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Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Bob Simpson: taskmaster who shaped Australia's ruthless winning dynasty
When Shane Warne was first chosen for a representative Australian XI in 1991 with a view to him being given a Test debut, Australia head coach Bob Simpson was struck by the youngster's lack of athleticism. He decided to keep him on after the other players had left for a solo session of fielding drills, 'just to see how much out of nick he was . . . he wasn't good.' A week later at the Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG, Simpson and Ian McDonald, the Australia team manager, bumped into Warne, who was there watching the game with some mates. He had a beer in one hand and a pie in the other. Warne was chosen for two Tests later in the series regardless, but Simpson must have known then that there was work to do, and it was to his credit that Warne realised quite quickly that he would not play much for Australia if he did not meet the demands of a hard taskmaster who did not tolerate shoddiness. Soon after, Merv Hughes, a Victoria team-mate of Warne's, was not selected for a tour to Sri Lanka because he was not deemed fit enough, and this may have contributed to Warne — who was selected — turning up leaner and keener. 'He was just a different person, physically and mentally,' Simpson recalled. After five gruelling days, Warne helped to win a tight first Test in Colombo — and the rest is history. Simpson, who has died at the age of 89, was a seminal figure in the revival of Australian cricket during a ten-year reign as coach of the national team in which they won a World Cup in India in 1987, regained the Ashes in 1989 and retained them for the next three series under his watch, and in 1995 inflicted the first Test series defeat on the mighty West Indies in 15 years. When Simpson took over in early 1986, Australia had been in the doldrums for a few years, broken in part by defections to a rebel tour to South Africa. Allan Border had been captain for less than 18 months and needed someone who could share his burden and provide the players with more structure. Simpson was just the man. 'I'm not sure who got the bigger shock during the first couple of training sessions,' recalled Steve Waugh, one of Simpson's most enthusiastic disciples. 'Simmo, due to the team's low-intensity work ethic, or the players, who had never been exposed to his level of passion at practice. Early on, there was a lot of complaining, [but] you had two choices: embrace and enjoy, or disregard and disappear.' Before Simpson, national teams did not really have head coaches; they had managers who organised hotels and flights, and kept a schoolmasterly eye on their charges. Training sessions were run by senior players and strategy was left to the captain. But Simpson's impact was such that England quickly followed suit by appointing Mickey Stewart to a similar role, just in time for Stewart to help Mike Gatting's team win in Australia at the expense of Border and Simpson. It would be 18 years before English cricket enjoyed such a triumph again — home or away. As Australia got better and better, there was less need for Simpson's disciplinarian style and technical input. The ruthlessness became so deeply ingrained in the likes of Waugh — who credited Simpson with developing his game more than any other person — that he outlived his usefulness. The players needed a lighter hand at the tiller. Simpson departed after Australia's defeat in the World Cup final of 1996 at the hands of Sri Lanka. 'The total absence of a farewell to Simmo from the ACB [Australian board] after he lost the coaching job was a disgrace,' Waugh wrote in his autobiography. 'From out of the abyss in the mid-80s, he left the twin legacies of increased professionalism and a winning culture, which were to be the hallmarks of future Australian teams.' Simpson also had coaching spells with Lancashire and Leicestershire, and also worked in India, Nepal, China and the Netherlands. Long before he coached, Simpson enjoyed a distinguished Test career as a tenacious opening batsman — forming a weighty opening partnership with Bill Lawry — superb slip catcher, and part-time leg spinner. First chosen for New South Wales at the age of 16, he played 52 Tests between 1957 to 1968, when he retired relatively young at 32, before being lured back into service during the Kerry Packer crisis to lead a denuded Australia team in ten Tests against India and West Indies. Scoring 738 runs, more than anyone else in the side, he showed he had lost little of his skill. He led Australia to victory in England in 1964, when he scored 311 in an absurdly high-scoring draw at Old Trafford — remarkably the first of what would be ten Test centuries in his 52nd innings — and oversaw the retention of the Ashes in Australia in 1965-66. Remarkably he was involved in the only two tied Test matches in history, first as a player in the match against West Indies at Brisbane in 1960 and then as coach against India at Chennai in 1986, a game in which a double-century by Dean Jones in searing heat epitomised Australia's tough new approach under Border and Simpson. He stands as one of the most consequential cricketers Australia have ever possessed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Parents 'hopeful but skeptical' after news Waterloo's Elizabeth Ziegler will be shuttered for 2 years
Parents are concerned after news Elizabeth Ziegler Public School (EZPS) in Waterloo will remain closed for at least two years. The updated reopening date of the school is now set for September 2027, according to an update posted the school's website on July 22. Previously, messaging from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) was that the expected reopening would be in September 2026. EZPS parent Ian McDonald said the extension wasn't much of a surprise. "I am hopeful but skeptical it will be ready by September '27," he said in an email to CBC News. "My daughter is entering Grade 4 at Sandowne, and is unlikely to see Ziegler again before she graduates to MacGregor Senior Public School," he added. The nearly 100-year-old school building was originally shut on March 4 when a large piece of concrete fell from the facade. The closure was, at first, for just two days, then two weeks, and then it was announced it would be closed for the rest of the school year and into the next. Of the over 500 students at EZPS, some will be relocated to portables but most will attend other schools in September, like Sandowne Public School. Sandowne's enrolment in the 2023-2024 school year was about 240 students. The influx will bring that school's student population up into the high 600s, according to the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB). "I also have concerns about two full school years of not just overcrowded, but I mean like more than double capacity," said Dave Earle, whose two children attended Elizabeth Ziegler before the closure. "We're going to have to deal with two big moves," Earle said. "One to Sandowne and if they're there for two years then they'll have made friends … and they'll have to break all those to come back." Earle is concerned the increased student population at Sandowne will result in less time for things his kids find important. "Last year when we finished the school just in portables, they had no library time, they had no assemblies," he said, "It was just whatever they could do outdoors." But Bill Lemon, WRDSB's director of business services, says they've built portable infrastructure for Sandowne to accommodate the number of students who will be attending next school year. Sandowne's website also says, "the building and property have the capacity to support more than 700 students. This includes the outdoor space for nutrition breaks and athletics, the building's washrooms, plumbing and electrical capacity." Lemon said the decision to extend the closure another year comes after the board received its detailed engineering and architectural report back in June. "We got some clarity with the engineer's report and with the schematic drawings," Lemon told CBC News. "Based on the work that was needed for the restoration, we now had some concrete tasks that needed to be completed. With the work, alongside our architect and our own facility services people, we were able to build a construction timeline," he said. The revised timeline means construction is now expected to begin in early 2026 and finish in the summer of 2027, Lemon said. That would leave a short window for the board to prepare the school for students before the start of the fall term. Lemon said the size of this project classifies it as a capital project and that the board approached the ministry of education for next steps and funding opportunities. Lemon said the conversation was "productive" but the ministry did not commit any additional funding for the restoration. Instead, the board plans to cover the costs from its own capital budget over the next two years, a move Lemon says could mean adjusting other school board projects across the region. The building's heritage designation is also adding to the complexity. Lemon said some features, like the masonry work, need to be restored to look original, which requires special contractors. Pre-qualification for those contractors is already underway, said Lemon, and the board hopes to begin tendering those early this fall. The board says it will provide regular updates as the project moves through design, tendering and construction.
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Parents 'hopeful but skeptical' after news Waterloo's Elizabeth Ziegler will be shuttered for 2 years
Parents are concerned after news Elizabeth Ziegler Public School (EZPS) in Waterloo will remain closed for at least two years. The updated reopening date of the school is now set for September 2027, according to an update posted the school's website on July 22. Previously, messaging from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) was that the expected reopening would be in September 2026. EZPS parent Ian McDonald said the extension wasn't much of a surprise. "I am hopeful but skeptical it will be ready by September '27," he said in an email to CBC News. "My daughter is entering Grade 4 at Sandowne, and is unlikely to see Ziegler again before she graduates to MacGregor Senior Public School," he added. The nearly 100-year-old school building was originally shut on March 4 when a large piece of concrete fell from the facade. The closure was, at first, for just two days, then two weeks, and then it was announced it would be closed for the rest of the school year and into the next. Of the over 500 students at EZPS, some will be relocated to portables but most will attend other schools in September, like Sandowne Public School. Sandowne's enrolment in the 2023-2024 school year was about 240 students. The influx will bring that school's student population up into the high 600s, according to the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB). "I also have concerns about two full school years of not just overcrowded, but I mean like more than double capacity," said Dave Earle, whose two children attended Elizabeth Ziegler before the closure. "We're going to have to deal with two big moves," Earle said. "One to Sandowne and if they're there for two years then they'll have made friends … and they'll have to break all those to come back." Earle is concerned the increased student population at Sandowne will result in less time for things his kids find important. "Last year when we finished the school just in portables, they had no library time, they had no assemblies," he said, "It was just whatever they could do outdoors." But Bill Lemon, WRDSB's director of business services, says they've built portable infrastructure for Sandowne to accommodate the number of students who will be attending next school year. Sandowne's website also says, "the building and property have the capacity to support more than 700 students. This includes the outdoor space for nutrition breaks and athletics, the building's washrooms, plumbing and electrical capacity." Lemon said the decision to extend the closure another year comes after the board received its detailed engineering and architectural report back in June. "We got some clarity with the engineer's report and with the schematic drawings," Lemon told CBC News. "Based on the work that was needed for the restoration, we now had some concrete tasks that needed to be completed. With the work, alongside our architect and our own facility services people, we were able to build a construction timeline," he said. The revised timeline means construction is now expected to begin in early 2026 and finish in the summer of 2027, Lemon said. That would leave a short window for the board to prepare the school for students before the start of the fall term. Lemon said the size of this project classifies it as a capital project and that the board approached the ministry of education for next steps and funding opportunities. Lemon said the conversation was "productive" but the ministry did not commit any additional funding for the restoration. Instead, the board plans to cover the costs from its own capital budget over the next two years, a move Lemon says could mean adjusting other school board projects across the region. The building's heritage designation is also adding to the complexity. Lemon said some features, like the masonry work, need to be restored to look original, which requires special contractors. Pre-qualification for those contractors is already underway, said Lemon, and the board hopes to begin tendering those early this fall. The board says it will provide regular updates as the project moves through design, tendering and construction.
Metro
15-07-2025
- Business
- Metro
Asda slapped with six-figure fine for selling more than 100 out-of-date foods
One of Britain's biggest grocers has been hit with a £657,115 fine after selling more than 100 out-of-date items in Wales. Members of the public began complaining about the expired food after visiting stores on Lekwith Road, Canton, and Pentwyn, both in Wales. Some of the sales were of high-risk items like meat and dairy, Cardiff Magistrates Court heard. The oldest item found in the shop was seven days past its best-before date, and months after initial complaints, six expired items were found on store shelves. Over a four-month period, 115 out-of-date food items were found, raising serious concerns about food safety. Selling food past the use-by date is illegal in the UK, regardless of whether the food is in good condition or not. Ian McDonald, representing Asda, told the court the supermarket chain took matters of food safety seriously, and said since the complaints, Asda had implemented a new system for monitoring out-of-date food. He told the court that the consultation process cost £1,000,000, and the initial training of 105,000 members of staff cost over £600,000, with no issues since the new system was brought in. Judge Charlotte Murphy said she accepted that Asda had systems in place but said they weren't sufficient, and the complaints were not isolated incidents. She did rule that there was a 'low risk' of adverse effects to the general public, but fined Asda £160,000 for each offence, which was a breach of the General Food Regulations 2004, coming to £640,000. The sum, with court charges, brought the total to £657,115, and Asda was ordered to pay the sum within 28 days. Cllr Norma Mackie, council cabinet member with responsibility for Shared Regulatory Services at Cardiff Council, said consumers should be confident that food in shops is safe to eat. More Trending 'In this case, Asda fell significantly short of the required standards expected. The systems that they had in place were clearly inadequate, and we hope that Asda has now taken the necessary steps to rectify these failings to ensure that such incidents do not occur again,' she added. It's not the first brush-up with authorities Asda has had. In April this year, Asda was fined £410,000 after two of its Cornwall stores were found to be selling out-of-date food. In October last year, the supermarket was fined £250,000 for selling food past its use by date, including some by six months, in stores in Derby. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Up to 280 locations of popular store chain are facing closure amid bankruptcy MORE: Forget about Prosecco — drink this £6.97 sparkling wine from Asda instead MORE: Supermarket own-brand ketchup voted just as good as Heinz — and it's 70% cheaper
Spectator
14-07-2025
- General
- Spectator
The worst culprits for noise pollution on trains? The staff
Modern irritations seem to come in threes. No sooner do you trip over a Lime bike 'parked' on its side in the middle of the pavement than you discover that the self-checkout in the Co-op has a handwritten note stating 'out of order' taped to it and the man in front of you in the queue for the sole remaining human-staffed counter is attempting to buy (and scratch) 14 lottery tickets. That's what happened on my venture out of the house this morning, anyway. The experience sent me scurrying home again to muse on whether I have had a more dispiriting, in the picayune sense, start to any morning this year so far. It turns out that I have. And call it a first world problem if you will, but the apotheosis of my 'tripartite of annoyance' theory was reached on a train heading from London to the Midlands recently. The misery began at Euston, with the usual stampede caused by the announcement of the platform from which the train would be departing only being made around two and a half minutes before the carriage doors were shut. An old hand at this transport Darwinism, I elbowed and shoved with moderately successful elan, managing to snag myself a seat next to an, inevitably, out-of-order disabled toilet. But my attempts to recover a normal heart rate were promptly stymied by an audio interruption far more effusive than anything the Euston station announcer could muster. 'Good morning and welcome aboard this 09.27 service to Birmingham International…' it began, the voice belonging to a man who it appeared harboured ambitions of being a radio disc jockey on a commercial pop station in the mid-1980s. On and on and on he went, with the charisma of one of Ian McDonald's MoD briefings during the Falklands War, telling us things that I suspect a six-year-old train traveller would already know. Why do we need to be informed, over and over and over again, that 'tickets with other providers are not valid on this service'? Why do we need to be told which stations the train will be passing through four times? How many times have you seen anyone leap from their seat, hollering something along the lines of 'Maidstone? I thought this was the cross-Channel ferry to Dieppe!' before hurtling out of an already moving loco? I wanted to get my breath back. I wanted to open my newspaper. I would have loved to have simply had some quiet time to try to unpick last night's horrible dream – that one about being stuck in a lift with Jools Holland again. But the final element of my rage tripartite only began after we creaked away from horrible Euston. The driver was, I presume, either busy driving the train or writing another job application to Smooth FM. In his place my fellow passengers and I got the adamantine cheerfulness of 'Tracey in the on-board shop' telling us she 'has a wide variety of sandwiches, cakes, hot snacks, hot and cold drinks, beers, wines and spirits'. I only want to hear the voices of the train staff if there's a fire, hurricane or thermonuclear explosion Incredibly, I'm already aware of what an on-board shop is likely to sell. So why are we poor customers, who just want to read our books or try to have a micro-sleep, subjected to this needless taxonomy? I don't ever recall employees of Greggs, let alone the Ivy, marching around outside their place of business with a loud hailer, instructing us that they have 'food on offer'. So why do it on a train, a place where I only want to hear the voices of the staff if there's a fire, hurricane or thermonuclear explosion? Even in those eventualities, I'm still quietly confident I could figure out these developments on my own without Tracey's help. We live in an increasingly selfish society where the use of headphones to conduct a phone conversation or watch a YouTube clip on a bus, plane or train is now seen as somehow quaint. But noisy commuters are only taking their lead from the bodies who take us from A to B. Is it any wonder that there are parents out there who are happy to let their child watch an entire Harry Potter film on their iPad on loudspeaker from London to Birmingham when there are on-board staff who can, and will, be even noisier with their winning hand gambit of having access to a microphone and speaker system that reaches every corner of the train? There is a growing, suitably sotto voce protest movement against noise pollution in this country. But we're way behind France, where a British traveller was recently given a fine for using his phone on loudspeaker on a platform. I'd feel much happier if we travellers could slap down our own fines (or at least start expecting discounts) if we can prove that our journey was ruined by staff feeling the need to use their microphone powers in a manner usually only abused by wedding reception DJs. Am I being ludicrously atavistic in pining for a time when a train journey meant I could read my book, do a crossword and have a nap without being the victim of a barrage of information that neither me, nor anyone else, wants, needs or asks for? It would appear so. My horror dreams about Jools Holland will, no doubt, soon be replaced by ones about Tracey. And when you start feeling nostalgic for the strangulated adolescent tones of Jools, you know something has gone seriously awry.
