Britain’s latest Charioteer of Fire has no need for grandad vests or a Vangelis earworm, just a smile as dazzling as her nail varnish, the longest legs in Christendom, a remorseless will to win… oh, and four gold medals. Make no mistake, Amy Hunt – who, along with an extraordinarily talented and determined GB team, dominated the European Athletics championships last week – could and should be the saviour of British athletics. You could not ask for a better role model: she even speaks fluent Italian and, like many Cambridge graduates, was very keen to take over in the group interviews she did after her races. If Andy Burnham had any sense he would enlist her for some ambassadorial gig.
When she is not training, Success Eduan is learning to be a midwife
Sprinting is the ultimate glamour event but you hope Hunt doesn’t just become a modern Kathy Smallwood, the great sprinter of the 1980s who was unbeatable in Europe but ended up with the more minor medals at world events. Hunt’s winning time in Birmingham of 11.0 seconds would have placed her equal seventh in the final of the Paris Olympics; her winning time at the Commonwealth Games of 10.98 would have given her a sixth place in Paris. So there is a bit to go but if anyone can do it, it’s Amy.
And praise too for Amy for singling out her relay team-mate, the admirably named Success Eduan, who, when she is not training, is learning to be a midwife, which will bring her a cool but hardly life–changing £25-30,000 a year. You have to hand it to these girls; they really do work hard. And quietly, Britain has built up a superbly talented team, second only to Italy in the medals table. The 800m in Birmingham was a superb race with the big three, Audrey Werro, Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders–Bol, picking up the medals. Now Georgia Hunter Bell, who cruised the 1,500m at the Europeans, wants to test herself against them in what should be an extraordinary 800m in Zurich next week.
It’s not just the athletics that lifts the spirits. From the other side of the world came the bracing news that Australia had been humbled in Darwin, of all places, by little Bangladesh in the first of two Tests. Bangladesh strolled in, winning by nine wickets on the fourth day. The Aussies had patronised the tourists and speculated whether the game would last beyond two days. Paceman Josh Hazlewood said they hadn’t been able to get enough footage of Bangladesh to prepare. Eh? It sounds like they couldn’t be bothered. And in truth Bangladesh had recently been trashed by Zimbabwe and rolled over for 54 by an Australia A side in a warm-up match.
Well, the Aussies were well and truly cooked, bewildered and shell-shocked by the end. After being bowled in the second innings, one of the world’s most aggressive batsmen, Travis Head, stood still, bent to replace the bails, then remained motionless before mooching off to the pavilion. Steve Smith, one of the greatest players ever, was so baffled that he asked for a review even before the umpire had raised his finger. Mitchell Starc was caught behind, asked for a review and then immediately walked off to the pavilion long before the review had even started, bringing forth a volley of abuse from the radio commentators. ‘If you know you’ve nicked it, you go…’
The Australians might not have taken Bangladesh seriously but they picked their strongest team with four bowlers with 300-plus Test wickets. The Darwin test makes you see that England should have won the Ashes last winter. Australia are an ageing team: Cam Green, the only player in his twenties, made a gutsy and patient century in Darwin but otherwise it was a poor show.
They have now dropped their opener, Jake Weatherald, but will that be enough? Over the past decade, Smith and Head scored 21 centuries for the Aussies but both are nearing retirement. Australia will suffer a sharp drop in rankings over the coming years, and there will rarely be a riper chance for England to give them a walloping and regain the Ashes next summer. Book now, I say.
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