at the French Open.