TRUNKS OF TREE-MENDOUS THOUGHTS

TRUNKS OF TREE-MENDOUS THOUGHTS

There is a stereotypical picture of education in Africa, that of youngsters sitting under a tree. It is, of course, a picture totally out of date and out of place, though it could easily and rightfully be pointed out that education can still happen under a tree;...
ON THE BALL WHEN OFF THE BALL

ON THE BALL WHEN OFF THE BALL

WHEN Astroturf pitches were introduced to hockey back in the early 1980s, surveys were done measuring how much time the ball was in play in international matches on grass pitches compared to Astroturf pitches, with some staggering figures. On grass the ball was in...
HONOURING HONOUR 

HONOURING HONOUR 

Every now and then we hear sportspeople announcing their retirement from international sport,  while they declare they are continuing to play for their club – the great Indian cricketer MS Dhoni  was one of the latest to do so last year though he will...
OUT OF BOUNCE 

OUT OF BOUNCE 

“The wonderful thing about Tiggers,” as any parent who has read AA Milne’s Winnie The Pooh  stories to his child (or watched the Disney films) will know, “is Tiggers are wonderful things”. Tigger  lives with his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood and bounces...
PLAYING ADVANTAGE  

PLAYING ADVANTAGE  

Prior to the 1980s, international hockey matches were played on grass but thereafter all  international matches (and subsequently all league matches) were played on the synthetic Astroturf  pitches, where the ball ran smoother and players were less likely to...