🏏 Long Live the King

Good morning, it's Monday, 7 March

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 9.30 minutes

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching today

🏏 9.00am - Cricket World Cup - New Zealand v Bangladesh - University Oval, Dunedin - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 11.30am - NBA - Cavaliers v Raptors - Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 3.45pm - Cricket - Pakistan v Australia - Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEDT

🏏 Warne gets the royal treatment 

YouTube copped an absolute hammering over the weekend as millions of Aussies watched hours of highlights to try to deal with the shock passing of legendary spinner Shane Warne.

Golden points: The 52yo was found dead in his hotel room in Thailand in the early hours of Saturday morning, Australian time. 

• It’s believed he suffered a heart attack. Local police have ruled out any foul play in his death. 

• Warne is the greatest leg-spin bowler of all time and finished with the second-most Test wickets. But he was more than that. He was a coach, commentator and a winner both on and off the field. He also had the ball of the century. You can't beat that.

• The Victorian government announced the Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will now be called the S.K. Warne Stand. 

They said it: “I’m so saddened by the sudden death of Shane Warne. He brought such joy to the game and was the greatest spin bowler ever.” - Rock and roll icon Mick Jagger pays tribute to his friend. 

What’s next: Warne’s family has accepted the offer of a state funeral from the Victorian government. The details will be announced in the next few days.

Watch it: There are literally hundreds to choose from, but here are the King of Spin’s top 50 wickets on home soil. 

🏏 Marsh remembered as one of the greats 

It was a really tough week for cricket lovers because another one of Australia’s all-time greats died on Friday. 

Golden points: Rod Marsh, 74yo, had a heart attack in Bundaberg on 24 February and passed away last Friday.

• Marsh was one of the best wicketkeepers of all time. When he retired, no one had more Test dismissals than his 355. And you often saw Dennis Lillee’s name next to those, because Marsh took a record 95 catches off his bowling. 

• When he retired, Marsh stayed involved in the game. He mentored heaps of future stars and was then a national selector for 5 years. 

• Back in the days before you could watch Netflix, Marsh had 51 beers on a flight from Australia to London. You may have seen stranger things since then, but that’s still a lot. 

Key click: The Squiz team has put together a special deep dive podcast into the lives of Warne and Marsh. Listen to it on Apple, Spotify and in your favourite podcast app. 

🏏 King puts England in a spin 

If you weren’t watching Warnie highlights or listening to old stories about Marsh then you were probably on the couch watching the Aussies in action this weekend.

Golden points: Australia got off to a winning start against England at the Women’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.

• Rachael Haynes was named player of the match for her 130, but leg-spinner Alana King was the sentimental hero after she grabbed three wickets. 

• But wait, there’s more. The men are also in action in Pakistan. They trail by 205 runs in the first Test after 3 days. Usman Khawaja just missed out on what would have been his 3rd century in 5 innings. 

What’s next: The Aussie women are back at it tomorrow against… Pakistan. So it could be a big day if both teams win. That game starts at midday (AEDT) and you can catch it on Foxtel and Kayo.

🏉 Fresh as a Daisy 

It’s been a fair old week for Daisy Pearce. It started with her getting talked about as a potential assistant coach in the AFL and it finished with her booting 5 goals as she helped the Melbourne Demons smash heaps of AFLW records.

The score: Demons 16.11 (107) beat Dockers 3.1 (19)

Golden points: There was nothing hellish about the Demons after they set a record for the most points scored in an AFLW game.

• The previous record was 98 points scored by Brisbane, but that only lasted 6 days.

• Pearce kicked a bag in the win as Melbourne piled on 43 points in the 3rd quarter, which is the most in any quarter by an AFLW team.

• The Dockers are a good team but were missing plenty of players because of COVID protocols. 

What’s next: As long as they’ve stopped celebrating, the Demons can start getting ready for their game against Carlton. That’ll be their last match before the finals. If they win that and the Adelaide Crows lose, then the Dees will win the minor premiership. 

🎾 Comeback kids seal spot in Davis Cup finals 

Thinking of a trip to Europe later in the year? The French Riviera is always nice. You gotta check out the Eiffel Tower. And if you’re there, you better head to the Davis Cup finals group stage to watch the Aussies.

Golden points: Australia came back from 2-1 down to beat Hungary in their qualifying tie in Sydney.

• It means the Aussies are one of 16 teams to make it through to the finals later this year. 

• There weren’t many fingernails left after the Aussies lost the doubles match but wins to Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the singles saved the day.

• It’s the third time this century that Australia has come back from 2-1 down. Team captain Lleyton Hewitt played in the first 2, so maybe he’s the lucky charm. 

What’s next: We now wait to see who the Aussies will play in the finals. The way it works is there are 4 groups of 4 teams who play round-robin matches, with the top 2 from each group going through to the knockout finals. 

🚨 New Podcast Alert!

Don't Forget Your Tips! is a weekly podcast for footy fans who are keen to get an edge in their footy tipping comp. There will be 2 episodes each week - one on NRL and the other AFL - all done in around 10 minutes by 6.00am (AEDT/AEST) on Thursdays. The first episode lands this Thursday, 10 March previewing Round 1 of the NRL, with AFL episodes starting a week later. Follow Don't Forget Your Tips! on Apple, Spotify and all podcast apps. 

👀 Quick singles

⛳ Minjee Lee should consider a career in ornithology after she drained 11 birdies in Singapore. The Aussie golfer shot a final round 9-under-par to finish equal second at the Women’s World Championship event. 

⚽ A football match in Mexico had to be abandoned after a huge fight in the stands left a number of fans seriously injured. The match between Queretaro and Atlas will be rescheduled. 

🏎 Russian F1 driver Nikita Mazepin has been given the boot by his team ahead of the new season. F1 team Haas also ended its relationship with a Russian sponsor in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. 

⚽️ Manchester City are still on top of the English Premier League after they beat their biggest rivals 4-1. It's a rough start to the week for Manchester United fans who will cop it from their noisy neighbours. 

🏁 Chaz Mostert takes the early lead in the new V8 Supercars season. He finished 3rd and 1st in the opening 2 races in a wet 'n' wild Sydney this weekend.

❄ COVID and climate change can’t stop Alaska’s historic dog race as competitors overcome the ides of mush. There have been a few obstacles, but the 50th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is in full swing. 

📽 The highlight reel

Watch it: The Broncos are on track to make it 4 NRLW titles in a row, but they couldn't stop Jayme Fressard from scoring the try of the season. 

🙃 Left of field…

Mood swings can happen to anyone. One moment you’re loving life and then a sudden burst of hunger can turn you into the Hulk. Footballer Brandon Williams probably wasn’t peckish at this very moment, but his mood did a 180 when he spotted a Danish on the ground. 

Golden points: Williams was playing for Norwich City in the English Premier League game against Brentford when he was illegally tackled by Christian Eriksen. 

• He was not happy and looked like he might punch his opponent. But then he realised who it was, and a potential fist quickly turned into a hug.

• That’s because Eriksen is on the comeback trail after he had a heart attack while playing for Denmark at the European Championships last year. This was his first professional start since then. 

Watch it: Check out the sweet embrace as the two players hug it out. 

📸 Photo finish

Hang on, isn't Nick Kyrgios a Boston Celtics fan? Well, it's hard not to support LeBron James after his 56 points against the Warriors. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

They beat Spain 3-1 back in 2003.