TRENT Copeland - St George District Cricket Club life member and now seemingly an Ashes foreseer.
Prior to the final day of play in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Copeland predicted that Nathan Lyon would take six wickets and help Australia to victory.
That is exactly what happened.
Lyon, one of Copeland's New South Blues team-mates, claimed 6-49 to help Australia win the opening Test of an away Ashes series for the first time since 2001.
In recent years not only has Copeland been a spearhead of the NSW bowling attack in the Sheffield Shield, he has also been forging a career as a commentator.
His opinions have been much respected and many of them have been bold. Not only did he predict Lyon's heroics, he also heaped praise on Steve Smith.
Prior to Lyon's heroics, Smith notched up scores of 144 and 142. Those efforts saw him named man of the match.
"I'm calling a new nickname for Steve Smith - best since Bradman," Copeland said on radio.
"It's quite remarkable, I find it really hard to distinguish having played with him and grown up with him since he was a chubby little kid slogging Stuart Clark and Brett Lee out of the ground with ease to where he's got to now, just where he sits in the list of greats.
"Certainly no disrespect to the other legends of the game like Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh, it's just hard for me to distinguish it.
"The numbers really sing out that he's right up there, if not locked in at number two."
