Aussie sporting contests getting too hot for comfort
OPINION: Hey Aussie, it’s getting too hot in the sporting kitchen, so bring your fare over here.
Could New Zealand’s comparatively temperate climate be the answer?
The risks of competing in 40-plus temperatures have been exposed in recent days, with England cricket skipper Joe Root battling dehydration to try to gain Ashes respect and fifth seed Kristina Mladenovic retiring during her opening match at the Sydney International tennis tournament.
And it’s only early January – the real heat is yet to come.
Thank goodness the Australian Open in furnace-like Victoria has a covered centre court, but pity the lesser stars on the outside courts.
OK, these are summer sports but players shouldn’t sizzle like a prawn on the barbie. When is enough enough and hot too hot?
Tennis officials have already activated their ‘‘heat policy’’ in Sydney, offering players 15-minute breaks between the second and third sets in women’s play.
Shunt them across the Tasman and we will take care of them. Just tell them to bring an umbrella – not for the sun, for the rain as the women at Auckland’s justcompleted international tennis tournament found out!
We mightn’t have your megastadiums but we’re still cool over this way because ... we are cooler.
Yet New Zealand sports seem to be in a mad dash to join the big leagues in Australia with calls for a Kiwi side in the Big Bash League.
Thanks goodness most of that is played in the evening, away from the blazing sun.
In all seriousness, Australia needs to consider the consequences of continuing to operate in a furnace.
Medical officials continue to offer warnings and they need to be taken into account.
Despite the questionable theories of US president Donald Trump, scientists warn that this sort of thing will only get worse.
The simple solutions would be to look at increasing the amount of night sport. One of the five Ashes tests was a day-night affair and, as usual, was a roaring success.
By the time the English arrive for the next Ashes series in Australia, don’t be surprised if there’s more than just one, though the callous cricketers wearing the green caps would argue that’s taking away a home advantage.
But you probably won’t hear too many complaints from the Barmy Army about a radical move like that – a day at the beach before
an evening at the cricket sounds like an ideal way to tour the sunburnt continent.
Because it’s not just the players who suffer, think of the trials of a day under the elements watching your favourite sport.
So Kiwis, next time you shake your head in frustration at a rain delay at the tennis, spare a thought for those across the ditch.