And, for the moment, all that English optimism for this year's Ashes has seemingly disappeared. The Redbacks are currently at that fork in the road. I am not going to go through the 'whys' and the 'what ifs' of season 2000-01 but instead highlight the positives of a disappointing year. There has been a lot of soul searching and a lot of excuses thrown around in the past two to three weeks at why we fell away so dramatically at the business end of the season. Another season has come and gone and, as always, it is with mixed feelings that I look back and reflect on what transpired.
Cricket is a great game.
One day you can be on top of the world and the next you want to find a big hole and crawl into it. I have been fortunate enough to play in two grand finals this season - for one win and one loss. The first was a one-day final for my club team, Wanneroo, where we defeated Willeton in a tight match under lights at the WACA and the second was the Mercantile Mutual Cup Final against NSW, where the Blues were too good for the Warriors. The contrast in the change rooms after a win and a loss is something to be seen. Stuart MacGill 24 January 2001 Regular readers of this site will perhaps notice that I have failed to contribute further since my opening article on the eve of the first Test in Brisbane way back in November.