10 reasons why this could be best year ever for British sport
THE greatest year for British sport was 1954 when Roger Bannister became the first man to run the mile in under four minutes. Or was it 1966 when England won the World Cup?
Or was it 2012 when London hosted the Olympic Games for the third time, Mo Farah won gold in the 5000m and 10,000m, Bradley Wiggins became the first ever British winner of the Tour de France, Andy Murray became the first Briton to win a Grand Slam for 76 years when he won the US Open, Rory McIlroy won the US PGA, Chelsea won the Champions League and Europe staged a magnificent comeback to win the Ryder Cup at Medinah?
Just as everyone has t heir favourite footballer, everyone has their favourite year, but here are 10 reasons why 2019 could be up there with the best of them for sport in general and British sport in particular.
1
WHEN Eoin Morgan refused to tour Bangladesh in 2016, I thought it would undermine his authority with his players and that it ought to be the end of his reign as England’s one-day captain. I got that wrong.
Morgan’s leadership of the whiteball teams has gone from strength to strength and is one of the reasons why England are the clear favourites to win the Cricket World Cup this summer for the first time in history.
England were humiliated in Australia four years ago. They looked like a team who had failed to move with the times. Now they are ahead of the curve and at the forefront of i nnovation i n the shorter forms of the game. In their batting in particular, there is so much to admire: the improvisational brilliance of Jos Buttler; the savage elegance of Joe Root; the brutality of Ben Stokes.
England have won the premier world tournaments in football and rugby union but never in cricket. We have reached the final three times but never taken the last step. If Morgan and his side put that right in 2019 on home soil, it will be one of the great landmarks in British sporting history.
2
LEWIS HAMILTON is a fearless and daring racer whose claim to be the greatest sportsman this country has produced gets stronger with every triumph.
He will be the favourite to win his sixth Formula One world title next year, an achievement that would leave him just one title shy of the great Michael Schumacher. Few thought his record would ever be approached but Hamilton’s brilliance is changing that.
3
WHEN a French DJ asked Ada Hegerberg, FIFA’s winner of the inaugural women’s Ballon D’Or award, whether she could twerk, his idiotic inanities were met with the scorn they deserved. Only fools mock women’s football now and the World Cup this summer will serve as another reminder that the game is moving inexorably into the mainstream.
England’s run to the semi-finals in Canada four years ago and in the European Championship in Holland two years ago captured the attention of the nation and the Lionesses’ attempt to lift the trophy in France this summer will be no different.
The US, France and Germany are the favourites but England have one of the best players in the world in Lucy Bronze and a line-up packed with talents such as Steph Houghton, Fran Kirby, Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris. Their manager Phil Neville is thinking big, as he should, and aiming for the World Cup final in Lyon on July 7.
4
OK, so the Nations League is t he Carabao Cup of international football tournaments but, as a country which has not won a thing for 53 years, England’s chance of breaking our duck in Portugal this summer is not something to be sniffed at.
Some will point out that we won Le Tournoi in 1997 but that was a tournament of friendlies and the Nations League does at l east wear the sheen of a competitive format.
England qualified for the last four by finishing ahead of Spain and Croatia, no less, in their group and, if Gareth Southgate can add to the momentum England built by reaching the World Cup semi-finals last summer by winning a trophy in June, it will be seen as perfect preparation for an assault on the 2020 European Championship.
5
WHATEVER happens at t he Cricket World Cup, England’s l at e s ummer Ashes battle with Australia will still be something to savour.
With the Australians still reeling from ‘Sandpaper-gate’ and Cameron Bancroft bl a ming e veryone’s favourite villain David Warner for a collective shaming that brought captain Steve Smith down, too, England fans will be anticipating a series that brings the urn back into their hands and offers an unparalleled opportunity to subject Tim Paine’s team to the kind of good- natured teasing that could contribute to what Steve Waugh used to call ‘mental disintegration’.
6
A YEAR ago, England were close to being favourites to win the Rugby World Cup. Now, after 12 months of setbacks, they are behind New Zealand and Ireland.
After signs of recovery in the autumn internationals, though, hope is springing anew that Eddie Jones’ side may yet fashion a challenge to win the tournament for only the second time. Jones knows Japan and its culture and, if England can emerge from a pool that includes France and Argentina, a semi-final with the All Blacks beckons that could decide the World Cup winners.
7
ANDY MURRAY said last week that he was still feeling pain in his hip as he prepared to begin his season in Australia. This is the year when we find out whether he can climb back to the summit of tennis after the operation on the troublesome joint 12 months ago. If Murray, 31, can still mix it with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, it could yet be the most glorious chapter of his wonderful career.
8
LIVERPOOL have the advantage but Manchester City are too good to write off this early. Last season’s Premier League title race was a blow- out. This season’ s already has all the makings of a classic.
9
BILLIE- JEAN KING’ S appearance on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show last Sunday was a reminder that a battle is still raging for supremacy in the history books of women’s tennis.
Serena Williams, acclaimed by many as the greatest player ever, is one Grand Slam victory short of the record of 24 held by Margaret Court. Williams, who has said she almost died after giving birth to her daughter Olympia in 2017, came close to winning the US Open last year but fell apart in the closing stages of the final against Naomi Osaka. She is not the type of player to be easily downhearted. What a day it would be for Wimbledon if Williams could equal — or even overtake — Court’s total at SW19.
10
ENGLAND became the first team other than Australia or New Zealand to win a gold medal in netball at the Commonwealth Games in April. Next summer, they will attempt to prove that memorable victory was not a one-off by winning the World Cup, which will be staged in Liverpool in July.
For a game played and supported by millions, netball suffers from a lack of television coverage but on the Gold Coast Tracey Neville and her team provided British sport with one of its most dramatic moments of the year. The World Cup will be an opportunity to underline the sport’s appeal.