On today's episode of The Almanack Report, England's resurgent efforts in Test cricket thanks to the so-dubbed 'Bazball' came crashing down around them during the week as they suffered an innings defeat against the underrated South African team. As a result they have gone from media darlings to media dogma in the space of a week. But was it just because of poor execution, as skipper Ben Stokes explained it, or were they out-Bazballed by the onset of Bouchball? The discussion today will highlight some of my thoughts on the match, and what the future may hold as we approach next week's 2nd Test.

As well as this, Brisbane hosted Melbourne in two football codes on Friday night, with both matches following a similar path and similar fortunes for all teams involved. And then on Saturday, in the NRL, these two teams next opponents had scintillating victories that had overzealous media types suggesting they were back in the premiership race because of their large wins over flaccid opposition. We discuss the situation and try to separate the hype from reality.

All of that coming up on today's edition of The Almanack Report, on the podcast that plays KiamaKollapseBall, Thoughts from the Metal Cavern.