Englands selectors seemingly had two paths they could follow in filling the vacancy in the batting order for the first Test against Pakistan. They could have gone the x-factor route - throw convention out the window and recall Jos Buttler based on his limited-overs form - or reward heavy scoring in the County Championship.In the end they have done neither. Instead, they have recalled Gary Ballance who is now set to return to Test cricket for the first time since last years Ashes but in the middle order rather than at No. 3.Timing certainly appears to be everything. This week Ballance made 132 against a Middlesex attack that - it turns out - included two members of the Test squad, Steven Finn and Toby Roland-Jones, which followed 78 against Durham the match before. Scott Borthwick, heavily tipped a few weeks ago, made his third single-figure score in his last three Championship innings.Still, Borthwick has 585 runs at 58.50 with three hundreds this season and Ballance 471 runs at 33.64. Ballance was the spare batsman in South Africa, but he was not deemed ready for a recall against Sri Lanka earlier this season, instead James Vince filling the middle-order spot created by James Taylors retirement.Selection, though, is more than about the numbers on a page. What he does have is that hard edge, Alastair Cook said. Gary is mentally strong, added national selector James Whitaker. That cannot be doubted. On debut he stood up to Mitchell Johnsons pace at the SCG and in his next Test, against Sri Lanka at Lords, reached his maiden century with a six in the final over of the day.Blooding an uncapped batsman against Pakistans attack would have brought its own risks; this was the conundrum England had left themselves after the gamble to stick with Nick Compton - while it was not without reason - backfired as he limped through the Sri Lanka series. Ballance knows the Test game and should not be overawed by the occasion; a test of technique more so than temperament.And it was not as though the runs had completely dried up when he was left out after the second Test against Australia last summer. The match before, he made a vital 61 on the opening day in Cardiff, in a potentially series-defining partnership, to help England recover from their early wobble and set up what would be a match-winning total.Yet nagging doubts remain, particularly because of the make-up of Pakistans attack. It was the full length and late movement of New Zealands Trent Boult which began Ballances problems - removing him three times in four innings - and over the next few weeks he will face Mohammad Amir and, most likely, Wahab Riaz which will provide him with a similar challenge.The selectors could have reinvented the thinking of Test selection by recalling Buttler without any first-class cricket since October but ultimately have stuck with convention and decided he needs some red-ball matches. Even with this squad there are rumblings about the value of County Championship runs with the leading scorers around the country ignored, so skipping the system completely would have raised further questions. The narrative now divides with the spotlight remaining on Jonny Bairstows glovework while Buttler returns to domestic cricket for Lancashire.Trevor Bayliss has got his way over the No. 3 spot with Joe Root being elevated. He would want to do it, Bayliss said a few days ago. Alastair Cook revealed he had a few beers with Root after the Sri Lanka series and that he was keen to make the move. There is no reason why Root, one of the most adaptable batsmen in the world, should not be able to make a success of first drop. It makes more sense for him to be there than Vince, who had a lean series against Sri Lanka and could soon be the under-pressure batsman in the side.But there remains a sense of uncertainty around the Test top order. In the last four series there have been significant changes; Ballance dropped in the Ashes, Bairstow for Buttler in the UAE, Compton and Taylor in for South Africa, Vince called up against Sri Lanka and now back to Ballance. England will hope that by the end of this series there is a bit more clarity, although Amir and Yasir Shah may have something to say about that. Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Cheap Nike College Jerseys .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. http://www.cheapjerseysnike.com/ . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Cheap Nike Football Jerseys . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. FRANKFURT, Germany -- Robert Lewandowski began the season with a hat trick, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a brace. From round one, the two most prolific Bundesliga strikers have been seeking to outdo each other.They picked up right where they left off -- Lewandowski topped the Bundesliga last season with 30 goals and helped Bayern win an unprecedented fourth consecutive title. Aubameyang finished with 25 goals for Borussia Dortmund.They will square off again on Saturday, when Dortmund hosts Bayern in one of the highlight matches of the season that some are calling the Bundesliga classico, borrowing its name from the Real Madrid-Barcelona showdowns in Spain.Playing in Dortmund is the best game in the Bundesliga, Bayern forward Thomas Mueller said. Its the toughest match to win.Lewandowski and Aubameyang appear friendly, although they could not be more different, at least in looks. The clean-cut Lewandowski is all about understatement, while the flamboyant Aubameyang is clearly enjoying money and fame, with his clothes attracting as many headlines as his goals. They swap friendly messages on Twitter and embrace warmly before matches. On the pitch, they share the same hunger for goals.The two played together on the 2013-14 Dortmund squad and combined for 31 goals, before Lewandowski moved to Bayern. Since then, Lewandowski has scored four goals against his old team and is unbeaten in the league. In 204 Bundesliga matches, he has 128 goals.Aubameyang, one of the speediest forwards in the Bundesliga, has 65 goals in 105 matches.Before the international break, Aubameyang trumped Lewandowski by scoring four goals against Hamburg for a share of the league lead with 11 goals.dddddddddddd. Lewandowski has seven.The huge performance came after Aubameyang had been suspended by his club for an unauthorized private trip to Milan before a Champions League match against Sporting. Aubameyang sat out that match and then returned in a big way, embracing with coach Thomas Tuchel after scoring.The match provides many story lines: the return of defender Mats Hummels to Dortmund for the first time since his move to Bayern; the first match of Mario Goetze against Bayern since his return to Dortmund after three unremarkable seasons in Munich; Bayerns Renato Sanches possibly playing against Raphael Guerreiro, his teammate from Portugals squad that won the European Championship in France this summer.Bayern drew its last match, against Hoffenheim, and has been caught on points by newcomer Leipzig.Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to have winger Franck Ribery back from injury, while Tuchel can count again on forward Marco Reuss, who has been out since May with a groin injury.After signing eight new players and releasing five, Dortmund was always going to be in a transition season with a young squad. It can rely on Aubameyangs goals and has scored a league-high 25 but the defense has been inconsistent. Dortmund, however, is unbeaten in 26 home matches.A Bayern defeat would not only be a loss of prestige, but could also mean falling behind surging Leipzig, which has won five straight. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '