Watching Cori Gauff play at Wimbledon takes me back to the 15-year-old me who crammed for her exams, got tense before her assignments, but also took permission to skip classes just so she could catch a train to the neighbouring city to take part in a tennis tournament. I take one look at Gauff and I wish I was 15 again. I wish I played with sharper intent.

When you think of fortresses, you’d imagine them to be impenetrable. At the French Open, Nadal has been able to achieve that. You couldn’t say that with the same authority for Roger Federer and Wimbledon.

The rise of the West Indies as a T20 superpower has been detrimental for the other formats. They can play the big shots, but they cannot sustain for 50 overs. Their World Cup, and indeed all future successes, hinge on the team finding the fine balance between aggression and restraint.

I still remember what it was like on 25 June, 1983, the day India beat West Indies to win its maiden cricket World Cup, an odd thing to say about an event that occurred before one’s lifetime. But pieced together from anecdotes told over innumerable lunches, I know exactly how it all happened.

When something is repeated over and over again, it starts gaining credence. Today, South Africa’s World Cup “curse” is something every youngster coming in with dreams in his eyes, just has to deal with and accept. Maybe it has even become a part of the country’s sporting psyche that cannot be shaken off, no matter what happens.

In their Nottingham fixture against Australia at the ongoing World Cup, Bangladesh lost the game, but won over even more hearts with their spirited display. Today, the Tigers have shed the minnow tag and enter the field as equals no matter who their opponents are.

We are witnessing the decline of a cricketing legacy. India versus Pakistan was the crucible in which superstars were forged. Javed Miandad’s last-ball six and Venkatesh Prasad knocking off Aamer Sohail’s off stump is the stuff of legends. Without the biting rivalry, cricket is poorer.

Does largest stage in world cricket have place for an aging legend, or is the gentleman’s game the domain of young men at this elite level? The older players at the tournament keep fighting, for pride, for their dreams, and to prove the critics wrong.

In a testosterone-filled environment, the women of IPL stand out – anchors, journalists, producers, the wives and girlfriends of players. Everyone fights a stereotype. We deflect low-key sexual harassment – flirtatious advances, late-night calls in your hotel room – to stay in the game.