Some days are Diamonds, some days are Ferns

I told you, didn't I, back in September? When the Australians wrapped up the Constellation Cup netball series with a win, I told you not to miss the gold medal match in Delhi? It duly arrived and just like every time these teams play, it was an unmissable piece of sport, won in double-overtime by the New Zealanders. The Diamonds and the Silver Ferns are so good it is astounding, and they are so well-matched that victory comes down to one tiny error. These games are Collingwood-St Kilda Grand Final Mark 1, virtually every time. As the stakes go up in the fourth quarter the execution of skills gets even better, but the players are on the edge of the knife and you're simply left waiting to see from whom the minute mistake will come.

In Delhi it came from Australian shooter Catherine Cox, who faltered slightly - at long range - once in the dying seconds of regulation time and once early in extra time (when a goal would have won it) while New Zealand was able to rely on the nerveless, metronomic brilliance of Maria Tutaia, from whom nothing but a swish of net came, no matter what distance or angle.

It was an absorbing, physical clash that for mine was the rated the highlight of the Commonwealth Games. Australia started better and got out by five; the Kiwis levelled, then pulled away to lead by seven with ten minutes to play, only for the Australians to come roaring back. Then the Ferns got out to a five-goal break in the final quarter, daring their opponents to come up with a superhuman effort to peg it back; which of course, they did, sending the contest into overtime.

In the end it was the reliability of Tutaia that was the difference, plus a three-second call against the Australians when wing attack Kimberlee Green slipped and fell leading for Sharelle MacMahon, who with no other option open and Green sprawled on the floor, was pinged for holding the ball. It was on that sort of moment that the game was destined to hinge. It was utterly gripping sport, and just a pity it was us who cracked.

Wundy Wonder at Willungton

Wellington has a deserved reputation for diabolical wind, and the Kiwi capital certainly lived up to that yesterday, with a gust straight off the Antarctic hitting the Phoenix's Leo Bertos' shot in mid-flight and swerving the ball past Melbourne Heart keeper Clint Bolton.

Bolton had been troubled by the wind in dealing with several crosses during the game - at least that's what he'll be saying - but he couldn't deal with the white hyperbola that came at him from Bertos' boot. (Physicists have only just completed the explanation of Roberto Carlos' "miracle goal" against France in 1997, and now they have a new one to study.)

To be fair to Bertos, he was causing the Heart defence all sorts of trouble and probably should have scored in regulation manner before his wind-assisted stunner. The strike, which secured a draw for the Phoenix, was also notable in that it pushed Wellington's unbeaten run at home to 24 games, a record for the A-League.

Forgotten man wins game

There have been mixed reviews for the new split-innings format of the Ryobi Cup, but what's clear is that some teams have adapted to the new format quicker. There have been complaints that batsmen have to resume their innings cold after the opposition's first innings - as if they've never had to do this when not-out overnight in the longer forms - but Brad Hodge certainly showed that it should not be a problem for them, pacing a substantial Victorian chase perfectly on a cold night at the Gabba, and treating the split-innings format as effectively two Twenty 20 knocks on the same night. Two centuries from two matches in the new format demonstrates emphatically that Hodge's versatility and skill remains undimmed, and that the national team could use him.

Why Hodge was dropped after five Tests, with a double-century against South Africa under his belt and an average of 58.42 (one further consolation Test took him to a final average of 55.88), has never been adequately explained by the Australian selectors, contrasting as it does with the largesse exhibited to the likes of Michael Bevan, Michael Hussey lately and Marcus North in the Test team. Had Hodge been exempted from run-scoring responsibility and given effectively a spot for life as Hussey has, who knows what sort of numbers he could have racked up in Test cricket? It is an injustice that only Andrew Hilditch could fully explain.

But I digress. Back to the Ryobi Cup, it was also pleasing to see Tasmania continue with its successful Twenty 20 ploy of opening the bowling with left-arm orthodox spinner Xavier Doherty. Doherty is a good, brave spinner in the short formats and could be a decent option at Test level as well if Nathan Hauritz's obvious shortcomings are ever addressed objectively by the Australian selectors. If Tasmania does not select him in Sheffield Shield games the national selection panel should demand a ‘please-explain?' from Hobart.

KP Cowering: Not

While I'm on cricket I see that it has been reported - I can't find a direct quote - that Mitchell Johnson has already signalled his intention to knock Kevin Pietersen's head off in the upcoming Ashes series. I used to cringe when similar sentiments were attributed to Glenn McGrath in the lead-up to a Test series, but I'm giving Johnson the benefit of the doubt on this. After his last series against the English, clearly he could not have said this: they would treat it as a joke. If Pietersen were worried about Johnson trying to knock his head off, all he would have to do would be get out of the line of fire - by standing in front of his stumps.

Cats go back to the future with Chris

When Brenton Sanderson and I kept crossing paths on laps of Central Park yesterday I could have stopped him and asked him whether the post of Head Cat was a done deal, but I left him to pounding out his Ks, as did I (14, seeing you asked). Sanderson and former colleague Ken Hinkley have both missed out on the coaching job at Geelong, with the Cats board has opting for the new broom of Chris Scott. If so it is an intriguing choice, leaving Sanderson and Hinkley through no fault of their own tainted by association with the modus operandi that Geelong obviously wants to change.

Fremantle's good year, limp exit notwithstanding, is clearly not seen by Geelong as having been inspired totally by Mark Harvey, and it must have also come into calculations that Scott's twin brother Brad has engineered a largely successful cultural shift at North Melbourne. Maybe it was the psychological effect of gleaming new facilities at Arden Street after years of slumming it, maybe it was an influx of high-quality youngsters, but Brad Scott whipped North Melbourne into a more dangerous outfit than they were latterly under Dean Laidley.

The Cats appear to be banking on Chris Scott thinking in a very similar manner to his brother, but even had he not shared a zygote with Brad, Chris would have benefited from the example of what a young coach steeped in that Brisbane three-peat culture can do when given a clean slate. Going untried - as they did all those years ago with Mark Thompson - is a bold statement by Geelong, but hard on Sanderson and Hinkley.

The word from Geelong is that Sanderson in particular was perceived as being too close to the playing group: given that the tail was clearly wagging the cat in 2010, it seems obvious that the club wants someone who can say to a Matthew Scarlett, for example, ‘I don't care that you're an eight-time All-Australian, you'll do what I want you to do.'