BAZBALL, FURY, RORY AND RAFA!
Sportsmail’s review of a jam-packed sporting year and some tips and teasers to whet appetites for 2023
Who was your star of the show in 2022?
ERLING HAALAND. He may only have been with us for half a season but I am not sure we have seen his like before. An extraordinary footballer playing for an extraordinary team who at some point will blow past Arsenal and win the Premier League. title. Again.
KEVIN SINFIELD (right). He helped Leicester win the title, earned a role in the England set-up and inspired the nation with his MND fundraising. A true hero.
IN A competitive field, it is Harry Brook. What a star he was in T20 cricket in Pakistan and what an even bigger star he was in making three tons in Pakistan in Test cricket. As Mark Butcher said, Brook has a touch of genius about him and will be England’s next great all-format player.
RORY McILROY. Didn’t win a major but topped the standings for the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and also returned to world No 1, all while acting as chief critic of the LIV circuit. He thrived as a golfer with a cause.
MAX VERSTAPPEN, who not only won a second world title but produced his most commanding and controlled season, despite not always having a car as fast as the Ferraris. Any old habits? only when he went wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton in Brazil. A rivalry that refuses to die.
THE standout player of either sex was French and US Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, who ended the season with double the number of ranking points of her nearest pursuer. Her outspoken support of Ukraine earns her a bonus.
TYSoN FURY. Who else but the great entertainer?
And your underdog of the year?
TWO contenders and they play for the same club. Joelinton edges out Miguel Almiron because the Newcastle midfielder’s emergence has come with a change of role. His progress under Eddie Howe has been startling.
A KEY figure in Leicester’s title triumph — Freddie Burns. It was wonderful to see him come off the bench and nail the winning drop goal in the Premiership final. His joy was infectious.
ALEX HALES’S chances of an England recall looked over when he wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cup. Then Jonny Bairstow slipped on a golf course… What followed was Hales’s redemption and a World Cup winner’s medal.
ToM KIM. I’m not sure the South Korean would count as an underdog but as a 20-year-old he won twice on the PGA Tour, the first player to do so under the age of 21 since Tiger Woods. He is a stunning talent.
THE Brits in Hamilton’s shadow. George Russell, who drove with supreme calm to claim Mercedes’ only win while his illustrious team-mate breathed down his neck in Brazil. He gets the nod ahead of Lando Norris, who excelled for McLaren.
UKRAINE’S female players kept going in the face of much anguish, some rendered homeless by the Russian invasion. They got only vague sympathy from the WTA Tour, who seemed more interested in protecting the playing rights of those from aggressor countries.
JACK CATTERALL. The English light-welterweight gets the award despite being robbed of a shock win over Josh Taylor.
What was the outstanding performance of 2022?
YoU can’t look past the brilliant Lionesses and their glorious achievement in winning the Euros. In the men’s game, Arsenal’s transformation from mild-mannered artisans to a team leading Europe’s top league is testimony to the board’s faith in manager Mikel Arteta when things looked bleak.
INEXPLICABLY did not make it on to the World Rugby Player of the Year shortlist, but Ardie Savea was magnificent in a faltering All Blacks team. His contribution to the hammering of Wales in Cardiff was a masterpiece of dynamic forward play.
WHAT a joy to have so many to choose from and we wouldn’t have predicted that this time last year. I’m going for the one that launched Bazball: Bairstow’s 136 off 92 balls in that fifth-day onslaught that won the second Test at Trent Bridge v New Zealand against all the odds.
MATT FITZPATRICK’S win at the US Open. It was a great feat made all the better by the magnificent shot from a fairway bunker at the 72nd hole which sealed the deal.
VERSTAPPEN’S one-sided demolition job in Belgium. Forced to start 14th after taking an engine penalty, the Dutchman needed just 12 laps to scythe into the lead. He won by a crushing 18 seconds. Just one entry in his glittering 2022 portfolio.
A STUNNING first half of the year for Rafael Nadal (right), who came back from injury to win the Australian Open and French Open, the latter including a win over Novak Djokovic.
DMITRY BIVoL. The Russian’s dethroning of Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez was superb. And it wasn’t even close. The 32-year-old schooled the multiple world champion.
Who would you invite round for New Year’s Eve?
SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON. Fabio Capello. Roy Hodgson. Take your pick. They are all equally adept at getting people to go home early. And then Thomas Frank. Time spent listening to the Brentford manager is rarely wasted. And he likes a beer, too.
HAVING consistently failed to interview him during his stellar career to date, I’ll have to say Tadhg Furlong. Ireland’s iconic Lions prop comes across as one of the game’s great characters, who would have a tale to tell and would enjoy a pint, a song and a laugh.
EOIN MORGAN, Brendon McCullum and a couple of bottles of Central Otago Pinot Noir. They are not only close friends but the most influential figures in cricket of the last 10 years. They have changed the face of the game in all formats.
PAT PEREZ, the outspoken, mullet-haired American, if only to discuss a few of the rumours around the reason why he hates Phil Mickelson.
ANYONE high up at Ferrari, if I could also invite a psychologist. What goes through their heads? How can they self-harm when so well-positioned? Over linguine, I’d ask chairman John Elkann, grandson of Gianni Agnelli, if there’s too much politics.
DJoKoVIC and Australian open supremo Craig Tiley. The inside account of the deportation which convulsed the sport in January would be fascinating. The full story, as yet untold, might hopefully emerge after a few sharpeners.
THE Klitschko brothers. Just to make sure they are safe and sound.
And who are you knocking off your Christmas card list for 2023?
Emiliano Martinez. i know i am a killjoy, but part of me still believes in fair play and the more i think about that World Cup shootout, the less i can forgive the argentina goalkeeper (right) for what he did.
IT HAS to be rugby’s pantomime villain Rassie Erasmus. There may be a good man in there somewhere and a unifying motivator for South Africa’s players and people, but his public hounding of officials is a stain on his name and his sport.
DEAN Elgar was a misery over England’s high-octane style and didn’t understand it. Word was he felt it was ‘disrespectful’ to the game’s traditions to put on a show and eschew the draw. Well, Elgar and his South africa team were soundly beaten. He might like to give Bazball a try…
NOT that I regularly sent cards to Greg Norman, but plainly he has been the villain of the LIV piece. Crass disruption has been his brief. He has delivered on that, but has also become impossible to stomach. For any progress in the golf war, he needs to go.
Pretty easy. the former promoter of the russian grand Prix, one Vladimir Putin. apparently, he was good to deal with, a man of his word, according to Bernie Ecclestone, who now regrets his televised endorsement of the tyrant earlier in the year. the Sochi race is off, indefinitely.
SOMEONE I have always admired for her talent and honesty is Simona Halep, who tested positive for the banned Roxadustat at the US Open. Many were shocked but the onus is on her to show how this got into her system if she was unaware of it.
ALL those media cheerleaders who park objectivity to hail the Racing League as the greatest development since sliced bread. Some seem so overcome with their support that the sale of incontinence pads must have gone through the roof.
Ho ho ho moment of 2022?
RICHARD KEYS’ bid to belittle my brilliant colleague Ian Herbert in his inadvertently hilarious blog. Sports Writer of the Year meets broadcaster of yesteryear.
tHE Barbarians remain market leaders in humour. there was zach Kibirige’s try celebration at northampton, when he jumped into the stand, sat down and clapped, george Kruis’s back-heel conversion at twickenham and hilarious pen pics of coaches Scott robertson and ronan o’gara.
THE biggest achievement of Stokes and McCullum was getting English cricket smiling again. And nothing was funnier than the one-off Test v India, one England would surely have lost had it been played in 2021, when India put the IPL over Test cricket.
WHEn ian Poulter and lee Westwood were asked at the outset of the liV tour if there was anywhere they would not play for huge money, including russia and north Korea.
THE total hash in rain-lashed Japan, where Verstappen finished the race thinking he hadn’t won the title (he had). Debate raged over how many points counted in a truncated race.
tHE ever-enigmatic Kyrgios after getting sledged at indian Wells by someone in the front row, sitting adjacent to Hollywood star Ben Stiller. Kyrgios: ‘are you good at tennis, why are you speaking? (Pointing at Stiller) Do i tell him how to act? no.’
NONE. As Mike Tyson says, getting punched in the face is no joke. tHE Dettori-gosden axis looked over in the summer but they made up and their first win back came in the Sir Henry Cecil Stakes at newmarket. Cecil’s love of roses means they are part of the prize and, when gosden handed Dettori a single bloom, it raised a smile. Say it with flowers, indeed!
Who will light up 2023?
HE may not be the league’s most charismatic man but Erik ten Hag has brought a sense of purpose to manchester United that they have not had for a decade. His club still have ground to make up but they have the right man. they can only mess it up now by signing the wrong players. So, you know…
WALES have been through difficult times, but they have Warren Gatland back and talent emerging — especially in Devon. Christ Tshiunza has broken through and another 20-year-old Exeter forward, lock Dafydd Jenkins, has captained the Chiefs.
tHE return of Jofra archer in an ashes-winning England side would do it. if he stays fit and returns to his best, he can light up next year like no other. remember that ashes clash between archer and Steve Smith at lord’s in 2019? What a series it could be if Jofra can do that again.
McILROY. There have been so many false dawns in the eight years since his last major victory, but at his best he is out on his own. From what we saw in 2022, he is very close to that level.
Hamilton (left), if he can. the big question remains unanswered: can he win an eighth world title? now he needs a car capable of the task. then, he needs to drive as of old.
IT will be fascinating to see if US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz can consolidate his arrival in the big time, not always easy after a breakthrough season. There are high hopes that Brit Jack Draper’s booming left-handed game can see him reach the top of the sport.
antHony yarDE. if the light-heavyweight Brit miraculously beats the monster that is the russian-Canadian artur Beterbiev.
FRANKIE DETTORI will embark on one final lap of the British racing circuit in the spring. There will be cheers and tears and hopefully a few big winners for the showman, 52, who has done so much to sell the sport and is one of the best jockeys of all time.
Give us a New Year’s resolution for your sport
TO give its public value for money. Ticket prices, kick-off times, ball in play. Other sports take the mickey — my Ashes ticket was eye-wateringly dear — but it doesn’t mean football should. Where the national sport leads, others follow.
to HaVE the ball in play for far longer than has become the norm. this is a major, glaring problem. For matches to last 80 minutes (and the rest), but the real action to be limited to just 25, 30 or 35 minutes by timewasting and reset scrums is a dire predicament.
STOP having such a downer on a sport that has evolved and is constantly looking for more. Wake up and realise cricket has a lot going for it without new, gimmicky formats.
to find some level of compromise between liV and the traditional tours. liV is not going away and nobody is benefiting from so much disruption.
YOU can have too much of a good thing. As in too many races (23 or 24 for 2023), diluting the impact of each while lining the pockets of owners Liberty Media, as they rake in eye-watering hosting fees.
tHErE are a few! Unite and innovate to grow in the modern sporting world. Speed up the game — finishes in the early hours are never good for anyone. Properly schedule and maximise team events. Sort out the Wimbledon points issue regarding the russians.
DEliVEr on the promised changes. those in charge have finally agreed to park sectional interests and tackle a myriad of problems including attendances, a dull, overbearing fixture list and the financial crisis. the abyss beckons without decisive action. nothing can be fudged.
What should be Amazon’s next behind -the-scenes documentary?
no! i am bored of them. they are not fly-on-the-wall, they are glossy Pr jobs to sell our sport to foreign audiences. if you want to know what a dressing room looks and sounds like, watch Warnock, the story of Sheffield United’s 2004-05 Championship season. it’s ugly at times, but it’s real.
THERE are so many characters who could showcase rugby’s soul. Ellis Genge would be a natural for his open, relatable nature, as would Kyle Sinckler. As for coaches, Alex Sanderson and Richard Cockerill would
be great on-screen assets.
EnglanD’S ashes. let’s see mcCullum (left) with his feet up urging everyone to relax. let’s see Stokes saying he’s going into bat to win a test in three days even though he hasn’t got his pads on — as he did recently in Karachi.
NETFLIX are in the editing phase of a Drive To Survive- style golf documentary, which will have no shortage of material after the chaos of 2022. One hopes there is extended screen time of Norman — his foot-in-mouth moments would make great TV.
SHoUlDn’t this be netflix? anyway, my idea is a mini-series following mohammed ben Sulayem, the shoot-from-the-hip Fia president who has brought an idiosyncratic brand of decision-making since taking over. Put it this way, he’s more trump than Biden.
NETFLIX are on it, the first batch of episodes of Break Point coming out on January 13. Not everyone has played ball. It’d be good to have an insight into Nadal’s management of his injuries, for example, but that will not be shown.
tHEy should follow oleksandr Usyk (left) — from the front line in Ukraine to fighting Fury for the first undisputed world heavyweight title for a decade.
OISIN MURPHY. The dual champion jockey returns in February after a ban for failing breathalyser tests and misleading BHA officials. Murphy could be a great ambassador for the sport, but he has burnt his fair share of bridges.