It’s not overstating things to say 2023 has been one intense year of sporting action.
There have been multiple World Cups, an away Ashes series and countless other events to keep us on the edge of our seats.
As we close out the year, it seems fitting to reminisce over the year that was and how those events were covered.
We’ve compiled the ten most read ABC Sport blogs from the last 12 months to remind you of the live events that captured your interest — and your hearts — in 2023.
From highs, to lows and every experience in between, here’s your top ten.
10. Australia retains the Ashes
It ended in a bit of a damp squib, as Manchester’s famous rain washed out the entire final day of the Old Trafford Test.
England only needed five wickets to secure a victory that would leave everything to play for at The Oval, while Australia still needed 61 runs to make England bat again.
However, the rain came down, washing out five of the final six sessions of play, including the entirety of the final day’s play, to secure a draw that saw the Aussies retain the Ashes.
Not much action to look back on in this one, but if you like the sound of myself and Jon Healy struggling to make rainfall sound interesting through the wee hours — you can re-live it here.
9. The Carey ‘incident’ at Lord’s
Yep, we’re still talking about it.
Alex Carey’s perfectly legitimate stumping of a dozy Jonny Bairstow got everyone talking across the cricketing world.
With all that, it’s almost easy to forget that Ben Stokes almost did a Headingley and blasted England to within touching distance of victory on an animosity-filled day in London.
Amidst a cacophony of boos, Stokes blasted a brilliant 155 only for England to fall short by 43 runs.
It is worth noting that once you added up every skerrick of ABC coverage that followed this night of action, the Bairstow stumping was the most-read about single sporting incident of the year.
And it was one of the most dramatic and incident-filled days of cricket in history — you can re-live all the drama here.
8. Matildas lose third-place playoff
A magical run that gripped the nation ultimately ended with something of a whimper.
An exhausted Matildas side was ultimately beaten by a Sweden team that has made something of a habit of picking up bronze medals at World Cups — this was their fourth in nine World Cups.
It was a sad way to finish what had been a thrilling journey, but all good things must come to an end.
Re-live the drama of the third-place playoff in Brisbane, here.
7. That non-catch at Lord’s
Glenn McGrath called it a “disgrace” and “ridiculous” and “the biggest load of rubbish that I have ever seen”.
But cricket’s rules were strictly adhered to as Mitchell Starc was denied a catch on the boundary that would have seen Ben Duckett dismissed on the stroke of stumps.
Because Starc slid on his knees with the ball on the ground, he was not in control of his body as he completed the catch.
If only that was the last controversy in that Test… You can re-live that blog here.
6. Lionesses end Matildas World Cup dreams
It was the most watched event in Australian television history, with more than 11 million people tuning in to the World Cup semifinal as Australia and England locked horns.
But, while so often Australia has come out on top in these contests across the sporting spectrum, this time it was the Lionesses that broke Australian hearts with a 3-1 victory in Sydney.
It was tough. It was heartbreaking. But we’ll always have Sam Kerr’s wonder strike that momentarily brought the Aussies back on level terms.
Re-live that match right here.
5. Captain Pat leads Australia to Edgbaston win
Edgbaston is a ground that is made for drama.
Arguably the greatest Test in history took place in England’s second city back in 2005, but this one surely rivalled it for drama. And this time Australia won.
Led by a tremendous unbeaten 44 from Pat Cummins, Australia chased down 281 runs to win with just two wickets to spare inside the final five overs of the day.
Take a look back at what was a stunning final day packed with drama, here.
4. Bye bye Victoria 2026
Australia has embraced the Commonwealth Games like no other over the course of it’s embattled history.
And with Victoria set to host in 2026 after the roaring success of the Gold Coast in 2018 and Birmingham in 2022, it was with huge excitement that Australia’s athletes embarked on the four year cycle to compete on home soil again.
But then the fiscal reality of hosting an event across as vast an area as regional Victoria hit home.
Look back at how Daniel Andrews broke the news to the Commonwealth right here.
3. Matildas beat Denmark
The World Cup quarterfinals beckoned for the Matildas after a nervy 2-0 victory against Denmark in Sydney.
Australia were, in truth, second best for long periods of the match, but that didn’t matter as Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso scored to send the Matildas through to a quarterfinal against France.
Earlier that day, there was real drama in Brisbane as England’s Lionesses had their own David Beckham-France ’98 moment when Lauren James incredibly stepped on Nigerian defender Michelle Alozie.
You can re-live all the action from both games right here.
2. Australia stuns India to win the Cricket World Cup
Australia has won a lot of Cricket World Cups — six of them, in fact. No other country has won more than two.
But surely there has been no victory better than that achieved inside the monstrous cauldron of Ahmedabad against the hosts and overwhelming favourites.
Travis Head was the hero, but in reality all 11 of the Aussies in their canary yellow kits stood tall against the force of will that stood against them, backed by a billion desperate fans across the country.
Here’s your chance to re-live one of the all time classic World Cup wins.
1. Matildas win classic shootout
One of the most gripping and dramatic moments in Australian sporting history.
A World Cup quarterfinal. A penalty shootout. A packed house at Brisbane’s Lang Park.
The entire nation held its breath through 20 excruciating spot kicks before Cortnee Vine held her nerve to dispatch France 7-6.
Special mentions
Tim Tszyu becomes a world champion: After agitating for a world title shot for so long, Tim Tszyu got his wish, being elevated from interim to full WBO super welterweight champion after Jermel Charlo ducked him one time too many. But that was only on paper, Tszyu needed a win to feel like a real champ, and he got it in a brutal 12-round war with American Brian Mendoza on the Gold Coast. Check out the full coverage of that contest here.
Travis Head leads Australia to the World Cup final: Before his heroics on the biggest night of all, cult hero Head was the star as Australia once again sent South Africa packing in a game that mattered. Proving once again he’s a man for the big moments, it was the perfect entree for what was to come in the final.
Collingwood defeats Brisbane in the AFL grand final: In one of the great grand finals in modern history, the team everyone loves to hate but also has a weird soft spot for at the moment saw of a Brisbane Lions team that unequivocally proved they belonged.
Day three of the Australian Open: Yep, specifically day three. Why? It’s not abundantly clear given it was a pretty stock standard Wednesday of action, but Rafael Nadal’s exit coupled with Australian Jason Kubler winning a 70-shot rally captured the imagination of the audience.
Spain wins the Women’s World Cup: Riding on the back of the Matildas, the World Cup final saw scores of readers turn out to watch Spain defeat England in final. The on-field action captured the imagination, before the infamous off-field behaviour of Luis Rubiales unfortunately stole the headlines away.
Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard escapes suspension: An interesting addition to the list, with hundreds of thousands of readers clicking into the blog to see how the AFL was going to handle Maynard’s controversial bump on Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw. Maybe it was the Collingwood factor. Maybe it was that everyone seemed to have an opinion on it. But either way, there was huge interest as Maynard was cleared of any wrongdoing.
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