Articles by Oliver Caffrey

Sports

Aussie legend Greg Chappell pinpoints biggest flaw in plan for Marnus Labuschagne to open in Ashes

Legendary former captain Greg Chappell has called on Australia to pick a specialist opener for the Ashes instead of installing Marnus Labuschagne at the top. Jake Weatherald is pressing for a Test debut in Perth after a hot 18 months in the Sheffield Shield as a dashing opener for Tasmania. Australia are weighing up whether to keep allrounder Cameron Green at No.3, and have Labuschagne partner veteran Usman Khawaja as he did in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Dropped for the West Indies tour after the WTC defeat to South Africa, Labuschagne is a certainty to return after an outstanding start to the summer for Queensland. It is just a matter of where he bats and how much Australia decide to tinker with their XI. “I hope the powers that be know (what the team will be),” Chappell said on Tuesday. “Opening’s an important role and specialists generally have done better than people that have been press-ganged into the role. “Opening is a role that you need to want to do. “Most openers are pretty passionate about getting in there and batting first.” Chappell doesn’t buy the argument that No.3 batters can be batting early, anyway, so the role isn’t dramatically different from opening. The 87-Test star believes star first drop such as his older brother Ian and Ricky Ponting wouldn’t have been as successful had they opened. Chappell has also voiced his concerns about Australia’s ageing team, with Green the only member of the Ashes squad aged under 30. Even potential debutant Weatherald just turned 31. Watch the Ashes series live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport Chappell pointed to Travis Head as one player who got given a start early, now flourishing to be a three-format star. “If you’ve got guys knocking the door down, then it’s not so hard,” Chappell said of Australia’s transition to the next generation. “But when you look around domestic cricket over the last few years, it has been populated by a lot of older, experienced players. “But we’re seeing a bit of change on that front, and I think it’s quite exciting with some of the young talent that’s playing Sheffield Shield at the moment. “We might be looking forward to another really good era coming up. “There is nobody that’s ever been a Test-ready player straight out of domestic cricket. “Domestic cricket is where you identify yourself, and then if you’re selected, you get to find out whether you’re good enough.” Chappell was in Melbourne on Tuesday with England great Ian Botham to speak about the 150th anniversary Test that will be held at the MCG in March 2027. The match will be a day-night spectacle, with a ticket ballot to be launched for the first time in Australian cricket.

Sports

AFLW star Sophie McKay gives famous father a ‘heart attack’ during Carlton’s win over West Coast

Sophie McKay’s eye-catching goal celebration proved to be one of the moments of the first week of AFLW finals. But even after the Blues rookie’s matchwinning third-quarter turn in Carlton’s elimination final demolition of West Coast, she still came off the field to an annoyed parent. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: McKay’s fake hamstring celebration. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Andrew McKay, Carlton great and father to Sophie and Blues captain Abbie, was less than impressed with his youngest daughter’s antics. After slotting a brilliant goal in the wet, Sophie decided to fake a hamstring injury and follow it up with “stanky leg”. “(Andrew) just said, ‘Don’t you ever do that again,” Sophie said before Carlton training on Tuesday. “A couple of my family friends who were standing with him said he had a heart attack. “Probably shouldn’t have done that one, but it was funny.” The 19-year-old, who is a contender for the AFLW’s Rising Star, rehearsed the celebration as a joke on Friday at training in front of Blues veteran Darcy Vescio. After deciding against pulling it off should she kick a goal in the game, Sophie was coaxed into eventually doing it by her teammates. She backed it up with another goal during Carlton’s scintillating 6.2 third-quarter blitz to confirm her status as one of the AFLW’s most exciting young players. Star midfielder Abbie, who became Carlton captain ahead of this season, was thrilled, but is sometimes embarrassed, to play with her younger sister. “I just roll my eyes when she does some of the celebrations, but it’s hilarious,” the Blues skipper, who turns 25 on Saturday, said. “She lifts the energy of the whole team up and gets us all going. “But dad wasn’t so happy with the hammy celebration ... it was funny that she even decides to do that.” The McKay sisters have a growing social media presence, having a shared TikTok account with more than 4000 followers. Abbie’s leadership and Sophie’s youthful exuberance have played a role in Carlton’s first AFLW finals appearance since 2020. They will meet injury-hit Hawthorn in a semi-final on Saturday night, with the Hawks coming off back-to-back defeats to undefeated reigning premiers North Melbourne. “We’ve had 10 new players into the list this year, which is a third of our list,” Abbie said. “We’ve just been chipping away at things for the last few years, and it’s all coming into place this year and paying off, so it’s really nice.” If Carlton can defeat Hawthorn they will then head to Brisbane for a preliminary final showdown against the Lions.