The preamble to the laws of cricket is the preamble, the spirit of the game. Ok, so there are laws, better known as rules, so the umpires make their decisions based on the laws of cricket. So when we see the Alex Carey stumping of Jonny Bairstow, it was within the laws of the game and rightly given out.

So let’s take a look at the spirit of cricket as published by the MCC, let us see how the MCC fared here. Did MCC members show respect to the players forced to walk through the Long Room? No. Did they respect the authority of the umpire? No. What about creating a positive atmosphere? No again. Show self discipline even when things go against you? No, they did not. Congratulate the opposition on their successes? No, they just complained. So who is complaining about the spirit of cricket again? Oh, no fine leg to stand on here.

• Respect is central to the Spirit of Cricket.
• Respect your captain, team-mates, opponents and the authority of the umpires.
• Play hard and play fair.
• Accept the umpire’s decision.
• Create a positive atmosphere by your own conduct, and encourage others to do likewise.
• Show self-discipline, even when things go against you.
• Congratulate the opposition on their successes, and enjoy those of your own team.
• Thank the officials and your opposition at the end of the match, whatever the result.
• Cricket is an exciting game that encourages leadership, friendship and teamwork, which brings together people from different nationalities, cultures and religions, especially when played within the Spirit of Cricket.

The MCC is not above the laws of cricket, they are ok when the game or series is going their way but quick to invoke the sprit of the game that is not actually aligned to the laws of cricket. What galled many is the hypocrisy, the MCC issued a statement at the end of day 4 on the laws of the game when the third umpire ruled the Mitchell Starc catch of Ben Duckett not out. The preamble of the spirit of cricket does not overrule or override the laws of cricket, this is especially true when you tried the same stumping move on on day 2 of the match but missed the stumps. Behaving like a bunch of sore losers – pull your heads in and get on with it.

The Ashes just got a whole lot more interesting, the reaction to the stumping of Jonny Bairstow was one of the most hypocritical displays I have ever seen on a cricket field. The remaining three matches are going to be hostile, this is exactly what we want – bring it on. This has pumped new life into a series that at 2-0 was going to meander along, the English crowds will be all worked up and full of life – there will be some passion.

What made me laugh firstly was the MCC response to the Mitchell Starc catch of Ben Duckett in the deep, the catch was ruled as not out and Duckett returned to the crease. Guess who was up the other end, none other than Ben Stokes himself. Stokes did not invoke the spirit of cricket as captain of England and tell Ben Duckett to walk. It was a good catch by Mitchell Starc, but a sloppy slide where he grounded the ball in his slide despite controlling the catch. Mitchell Starc will learn from this and not make that mistake again. The third umpire ruled not out – so we all move along.

I am not disputing the decision, the third umpire made their ruling and that was the end of it, Ben Duckett walked back to face Cameron Green, Ben Stokes did not have a forceful discussion with the umpire about the spirit of cricket. There was no remostration in The Long Room when Ben Duckett finally walked off Lords after being caught by Carey for 83, adding another 34 valuable runs to the score in their run chase. The best part was the MCC deciding to release a statement at the end of day 4 regarding the Starc incident reminding everyone of the rules, they are quick to act when it is in their favour.

What is not in the spirit of cricket is the boorish behaviour exhibited by the MCC members in The Long Room where the players have to walk through to enter and exit the ground. The attempts to manhandle the players along with the boos and abuse cannot be tolerated. This requires a full and transparent investigation by the MCC to identify all members engaging in this low class behaviour. The initial step would be for the MCC to request all members who were in the The Long Room to come forward and self-report. Then we will see how many members with their memberships on the line actually step forward in the spirit of cricket. Interestingly, the spirit of cricket takes on a whole new meaning when you have something of value on the line.

Then Stuart Broad came to the crease and had plenty to say to everyone, I really liked his theatrics, Broad plays a brilliant villain. His comments after the match are pure comedy gold regarding the worst thing he had seen on a cricket field. I would have thought the worst thing Stuart Broad had seen on a cricket field was a thick edge fly off his bat from an Ashton Agar delivery to first slip and not walking because he knew there were no reviews left. Maybe he forgot to mention that one to umpire Ahsan Raza in his selective memory rant. Great bowler, carries on like a flog, but in his defence, his entertainment value is first class.

Let’s not forget Jonny Bairstow in all of this, brilliant at the start where he carried off the field a Stop Oil protester and was unceremoniously dumped over the boundary. Bairstow himself tried to stump Marnus Labuschagne on day two but missed the stumps. What Alex Carey did was not new, this type of stumping had already been attempted in this very match; the difference between himself and Carey was Bairstow missed and Carey hit. So how could a wicketkeeper get caught out like this? One thinks Bairstow needs a little more awareness, I think Bairstow comes across as a pretty good guy, he was just dozing as the ball was released from Carey’s gloves in a single motion as soon as he took the ball.

Mr Bazball himself Brendon McCullum does not miss out either. We all remember McCullum as wicketkeeper running out Muttiah Muralitharan in Christchurch when he left his crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on scoring his century in 2006. Not to be outdone, as wicketkeeper McCullum has stumped players in the same fashion, we haven’t forgotten Mr Bazball stumping English player Paul Collingwood in a one-day match only to have captain Daniel Vettori withdraw the appeal as the umpire had already called over.

This is Ashes cricket, this is the longest and most ferocious sporting rivalry and this adds to Ashes history. Hopefully England rethink the flat lifeless wickets and actually prepare a wicket with movement and bounce instead of the car parks they have prepared for the first two matches in an attempt to counter the Australian bowling attack. I am already sick of the short ball attack and duck approach as this is just dull. England know when they play in Australia in the next series there will be movement and life in those wickets, I suspect the Bazball experiment will be all finished by then.

“It’s within the rules of the game and that’s how it is!” – Jonny Bairstow (2014). How these words have come back to haunt Jonny Bairstow when he pulled off his own stumping back in 2014. Bairstow stumped Samit Patel after holding the ball close to the stumps and waited for him to lift his foot up before whipping off the bails.

Even better, he cited learning the move from English wicketkeeper Matt Prior against South Africa’s Morne Morkel at Lords. Now I have to remember back, I do not recall any booing at that match and I certainly do not recall the MCC members in an uproar calling the English team cheats as they walked through the Long Room to their changerooms. We are loving pointing out the hypocrisy here, I would do better to spell the word hypocrassy because that was what the MCC members’ behaviour was – crass.

I am no fan of Donald Trump, so I am a little surprised at the veracity of the charges against him. The unsealing of the indictment against Trump actually gives his follower’s arguments a degree of validity. This does look from the perspective of a casual observer what Trump describes as a witch hunt. just knock Trump off at the polls, he will fail at that hurdle.

To use this Trumpism, is this a witch hunt? Is this a Democratic conspiracy to bring down Trump via the justice system after their failed attempts to bring him down in the political arena? I could certainly put a case forward that this is indeed the reason. Lets face it, Trump supporters are not backward in latching onto insane conspiracy theories, so this Democratic Party move appears to be pretty believable.

This will supercharge his 2024 election campaign, this will unite his supporters, they now have a common enemy. I really don’t think this was a well thought out strategy at all, this pretty much reinforces what they were saying the whole time. Forget the cabal, pizzagate, Q drops and a whole host of other loony tune theories, the Trump indictment gave Trump followers exactly what they wanted.

It is not an understatement to say Donald Trump was a terrible president, from the Capital riots, the announcement of the withdrawal from Afghanistan [yes, this was a Republican initiative] to Trump’s undermining of NATO giving Putin the confidence to invade the country, the lack of support of Ukraine to his lavish praise of Putin. From what we have seen, Putin is neither a smart guy or a smart operator.

As we move towards a potential conflict with China, there is no confidence Trump will back Taiwan. It is likely it will be a Trump v Biden presidential campaign. I think there are concerns about the state of the economy, people remember the economic sunshine under the Trump Administration even if it was mostly inherited from the Obama administration.

This was despite the fact he inherited a healthy economy from the Obama Administration that had grown unabated over Obama’s two terms. As Clinton once stated, “it is the economy stupid” that Americans respond to, all thy will remember is the economic hardship mostly caused by the post covid inflation that the Biden Administration inherited.

We are entering a new era, the threats to Australia’s sovereignty are real. As a nation, we once planned for a ten year build-up period. I believe we are now in this ten year lead-in time frame. Ok, so the defence of the Australian mainland is real, we need a genuine deterrence, the air force is the primary defensive mechanism protecting Australia.

Yes, Australia is a trading nation so the defence of our sea lanes is imperative. The air force is required to provide air support of naval assets. The F-35 will be the primary defensive weapon to support the defence of Australia. Yes, this is deterrence, an invading force will need to determine if it is worth the losses to invade the Australian mainland, we need to ensure it isn’t.

The Japanese swept down through South East Asia in the 1940s, they were stopped in New Guinea, now the air force will prevent any incursion on Australian sovereignty. We saw the Japanese build up in the 1930s, their treatment of Korea and China should be a stark warning to us all. Now Japan is a leading member of our alliance. Prior to that, the Chinese were on our side. This is an ironic turn of events, the geopolitical forces that shape our region are concerning.

The forward operating bases are Australia’s first line of defence. The army is the largest force in terms of manpower, but really the weakest by terms of weaponry. We have limited artillery, armoured vehicles, main battle tanks and our missile defence is rudimentary. We have a limited army, if our shores were invaded, the army is the last line of defence. That capability is not all that capable, really, the army needs to be controlling the missile defence systems.

So the air force, working in tandem with the navy is the main defensive structure protecting the Australian mainland. The air force will seek to destroy enemy shipping approaching Australia, the stealth and networking capabilities of the F-35 should first seek to destroy enemy shipping approaching Australian shores. Any attacking force would be airborne initially with naval support, that would include armour, artillery and mobile missile vehicles.

Australia has a vast interior, the potential to house long range missile defences far from the coast is vital to the Australian defensive structure. Sure, medium range missile defences need to be stationed closer to the coast, long range artillery to protect the major cities is not out of the question. Really, for an island such as Australia means main battle tanks as a defensive mechanism means the mainland has been invaded by ground forces.

The F-35 is the primary air defence aircraft, Australia has no strategic bombers, so fighter aircraft are the primary means of defence. The P-8 Poseidon is the primary maritime reconnaissance aircraft to identify naval assets The F/A-18F is the non-stealth aircraft, this fighter attack aircraft has been the main fighter aircraft in the air force for decades, supported by the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

There are three northern air force bases, there is RAAF Base Scherger at the Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland, RAAF Base Curtin in the Kimberly region of Western Australia protecting the two forward flanks with RAAF Base Learmonth protecting the north west cape. These are base bases, they have minimal facilities, although RAAF Base Curtin is set for an upgrade without becoming a full time base with air defences stationed at the base.

There are a number of approaches, an invading force would likely be naval with air support and could come through the Indonesian island archipelago, there are a number of passages with the likely route between Indonesia and Papua Guinea. With the Solomon Islands supporting Chinese ##, a route through the Solomon Islands is a real threat for the eastern approach and the western approach could be down through the South China Sea, between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java.

Whilst there is a small population in the north of Western Australia, there is oil and gas infrastructure and mining infrastructure including mines, rail networks and port facilities. Losing this capability will seriously damage the exports of the country, these revenue earning assets need to be protected and there are no real military assets to protect such important national infrastructure.

The main air base is located is RAAF Base Tindal with the newly acquired F-35 stealth aircraft based there, US B-52 heavy bombers and at times US B-1 supersonic bombers. This makes sense for strategic bomber platforms that have an extended range and armed with anti-ship missiles, they do have the range to protect Australia’s northern approaches. If Australia is able to purchase the B-21 Raider as part of the AUKUS alliance then we will have a sovereign defence capability.

The breaching of the Nova Kakhovka Dam and hydroelectric power station is a war crime based on the Additional Protocol I determination in Geneva Conventions. This act needs to be immediately investigated by the United Nations to determine who ordered the demolition charges be laid.

This occurred in the Russian occupied area of Ukraine with all evidence pointing to Russia. Of course Russia has countered these claims that the dam failed due to Ukrainian shelling of the dam, but any person with just a basic grasp of engineering knows this to be false. Just as the Russian artillery strikes on the Maternity Hospital No 3 in Mariupol where they tried to blame it on Ukraine or the claims of actors lying in the streets of Bucha, we know Russian lies are unbelievable.

But what the Russian forces did was blow the dam early, they are so fearful of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south they flooded the Dnipro River to prevent an unlikely river crossing. A better option would be to blow the dam as a river crossing was taking place washing their forces away. Whilst still reprehensible, this at least would have a military objective in an attempt to thwart the Ukrainian offensive.

What the Russian military has done is brought more pain to the Ukrainian people, now the Ukrainian forces now have to rescue stranded people, animals and restore utilities. We are looking at drinking water, irrigation and cooling for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes, the risk of disease [cholera] is real so once again, the people of Ukraine wear the cost of this action. 

I would find it unlikely Ukraine would attempt to invade Russian held areas of Crimea during the current stage of this offensive. There are limited options for Ukrainian forces to enter Crimea, they would concentrate in two the bottlenecks and suffer heavy losses through concentrated Russian artillery and rocket attacks.

What I would find more likely is the forces push through the landbridge supplying Crimea and then launching attacks against the Kerch Bridge cutting off supplies from Russia. Since they have already hit the Chongar Bridge, they will now likely target the pontoon bridge set up by the Russians. Likewise, there is the road route [the long way round] that could allow Ukrainian artillery to target Russian supply convoys as they take the roads from Armiansk.

Ukraine will soon have long range missiles capable of striking the Kerch Bridge, this is especially so if they are able to push deep into Russian held territory. The French/British designed Storm Shadow missile has a 450 kilometers range and can be launched by an aircraft that could theoretically strike the Kerch Bridge. That puts aircraft at risk of the S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft batteries so I don’t think they will risk these aircraft just yet, they will push down and take control of ground that they can defend where they can launch air-to-ground long-range missiles.

I would expect Ukraine to wait until they receive shipment of the MGM-140 ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile System] with a 300 kilometer range. I would expect as Ukraine takes ground and pushes towards Melitopol and Mariupol their longer range missiles can come into play. The US has been hesitant to supply Ukraine with longer range weapons. However, the Ukrainian leadership has been careful to not strike targets in Russia with US and NATO supplied weapons.

Not every HIMARS launch system needs to be equipped with the MGM-140 missiles, they really need one battery that can launch six long range missiles towards the Kerch Bridge. From what I can tell, Ukraine does not want to waste lives [I am hoping] to take Crimea, they are likely to create a siege and cut off supply until Russian support wanes. Ukraine may keep the Kerch Bridge open to allows Russians to escape from Crimea and back to Russia but that also allows resupply so I will be watching on with interest what the Ukrainian military leadership will do.

There was a misconception that the Ukrainian counter offensive was going to happen pretty fast. The spring offensive has turned into the summer offensive and will likely take back territory in 2023 before the winter defensive lull before a resumption of offensive activities in 2024. The last offensive from Ukraine to liberate Kharkiv in the north and then Kherson in the south has fueled expectations that Ukraine will make such large gains immediately – this has created unrealistic expectations.

Russian forces have had a long time to dig in defensive positions, they have mined positions and set up dragon teeth anti-tank defenses. They are not anti-tank insofar as they do not completely stop tanks and other armored vehicles. Instead a slow down armour allowing a counter attack on the tank is probable. Ukraine is losing tanks, when they hit a mine the tank might not be totally destroyed, the crew is likely to survive unlike a Russian tank, still, they lose an asset.

Ukraine has not committed reserves, they have run in small groupings probing for weakness in lines. What I expect to see is a mass of armour and infantry in blitzkrieg type tactics when they identify these weak points, they will look to break through. What I have learned is the Ukraine hierarchy has placed a high regard on Ukrainian lives. Yes, they know Ukrainian lives will be lost but they seek to limit Ukrainian losses. Every Ukrainian life lost is a tragedy – Russian lives lost is not an issue for them.

Ukraine is hitting logistics starving dug-in Russian troops of resupply of munitions as well as food and water. Now Ukraine has hit the Chonhar Bridge with a Storm Shadow missile, this dents their resupply activities but does not entirely stop resupply, it merely disrupts Russian activities. Russian logistics are now world famous for being so poorly managed, this activity makes a poorly organised structure much worse. Yes, Russia will still be able to resupply troops through a road, but this adds a further 160 kilometres to the travelling distance, once again, it will not prevent resupply, it will slow resupply though.

The Storm Shadow is a British/French designed and manufactured long-range low-observable air-launched cruise missile with a range of 550 kilometers and a 450 kilogram warhead. The US has now authorised the acquisition and procurement of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles for Ukraine. All of a sudden the Kerch Bridge will be within range of Ukrainian missiles. Captain Himars will be able to target the Kerch Bridge to prevent resupply to Crimea and they will not need to invade, they will just create a siege until Russian forces buckle. Likewise, Ukraine may decide to target the Kerch Bridge with Storm Shadow missiles so I am waiting to see what they will do, it will be spectacular.

So an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Court of Justice for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The little man in terms of stature, intellect and presence has been humbled in front of the world. His skewed vision of a renewed Russian empire is in tatters, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has failed, the Russian neighbour has resisted the fascist invasion of their territory and embarrassed what many thought were a military superpower – the world now knows this is a falacy.

This arrest warrant issued for Putin will curtail his international jet setting, he is locked into direct flights to aligned countries. Putin can no longer travel to G20 meetings, the UN General Assembly or any economic forum. Russia is a big country and Putin has amassed an immense wealth, he has plenty of options within Russian borders. Should Putin be deposed as leader, he may be handed over to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for trial by his own country. 

So I have seen this Russian propagandist pushing his pro-Russian views online, a couple of the Ukraine war channels have been replaying parts of his views from his views as a Russian propagandist. I must admit, I had no idea who he was, I thought he was just another pro-Russian blogger or vlogger. He was stating the war was mismanaged and Russia was heading for defeat, that is clear. I could see an unusual flag in his background, so I had an idea he was an ultra-nationalist.

I became suspicious when they referred to him as a terrorist on one of the voice-overs, so I decided to try and find out who he was. It was about this time that another Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky Vladlen Tatarsky was blown up in WMC WagnerYevgeny Prigozhin’s St Petersburg restaurant after being sent a gift to one of his get-togethers. Not too many people are upset about this, he was a divisive figure.

This has had a highly negative effect on Russian military bloggers, they are now scared and some are shutting their channels down. So this bombing of the Russian blogger has had a positive effect, Russian support for this war may soon wane. However, Whilst I do not support terrorism, I have to question if Vladlen Tatarsky is a legitimate target based on his propaganda to maintain Russian support of the invasion of Ukraine.

The individual in question is Igor Girkin, this took a bunch of effort to even work out who he was. By doing some picture searches, I was able to determine who he was and it was not a pretty picture. Igor Girkin is a convicted terrorist, he is a Russian and he is hiding from international authorities and being protected by Russia. So what did Igor Girkin do? Girkin was involved in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines MH17 over Ukraine, he was the Russian commander who ordered the shooting down of a commercial airliner.

There was the loss of innocent lives from a multitude of countries including Australia [27], the Netherlands [193], Malaysia [43], Indonesia [12] and the United Kingdom [10]. Girkin was tried in the International Court of Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands. Naturally, Vladimir Putin protects terrorists and refuses to hand over Igor Girkin to the International Court of Justice. Igor Girkin is a convicted terrorist, that is now a proven fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin supports terrorism on so many levels, his unwillingness to hand over a convicted terrorist is yet another example of his support of state supported terrorism.