August 3rd 2023.
Stuart Broad's contribution to cricket went beyond his 604 Test wickets and the six he hit with the last Ashes ball he ever faced. He achieved something far cuter at the Oval when he performed an almost playful reorganization of the bails. It was such a great trick that it worked twice!
That moment was magical enough, but then in the second innings of the match, Broad did it again. His delicate psych-out worked once more, and if Stephen Potter hadn't already published The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship in 1947, one could almost believe he was a pseudonym for Broad himself.
Nowadays, mind games are a common occurrence in professional sport. Take for example Novak Djokovic's recent encounter with younger opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open. Djokovic pretended to forget that Tsitsipas had already been in a grand slam final even though it was one he had lost to Djokovic. Then there's Jose Mourinho, who designated three-time Premier League-winning manager Arsene Wenger a 'specialist in failure'.
In football, such mind games are referred to as 's***housery' while in cricket, it is referred to as sledging. It can often backfire, as was the case with Viv Richards who responded to a bowler's attempt to psych him out by spanking his next ball for six. Regardless of the outcome, it's always an exciting thing to watch.
This week, the world's greatest riders and their fans have rolled into Glasgow for what the airport proudly informs its arrivals is the Biggest Cycling Event Ever. It is the start of the first combined Cycling World Championships, and local cabbies have been warned it should be as big as the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The brilliant Katie Archibald will be given a particularly warm welcome. She lost her partner, cyclist Rab Wardell, in tragic circumstances last year and is competing to honor him. With all the success of the Tour de France this summer, this is the perfect opportunity for Scotland to showcase its hospitality. Here's hoping for a good show!
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