News & Neuigkeiten » to see how the handicap is framed by Phil Sm

Can anybody truly say they thrive as the target of social and physical hostility? In any of lifes myriad endeavours, competitive or otherwise, success is usually achieved in spite of hostility, not because of it.So the logic goes in much of Australian cricket. While the battle is officially between bat and ball, there is an unofficial social dimension to combat too. And while we only whispered it softly last week, our time-honoured tradition of creating cold, hostile atmospheres for batsmen is otherwise a matter of chest-thumping pride. A welcome batsman is a sleeping batsman, because that scenario is the stuff of dreams.In a week where public introspection threatened but never quite manifested, it wasnt just at home that our cricketing philosophy was under the microscope. Earlier in the week, Kepler Wessels, the former South Africa captain who also played for Australia, derided the embarrassing and totally ineffective sledging of the Australian players as they eventually slumped to a 5-0 whitewash against South Africa.Speaking on the same issue 24 hours later, in-vogue Australian batting coach Trent Woodhill said, We need to get away from this mentality of weve all played the game, youve got to be tougher, youve got to be harder, youve got be noisier, youve got to be louder, because its basically bullshit.In an increasingly saturated game, where contests feel automated and matches blend into one another, Woodhills point, sacrilegious as it is, has the ring of truth. But can Australians divorce themselves from their deep-seated cultural attachment to noise and hardness?Perhaps more important is whether wed even be willing to. Hostility is celebrated in our cricketing culture, and those who can demonstrate it best are revered for it, in the main. The views of Wessels and Woodhill swim against an Australian tide that protects the divine right to intimidate like fanatical Americans do their guns. Its who we are, weve always been this way, and were proud of it. Despite Woodhills argument that its not even advantageous to winning, one feels that any attempt to change those attitudes would be regarded as soft, and as a result, unthinkable.If we were willing to engage in some introspection, our view of bouncers may be a good place to start. Lets be honest about them: beyond the odd occasion where they are legitimately deployed as a defensive tactic against rampant batsmen, bouncers in cricket are like fights in footy. For most, there is a visceral pleasure in watching seasoned athletes put every part of their bodies at risk for sporting success. Or when it comes to fights, some kind of masculine honour. We know its wrong but it feels so right.Australians watched Mitchell Johnson against England in 2013 with an almost primal satisfaction. The blood-curdling fear of the English batsmen released a spiritual type of pleasure, because this was as Aussie as Aussie could get. But its worth asking: are there any other ball sports that legally permit opposition engagement with the head? Even in that sport notorious for attacking the head, rugby league, the laws at least attempt to prevent it.To ask questions of our relationship to hostile cricket isnt to call for radical change, if any. But our automatic dismissal of the mere possibility that there might be something to learn from this weeks conversations, both home and abroad, says more about us than the event itself.The cricket world watched as the NSW Coroners Court held an inquest into Phillip Hughes death. Concerned about unfair blame and the creation of witch hunts, the Australian public rallied behind the players involved, understandably so. While the court pondered the events of the day, the court of public opinion reached its decision quickly and emphatically: This was a freak accident. No one is to blame. Sledging and intimidation are part of the game. Only harm can come from this, we chorused.While there may be something darkly instructive about the certitude of our response, it is - more than anything - a raw expression of sympathy for the players involved. But there were some uncomfortable truths at play too, and the almost knee-jerk refusal to engage in collective reflection about what happened on the field that day is revealing.Because if ever there was an event significant enough to warrant simple introspection about the way we play cricket in Australia, then surely this was it.Of course, nobody wanted what happened at the SCG to happen, and blame is not the point; thats undisputed. But there is a sense that we have missed an opportunity to think with some depth about the impact of Hughes death on our cricketing philosophy.Because while the inquest was importantly about a young mans life and the moments before and after the incident, the examination may have initiated important contemplation about the game more broadly. The main questions may have become: How important is hostile cricket to us? How proud of our intimidatory approach should we really be?If, like most, your conclusion is very, then thats fine. 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Brad Wieck Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back.126 entries have been unveiled for the Crabbies Grand National at Aintree, the second highest number in the last 10 years.The last two winners, Many Clouds and Pineau De Re, feature in the list, as well as four others from the first six home in 2015, namely runner-up Saint Are, fourth Alvarado, fifth Shutthefrontdoor and sixth Royale Knight.There are seven entries from Irelands champion trainer Willie Mullins including the multiple Grade One winner and 2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup second Sir Des Champs, as well as Don Poli, whose three Grade One victories include the 2015 RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and this seasons Lexus Chase at Leopardstown. Their owner, Michael OLearys Gigginstown House Stud, is responsible for 10 entries, more than any other owner.A total of 38 entries are trained in Ireland. Ted Walsh has entered Seabass, who achieved the best finishing position for a female rider when third in 2012 under his amateur jockey daughter and Crabbies Grand National Ambassador Katie Walsh.The Co Kildare handler has also put in Foxrock, a staying-on third behind Don Poli last time out.Gordon Elliott was responsible for the last Irish-trained winner of the Crabbies Grand National with Silver Birch in 2007 and his half-dozen entries include Ucello Conti, who has run well when placed in valuable handicap chases on his last two starts, and Causes Of Causes, successful in the four-mile National Hunt Chase at last seasons Cheltenham Festival before finishing eighth in the Crabbies Grand National.Other interesting Irish-trained contenders include the Grade One winner Gilgamboa (Enda Bolger), last seasons Scottish Grand National second Goonyella (Jim Dreaper) and Thunder And Roses (Sandra Hughes), winner of the 2015 Irish Grand National.Double Seven was sent off favourite for the National in 2014 and eventually finished third, but he subsequently missed the entire 2014-15 season.Martin Brassils charge returned to action at Punchestown on New Years Eve and has since run again over hurdles at that track last month.Double Seven is grand, said Brassil, who won the race in 2006 with Numbersixvalverde.Hes had the two runs over hurdles, but it is hard to know what to make of them because he is not a soft-ground horse.We are taking it one step at a time at the moment and we wont really know where we are until he runs in a race when the conditions are right for him. He wants nice ground.Im not sure what we are going to do between now and Aintree. He could have a ruun over fences, but we will see how he is.ddddddddddddPaul Nicholls, successful in 2012 with Neptune Collonges, is the trainer with most entries, with nine in total. These are headed by Silviniaco Conti , whose six Grade One wins include two King George VI Chases, two Betfair Chases and two renewals of the Betfred Bowl over the Mildmay fences at Aintree (2014 and 2015).Another leading contender from the champion Jumps trainer is Just A Par, successful in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park last season.A number of entries have already scored over the Grand National fences, including Highland Lodge (Jimmy Moffatt) who took the Betfred Becher Chase in December, and Triolo DAlene (Nicky Henderson), who was the impressive winner of the 2013 Crabbies Topham Chase.Other leading entries include Soll (David Pip), successful in a valuable veterans handicap chase at Sandown last month and The Druids Nephew (Neil Mulholland), who was leading the field when falling at Valentines on the second circuit in 2015.Two Cheltenham Gold Cup winners have been entered - 2011 victor Long Run (Robert Waley-Cohen) and 2014 scorer Lord Windermere (Jim Culloty).Owners Paul and Clare Rooney have two interesting contenders in Kruzhlinin (Philip Hobbs), a comfortable winner at Kempton Park last month, and The Last Samuri (Kim Bailey), who landed a valuable handicap chase in impressive fashion at the same course in December. Andrew Tulloch, Jockey Club Racecourses Regional Head of Racing for the North West and Clerk of the Course at Aintree, said: We could not have wished for a better set of entries for the 2016 Crabbies Grand National, with a big increase on last year in terms of numbers and a significant presence of high-class horses.Many Clouds defied 11st 9lb, 1lb off top-weight, when successful in 2015 and it will be interesting to see how the handicap is framed by Phil Smith with Silviniaco Conti, Don Poli and Sir Des Champs all entered.Everything is in place for what should be a spectacular 169th running of the Crabbies Grand National. Sky Tickets Fast, secure racing tickets: Exclusive racing offers near youAlso See:Live results serviceFull racecardsBet ￡5 Get ￡20 FreeGet Sky Sports ' ' '