THE FINAL ACTS.

43)Q43 saw the nearest ever answer to unanimity in the history of the Quiz-VERSTAPPEN you shrieked as one. Rare voices echoed from years back-Hamilton. Occasional mentions of the Ferrari drivers.

Quiz HQ did its best to upset the Verstappen bandwagon. We chose a street circuit where Red Bull are most vulnerable. We chose a first time circuit on a cold late November evening in the desert. We sent out saboteurs to loosen manhole covers but like the Wacky Races, we got the wrong car. We put on a showbiz circus to distract the dour Dutchman. Some Verstappen quotes from the week.

“Las Vegas is 99% show,1% sporting event.”

“Monaco is Champions League, Las Vegas is National League.”

“If I was a fan, I’d tear the place down.”

Yes, Max was in a bad mood and finished only third in qualifying but come the race, Verstappen’s victory seemed as inevitable as his previous 18 this season, though rather more exciting as Max had a 5 second penalty and the race lead changed hands five times. Victory brought a Max rendition of Viva Las Vegas.

I’m sure his F1 bosses forgave his criticism of their billion pound project.

8)It was all down to the final question to decide who would be crowned the Sned’s Quiz 2023 champion. The overwhelming majority of quizzers were either backing hosts India or defending champions England in the 50-over cricket World Cup. Instead, it was AUSTRALIA who timed their run of form to perfection to bring quiz glory to Richard Jones.

If you had predicted that outcome after the first week of action you would have seen some very puzzled looks from cricket fans around the world. Australia looked little more than outsiders early on, with poor form in the pre-tournament warm-ups before being brushed aside by India in their opening game and comprehensively beaten by South Africa in their second. The batting was fragile, the balance of the side all wrong and their main spinner looked unable to find control or take wickets. In their third match, Sri Lanka raced to 125-0 and Australia seemed close to their last-chance saloon. A dramatic batting collapse saw Sri Lanka lose 10 wickets for 84, with spinner Zampa taking four dismissals to regain his confidence, and their target of 210 was knocked off relatively comfortably to suddenly turn the tide.

Wins followed over Pakistan, the Netherlands, England and a tight 5-run triumph over New Zealand before a crucial encounter with Afghanistan towards the end of the group stage. The Afghans were a joy to watch throughout the World Cup, upsetting England and Pakistan to give themselves a chance at qualifying for the knockouts for the first time in a major tournament. They amassed 291-5 and reduced Australia to 91-7 in reply – surely there was no chance of recovery from that? Enter Glenn Maxwell. Nicknamed ‘The Big Show’ and fresh from a World Cup record 40-ball century against the Netherlands, he somehow almost single-handedly kept Australian hopes alive with the most incredible innings you could ever wish to see. 201 not out off 128 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes, tells only half the story. For most of his innings, cramps meant he could barely walk so quick singles or twos were out of the question. This was pure hitting at its very best, right up there with the greatest one-day innings ever played. It rescued Australia and ensured they would reach the semi-finals where they would get their revenge over South Africa in another close contest. By this point their batting had been strengthened by the return of Travis Head from injury and all their bowlers were now looking on top of their game for the final.

Any quiz hopes that England would retain their trophy that they won so dramatically back in 2019 were swiftly quashed in a disastrous campaign, surely one of the worst by a defending champion in sporting history. Poor preparation, muddled squad and team selection, strange decisions upon winning the toss in several matches, question marks over the coach, new contracts being released halfway through the campaign and collective poor form soon made this a tournament to forget. South Africa and New Zealand both briefly threatened to challenge before falling short at the semi-final stage so it was India who were the team to beat from the outset. Roared on by vociferous home crowds across the cricket-mad nation, they won every single group game in style and swept the Kiwis aside in the knockouts. Big batting totals, led by fast starts from skipper Rohit Sharma and masterful innings from their hero Virat Kohli, were backed up by wonderful variety in their bowling attack. Even when their key all-rounder was injured halfway through the tournament, Mohammed Shami stepped in to become leading wicket-taker in the competition. Everything seemed to be pointing towards another home triumph in front of 100,000 fans crammed in for the final.

Australia had other ideas. Bravely putting the hosts in to bat upon winning the toss, skipper Pat Cummins took the crucial wicket of Kohli for 54 to completely derail the Indian juggernaut. 240 all out was an almost identical score to four years previous at Lord’s. This time however there was no need for a super-over. Australia did lose three wickets quickly but the fourth-wicket partnership between Head and Labuschagne took them to within touching distance of a comfortable victory, before Maxwell aptly hit the winning run. Many in the subdued crowd had already headed home by the time the trophy was handed over. A huge disappointment for the hosts and another reminder that the crucial thing in major tournaments is how you finish, not how you start. Australia often seem to be the masters at that. It was a World Cup that many onlookers feel lacked real drama, with a group stage that seemed to go on for far too long, but Australia won’t be complaining – this probably ranked as their finest triumph in the 50-over format.

(NEIL SOUTHWOOD)

44)Let’s get out of the way the dreary announcement that the answer to Sned’s final question in his Macmillan Nurses Prediction Quiz 2023 is MANCHESTER CITY. Now commonly referred to as ‘the best side on the planet’ by pundits and commentators living in their bubble of media hyperbole. Of course they do have the advantage of being owned by the City Football Group, the holding company set up by the Abu Dhabi United Group, and blessed with apparently limitless resources. Plus they are coached by Pep Guardiola who since 2008 has won every available trophy with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now City. Guardiola teams have always been interesting. From the ‘tiki taka’ style of Messi, Iniesta and Xabi era Barcelona to recent innovations of Ederson, the playmaker goalkeeper, and inverted fullbacks. Where Guardiola has led, other European coaches have followed him to the riches and promise of the Premier League. And brought with them innovative, attacking styles of play. Watching teams coached by Klopp, De Zerbi, Emery, Arteta, Postecoglu etc promises goals and excitement. For the neutral that is fun and a reminder of the joy the game can provide.

But not everything in the Premier League garden is sweet smelling. The leading clubs are increasingly owned by rich absentee owners with no connection to the fans. They are unashamedly looking to take vast sums of money out of their club or use the on field success to deflect from scrutiny of their national abuses. Sportswashing grows apace and the uncontested award to Saudi Arabia of the 2034 World Cup is the latest example. Indeed for a simple football fan any mention of FIFA seems to herald embarrassing disaster. Since its roll out following the 2018 World Cup, VAR has been a part of the Premier League ‘experience’. Increasingly it is proving to be a bad experience for the fans. Not a weekend goes by without some howler being made by the referee or VAR officials miles away in a caravan on an industrial estate.

Three predictions for season 2023-4.

1) Manchester City will be top whenever Sned decides to put the date for Q44.

2) There will even more than the current 12 foreign coaches in the Premier League

and 3) the prospect of a new elite European ‘breakaway’ competition will be floated – probably by Chelsea – and involving matches to be played outside Europe.(NIGEL ANDERTON)

42)Despite the quiz question being put to bed before a ball was pitched or a bat swung in anger in the World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks & Texas Rangers, both located WEST of the Mississippi, squared off to decide who would be hanging the golden pennant in their stadium come opening day next March.

With both teams entering the post season as Wildcards & knocking out much bigger teams on the way to the Fall Classic, it was perhaps unsurprising that this World Series received the worst TV ratings numbers ever.

The Rangers came through a disappointing end of the regular season, stuttering when it mattered losing out to the Astros on the final day for the AL South divisional title. That slump seemed to galvanise them as the swept the 4th seed Rays 2-0 in the Wildcard round, then swept the top seed & 100+ regular season game winners the Orioles 3-0 in the Divisional series & then avenged the AL South divisional title loss ousting the Astros in 7 in the Championship series, a quirk of which being that all games in the series won by the visiting team giving them 8 road wins entering the World Series.

The Diamondbacks entered the postseason as the 6th seed in the NL, ending 16 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Like the Rangers, they too swept their opponents in both the Wildcard round & Divisional series, the Brewers & Dodgers respectively, then overcame last years NL champions the Phillies in 7, winning the last 2 games in Philadelphia to come back from a 3-2 series deficit at a point where unlike the ALCS all games had been won by the home team.

For those that tuned in saw what soon become a quite one-sided World Series, no doubt also contributing towards the low rating numbers.

In game 1 the Rangers raced out to 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The D-backs took the lead in the 3rd, 3-2, but the Rangers tied it up on a bases loaded walk. Arizona led again adding 1 run in both the 4th & 5th inning, 5-3, which was how it stayed till the bottom of the 9th. A Seager 2 run HR in the bottom of the 9th tied it at 5-5 taking the game into extras for the first time in this years postseason. After wreaking havoc against the Astros, Garcia continued his fine postseason form ending it in the 11th with a walkoff solo HR to give the Rangers game 1, 6-5.

From an offensive led ending in game 1 to a defensive led game 2.The Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher Kelly, went 7 innings for 3 hits & only 1 run keeping the Rangers bats quiet in Arlington. A quiet start all round included a Diamondback solo HR in the 4th & one from the Rangers in the 5th leaving the game close at 2-1 to the Diamondbacks. The Arizona offence then began teeing off, adding a further 7 runs in the last 3 innings against the Rangers bullpen all off single base hits leading to a comprehensive 9-1 victory to level the series 1-1 before it headed to Arizona for games 3, 4 & 5.

The Rangers road postseason juggernaut kept rolling in Arizona as they put the Diamondbacks to the sword for their 9th straight away win this postseason, even as their starting pitcher Scherzer & game 1 winner Garcia both left the game early with injuries. Seager repeated his game 1 feat with another 2 run HR to help the Rangers to a 3-0 lead in the 3rd inning. The D-backs only score came in the 8th inning, allowing the Rangers to close out a 3-1 win & extend their away win run & lead the series 2-1, with a further 2 games in Arizona to come.

The Rangers pretty much secured their 10th postseason road win as soon as it started, picking up 5 runs in the 2nd inning of game 4, including another Seager HR as part of a team cycle & plus another 5 runs in the 3rd inning to go up 10-0. The D-backs got on the board the next inning but were matched by another Rangers run in the 8th inning to leave it 11-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th. The Diamondbacks put up some resistance adding 4 runs in the 8th mainly due to Gurriel Jr’s 3 run HR & followed by a 2 run single in the 9th inning to bring the final score back to 11-7, but it was too little too late, leaving the Rangers just one game away from their first World Series title.

The last game in Arizona got off to a quiet offensive start with little action until the 7th inning when the Rangers got on the board 1-0 through an RBI single. It stayed cagey & close until the top of the 9th when the Rangers batted in a 2 run single & a 2 run HR to add enough insurance runs to close out the game. The Commissioners Trophy stays in Texas for another year, after the Astros success in 2022. Unsurprisingly Seager was awarded the MVP honours for his 3 HRs in the Fall Classic & in doing so became the only player to win the MVP for both a National League & American League team.(NEIL DEWHURST)