Tags
Australian poet, Cricket ball tampering, Don Bradman, Donald Bradman, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, Test cricket, The Don
Oh cricket! What has it descended to?
What happened to that fair and honoured game?
To the old rules we must now bid adieu,
And surely it will never be the same.
Of course, the players, they will take the blame,
But is it just a symptom of an ill?
Are dirty tricks okay now when it’s fame
And money that’s the goal? The venues fill
No more – the faithful miss that cheering thrill
When honest men took to the hallowed field
With bat and ball unsullied, and a will
To triumph fair and square, and not to yield.
Those days are gone; Oh well, we must be brave.
Meanwhile “The Don” turns over in his grave.
dnobrienpoetry 
Another good one. It’s a symptom of how bad the world has become. I’m always amazed during the soccer World Cup games how much cheating by pulling, grabbing, pretending to be hurt, etc. goes on by the world’s greatest players. When my sons were in high school playing on the golf team, they were on the honor system during tournaments. There was massive cheating by players. One town’s B team ended the first day with great scores, beating their A team and the A team was furious because they knew those guys couldn’t score like that. They didn’t the next day.