1. Nine
  2. Sport
  3. Cricket

Cheats and feats in Aussie sporting year

Dec 30th, 2018Dec 30th, 2018

Cheats and world-beating feats; punches and golden bunches.

Australia's sporting year hit some remarkable highs and unfathomable lows.

Here's a look at some of biggest stories of 2018.


Australian captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft plunged the nation's reputation into an abyss when ball-tampering in a Test match against South Africa. They blatantly cheated and were banned by Cricket Australia (CA) - Smith and Warner both for a year, Bancroft for nine months. The stain will last forever.


In the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, Darren Lehmann quit as coach. James Sutherland quit as Cricket Australia's chief executive. David Peever quit as CA chairman. Mark Taylor quit as a CA director. Pat Howard was axed as CA's high-performance chief. Another CA executive, marketing and commercial manager Ben Amarfio, also went.


Australia dominated the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, emphatically returning to the top of the medal tally by winning 80 gold medals - a whopping 35 more than arch-rivals England. The women's 4x100m freestyle relay team and men's pursuit cycling team started the golden parade with world records on day one. Swimmer Mitch Larkin was the most successful athlete at the Games, capturing five golds as Australians set 25 Commonwealth Games records and won gold in 16 of the 21 sports.


Some called them plucky, others unlucky. But the Socceroos again were tipped out of the World Cup at the group stage. Winless in the showcase tournament in Russia, Australia couldn't score in open play - the two goals came from Mile Jedinak penalties. The short-term fixer, Bert van Marwijk, admitted he couldn't solve the long-term problem and took scant solace from praise for his feisty footballers. "Compliments you don't win games," he said.


Sydney Roosters general Cooper Cronk played with a busted shoulder in the NRL grand final against his former team, Melbourne Storm. After being given the maximum doses of anaesthetic pre-game and again at halftime, the halfback marshalled the Roosters to the premiership in a 21-6 belting of the Storm. Cronk made just nine tackles, threw only 14 passes, didn't attempt a run but he directed traffic and entered sporting folklore.


Speaking of folklore: Dom Sheed's left foot entered that realm with the match-winning goal in a gripping AFL grand final. West Coast's Sheed threaded a set shot from a tight angle to deliver the Eagles a five-point premiership win against Collingwood. West Coast prevailed after they slipped five goals behind in the first quarter with Luke Shuey best-afield.


West Coast won the premiership without brilliant wingman Andrew Gaff, who was suspended for eight games for his punch which broke the jaw of Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw in an August 5 match. Gaff copped the largest AFL ban for a single on-field act in a decade.


Australia's men's basketballers met the Philippines in Manila in July in what should have been a run-of-the-mill World Cup qualifier. But the game morphed into anything but with an astonishing brawl which made worldwide headlines. Three Boomers -- Daniel Kickert, Thon Maker and Chris Goulding - were suspended in the aftermath and the Philippines had 10 players and officials banned after wild scenes which featured king hits, kicks and flying chairs.


Australian tennis star Ashleigh Barty won two WTA singles tournaments - in Nottingham in June and the WTA Elite Trophy at Zhuhai in China in November. The 22-year-old Queenslander also collected a maiden grand slam title when she won the US Open doubles with CoCo Vandeweghe. "It has been a phenomenal year," said Barty, who climbed to world No.15, a career-high ranking. Her compatriot Alex de Minaur enjoyed a breakout year, the 19-year-old rising from a world ranking of 208 to 31 and joining Barty as joint winners of the prestigious Newcombe Medal.


In a flash of audacious brilliance, Riley McGree went from an emerging A-League talent to a worldwide sensation. McGree scored for Newcastle against Melbourne City in an A-League finals game in April with a scorpion kick which was lauded around the globe. With his stunner, McGree joined the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale as nominees for FIFA's prestigious Puskas Award, won by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.


Australian basketballer Liz Cambage made history by scoring a staggering 53 points in a WNBA game - the highest of any female in elite US competition. Cambage, who also helped the Opals to Commonwealth Games gold and a silver medal at the World Cup, was honoured with inclusion in the World Cup All-Star five and the All-WNBA First Team.


The A-League's seven-month season was decided by a lost 30 seconds. The video assistant referee (VAR) system malfunctioned in the grand final. In that time, Melbourne Victory, from a play starting from an off-side position, scored the only goal of the finale against Newcastle as the technology introduced to prevent blunders produced an almighty one itself.


Australian surfer Stephanie Gilmore claimed a seventh world title to equal the record of compatriot Layne Beachley on the all-time list of women's champions. "I was asked about matching Layne, so many times, I would just say whatever came into my head because it didn't really feel real ... to finally do it is just incredible," said Gilmore, who captured her first world crown in 2007 as a 19-year-old.


Racing driver Will Power became the first Australian to win the famed Indy 500 in May. He was already an IndyCar series champion and a four-time runner-up in Indianapolis but was stunned by his victory. "Can't believe I came all the way from Toowoomba ... I never expected to be here," he said.


Road cyclist Rohan Dennis won the world time-trial championship in September. Jess Fox became the most successful slalom paddler in history by capturing two more world titles. Kenyan refugee Joseph Deng broke the Australian 800m record which had stood for half a century. And Australia's women's cricketers claimed the Twenty20 World Cup.


More Cricket news and highlights