OMG! (OH MY GOODNESS)

A little over 4 years ago it was Steve Glasson at the centre of a Controversial Commonwealth Games Selection and now we find ourselves in a similar situation with the omission of Australia's No.1 Ladies Player, Karen Murphy for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games!

Let's be fair here! It has been very well documented that the Team that competed in the Melbourne '06 Games proved to be the most successful Commonwealth Games Team for Australia in history securing 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze. Let's also be fair to say that as great as this achievement was, it could well have been better too however lets not go into the gory, behind the scenes stuff here.

In relation to the recent naming of the Commonwealth Games Team for India, the omission of Karen Murphy has left many, many players, supporters and bowls enthusiasts lost for words! Let's also be fair in this case and remember that the proof will be in the pudding! Sure we will all support the endeavors of our National Reps come October this year and celebrate in unison if and when they return home with a swag of Gold Medals.

However, should, (in particular), the girls team fall short of goals and expectations, then no doubt the decisions of our National Selection Panel will be vigorously placed under the microscope. (Or at least it should be)!

For example, have a look at an outline of Karen Murphy's more recent highlights on the greens.....

Australian Open Pairs winners 2009
Australian Open Triples Winners 2009
New South Wales Fours Winners 2009
New South Wales Pairs Winners 2009
Australian Indoor Singles Winner 2009
Black Douglas Singles 2009
New South Wales State Triples Winner 2009
Trans Tasman 2009
Asia Pacific Pairs Bronze Medalist 2009
Perth International Tournament Winners 2009
World Cup Singles Runner up 2009
Australian Championships Representation 2009
New South Wales test Match v ACT 2009

World Cup Singles Runner up 2010
Trans Tasman Representation 2010
Test Series v England Representation 2010
Australian Championships Representation 2010

Add to that a Gold Medal for Australia in the 4's in the 2008 World Championships, (only played every 4 years) and Karen's Gold Medal (alongside Lynsey Armitage) in the Pairs in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Pairs) plus an unbelievable 382 capped games for Australia.

Wow! That's a record that any one of us would die to have!

So, how do you leave a player out like this???

Well, here's one issue! Karen is now getting on in years and at her current age of 35, could probably be considered on the downhill run! (??????????????)

We could be without doubt of the realization that Karen Murphy is one of these rare individuals, truly a legend of her chosen sport! Kaz has dedicated the best part of her life to bowls! Karen has worked tirelessly off the green to ensure she is in the best possible shape to perform at the highest level and has done so for well over a decade and is responsible for so much success Australia has enjoyed! Some of her other attributes include the fact the she is highly motivated, a fierce and relentless competitor, extremely patriotic, a fantastic ambassador with a will to win like few others! (Just to name a few)!

All that can be said, no matter what the reason/s, we must hope everybody involved works diligently to ensure a successful campaign and that post Commonwealth Games, providing Karen is available and motivated, continues on and stays in the running to further represent us all in International Competitions! This is no consolation to Karen right now as we all know all too well how disappointed she is feeling!

To the Teams selected for India, we wish to reiterate everybody's best wishes for a safe, enjoyable, truly memorable and successful campaign in this year's Commonwealth Games!

Finally, we must make comment that being a selector is possibly the most difficult and thankless job and no matter what you do, be it the hard or easy decisions, there will always be those with a difference of opinion!

As a selector, if you choose to put your hand up, you must be willing to accept this and take it on the chin at times!

I guess we can all be thankful that we haven't had to select this team however would say that the decision to leave Karen Murphy (Aussie No.1 & World No.6) out of our team for Delhi is EXTREMELY CRUEL and we all hope for the success of the team and for all the right reasons, this will be justified in October 2010.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI