After a very successful summer, where the Australian Cricket Team have pounded the English, it looked like we were invincible.
But then along comes Tony Abbott – and the Prime Minister’s Eleven. This is a game where a number of players are supposedly “selected” by the PM.
We were creamed by 172 runs. Amazing, when you consider that England have had difficulty making 172 runs against the “real” Australian team.
I expressed my concern about this a few weeks ago in this article Selection on Merit? where I suggested that it was highly likely that he’d make selections based on how much of a sycophant the player was.
I have absolutely no evidence of this, so in the absence of evidence, I’ll do what the mainstream media do, I’ll quote anonymous sources. One cricketer alleges that they were left out of the side just because they were considered “too green”. Another was prepared to speak on the condition that I didn’t spell his name correctly, and while he didn’t make a direct allegation, he did point out that Abbott was actually born in England.
Of course, if this is how Abbott’s selections are doing in something as important as sport, imagine how badly they’ll do in areas that he has no interest in. Things like Education, the Economy, Climate Change and Human Rights. Sure, Tim Wilson has shown some interest in human rights and has always argued that the issue is not what is being done to you – it’s your right to complain about it that counts. I think enough has been written about Kevin Donnelly, but I would like to point out that one of his books, “Dumbing Down” makes the terrible mistake of trying to turn “dumb” into a verb – this is incorrect, and a further example of the illiteracy of Abbott’s education appointees.
But, fortunately, we are now considering a Gallipolli Centenary Match. (That should help the lack of focus on Anzac day in schools – apparently, it’s only studied once a year.) Hopefully, it’ll be played against the Turkish Cricket Team. Even Tony’s picks would be a chance there!
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