Back in the late 70's. early 80's, old mate Allan Border was on holiday in the Whitsundays.
Allan Border was an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team.
I enjoyed the years of Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell when Aussie Cricket was synonymous with summer, patriotism and a whole load of fun.
Life was good.
Don Bradman was part of our Aussie heritage. Many Australians grew up on Cricket.
We had what seemed to be a life in our lucky country and it felt as if it would go on forever.
The Aussie Cricket team, as I said, went to the Whitsundays in Queensland and took some well-deserved R and R. They had recreation and relaxation and found themselves playing cricket on a beach called " Whitehaven.
Now, Whitehaven Beach is pretty extraordinary.
And, yes, it is that magnificent.
At the time, a resort was being built and some of the workers from the construction site joined the cricket team for a day off to play beach cricket.
One of the players for the construction workers was a pretty young lady and as she ran into bowl to Allan Border . her bikini top strap broke.
He was clean bowled and out for a duck.
It just goes to show you that even the best of the best can drop their guard in the face of extreme pressure.
It’s never the best of feelings for a batsman who gets out without scoring a run. When the batter gets out for zero, his score is commonly referred to as a duck in the game of cricket. The term "duck" originates from the “duck’s egg”. The egg has the shape of 0 and hence a nought is commonly called “duck”.
There is an interesting piece of history related to the discovery of this amusing little term. On July 17, 1866, when the Prince of Wales got out for a blob, a newspaper carried out a piece stating that “the prince had retired to the royal pavilion on a duck’s egg”. Since then, the duck has forged a successful relationship with the great game of cricket.
Anyway, back to my story and why I am writing this.
We must never drop our eye from the ball.
Never.
Perhaps our most vulnerable times are when we are off duty. We tend to drop our guard.
How many politicians have dropped the ball and been clean bowled for a duck because they dropped their eye from the ball?
A pretty girl, a drink in a bar; a clumsy word; a bad decision?
I am of course not talking about a wonderful game of cricket on a Queensland beach nearly 40 years ago. No that was just fun and games.
But politics is just not the same as a friendly game of cricket on a beach in a different era and when life was good and a bit of a laugh.
Politics is now a game that is deadly serious.
There is no room for error. No room to be distracted by a pretty lady or a moment of distraction.
Too many of our politicians have been distracted. Blindsided and bowled out for a duck.
It is time to get back to the game and forget the beach, the pretty girl, the bikini strap or the days of the 1980's.
Help us cover our monthly costs
We need to step up to the crease and bat for the hundred.
Or we conservatives will be out for a duck and it will be no one's fault but ourselves.
This brings me to what really is happening.
Nothing to do with cricket. But a lot to do with dancing a little side step.
And man oh man, we are in for a lot of that in the next few years.
We need to get a bit of the spirit of Bradman and the joy of Border, Lillee and Marsh.
The days when Australia was Australia.
We went out for a duck this election.
But the next innings, we have to come out triumphant and let these teal bastards and greenies and leftie woke Liberals that we mean business.
We need to knock it out of the park, out for six and get a century. We are in our last over guys.
Have we got the Bradman spirit?
OK.I will leave it to this.
Only Australians will know how important this is to us. It says it all.
Only WE know what this country means to us. Only we understand Australiana.
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