DieBruderschaft.com

The reaction to defeat at Lords speaks volumes for the febrile atmosphere in English cricket at present.With a couple of newspapers calling for the selectors to be sacked, you would think defeat at Lords, or defeat against Pakistan, was an unprecedented disaster. But actually England lost at Lords in 2015 and 2014 and Pakistan beat them 2-0 barely six months ago.So quite why the defeat at Lords has caused such shock is puzzling. Pakistan are a fine side with, arguably, the best bowling attack in the world. They are rated above England in the rankings and Lords (and The Oval and Manchester) offer England little home advantage. Anyone surprised by Pakistan playing well - or Englands batting looking fragile - really hasnt been paying attention.The consternation over the absence of James Anderson is puzzling, too. The decision not to risk him at Lords - a not unreasonable decision bearing in mind he had yet to play a game after sustaining a shoulder injury - was not responsible for the defeat. Englands na?ve batting, as Alastair Cook termed it, was.Its certainly not a selection fiasco in the grand traditions of English cricket. Take the Major Nigel Bennett episode, for example. Major Bennett popped into The Oval in 1946 to renew his county membership after the war, but was mistaken for Major Leo Bennet - who had represented the British Empire XI during the war - and offered the captaincy. He took up the offer before anyone realised a mistake had been made and went on to lead Surrey to what was, at the time, the worst season in their history. He averaged 16 with the bat.Still, Andersons return to the squad - he bowled in the nets on Wednesday and looks fully fit - is welcome. So, too, is Ben Stokes, who admitted he required the bowling he gained in the Championship match he played against Lancashire instead of the first Test to regain match fitness. Both of them are highly likely to play though the selectors have given the captain and coach - a coach, it should be remember, who has barely seen a weeks county cricket in his life - every option with an unusually large 14-man squad.With Stokes and Woakes available as allrounders, England have plentiful options here. One of those is to field a second spinner (Saqlain Mushtaq worked with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in training on Wednesday) and either drop one of the batsmen (probably James Vince, but perhaps Gary Ballance) or play only three of Stokes, Woakes, Anderson and Stuart Broad.Bearing in mind Pakistans excellence against spin and Englands record of success fielding a two-man spin attack in home Tests - they have not won a game in England using a two-man spin attack since 1985 - and that looks both an unwise and unlikely scenario. England have only fielded a two-man spin attack at home six times in the last 20 years. The last time - at The Oval in 2013 - saw Simon Kerrigans unfortunate debut. The time before that was in 2009 when Monty Panesar helped James Anderson bat England to what had seemed an unlikely draw against Australia in Cardiff.It seems more likely that England will pick the four-man seam attack with one spinner. Whether that is Rashid or Moeen remains to be seen, though Rashid does look the favourite at this stage. Pakistan look likely to play only one spinner though, as Stokes remarked on Wednesday, Yasir may well be the best legspinner since Shane Warne.As well as a few Lancashire players, Glen Chapple and Steve Rhodes attended England training on Wednesday with a view to taking coaching tips back to their counties. Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, will again bowl in the nets on Thursday (he was with the England squad at Lords) and Mason Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, will do the same at The Oval. The England camp also hope to continue to engage with former players and create situations where they can pass on their tips to the current team. Andy Caddick is expected to speak to the squad at Edgbaston and Darren Gough will do so later in the summer.Although the outfield at Old Trafford is not especially pretty - the result of staging lucrative Rihanna and Beyonce concerts here in recent weeks - the pitch is expected to be good. It should offer some pace, bounce and spin as the surface wears; in short, it should reward good cricket.Lancashire played two spinners in their last Championship match here. One of them - Parkinson - took a five-wicket haul in the first innings. The groundstaff are using the cannabis hot lamps we have seen previously at Edgbaston to promote grass growth on the outfield (either that or they have moved into a most unorthodox sideline) but, unless heavy rain hits, it should only be a cosmetic problem. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Tim-Williams-Jersey/ . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Customized/ . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Terrell-Suggs-Jersey/ . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Albert-Mcclellan-Jersey/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Chris-Wormley-Jersey/ . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin understands the negativity associated with a four-game slide and stressed his underachieving team would do its best to absorb it and move forward.Its a path theyll have to travel without Cam Heyward. The defensive end and co-captain is out for the rest of the season with an upper-body injury suffered in Sundays loss to Dallas.Heyward posted a message on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon indicating his 2016 season is over.My role will change as I can not play but it will not change the goals the team has set out, Heyward wrote .Maybe, but the loss of their most consistent defensive player will make achieving those goals far tougher.While Heyward didnt specify the exact nature of the injury, Tomlin described it as a pectoral or chest problem. Heyward was examined on Monday and received a second opinion on Tuesday before making the announcement.My patience will be tested, but I look forward to 2017, Heyward wrote. My hand will remain in the pile no matter what!The loss of Heyward deals Pittsburghs already struggling defense with another significant blow. He missed the first two games of his six-year career in October when he tweaked his left hamstring in a win over the New York Jets on Oct. 9.The Steelers run defense collapsed without Heyward, giving up 204 yards to Miamis Jay Ajayi and 127 to New Englands LeGarrette Blount , games that started a midseason swoon.Heyward returned against Baltimore on Nov. 6 and the defense seemed to make significant strides against the Ravens and held Dallas rookie Ezekiel Elliott largely in check last Sunday before giving up a pair of touchdown runs in the final two minutes of a 35-30 setback that left Heyward fuming and led quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to call out some of his teammates for a lack of discipline.Not exactly the kind of chatter the Steelers expected to be generating in mid-November.Tomlin understands the frustration of his players. At the same time, he believes emotions are not as important as results.Were not doing enough of the good things well enough to win on a consistent basis, Tomlin said. Weve got to change that. We still feel very comfortable that were capable of being a good football team. But those (hurt) feelings are lesss important .dddddddddddd.. than wins.A feeling the Steelers havent experienced in more than a month. While a potential reprieve awaits at winless Cleveland (0-10) on Sunday, the way Pittsburgh has played of late -- particularly on the road, where it is 1/3 -- doesnt exactly have Tomlin brimming with optimism.This is the third losing streak of at least four games during Tomlins tenure. The Steelers dropped five straight in 2009 and four straight in 2013. Both years Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs.Missing out on the postseason seemed farfetched during a 4-1 start, but the Steelers have been so lifeless, careless or both recently that sitting at home in mid-January has become a very real possibility.The tape says there are not enough people doing the right things on a consistent basis, Tomlin said.A couple of his stars included. Though wide receiver Antonio Brown caught 14 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys, he also was meekly pushed out of bounds at the Dallas 20 on the games final play rather than flipping the ball back into the field hoping for an unlikely score.Tomlin understands the odds of the ball somehow winding up in the end zone following a series of laterals are slim. Slim, though, is better than none.At the end of the game Id like to see us stay inbounds and see us fight and claw and scratch, Tomlin said.Something Pittsburgh will try to do without Heyward, who has embraced the role as the vocal leader of a defense in transition. Its telling both of Heywards effort and Pittsburghs issues getting to the quarterback that his 3.0 sacks lead the team even though he missed two full games and the part of another.My support for this team will only grow, Heyward wrote, and I look forward in watching this team grow and fight on.Game notes LB Steve Johnson (ankle) was placed on injured reserve. Pittsburgh added linebacker L.J. Fort to the 53-man roster. ... WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) is out against the Browns. ... The availability of WR Markus Wheaton (shoulder) will be determined later in the week.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '