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Bulawayo and Kandy have more in common than you may suspect. They are both their respective countries second cities; they are both the sites of former kingdoms - the Kandyan in Kandy, the Butua in Bulawayo - and electricity has been a subject of discussion in both places. In Kandy, the talk was about why the lights stayed off at the Pallekele International Stadium during the Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia; in Bulawayo, its about how ZESA, the national power authority, managed to keep the lights on this winter after severe load-shedding last year.But there is one thing that is not the same: Zimbabwe, who were bowled out for 164 in the first innings against New Zealand, could not mount the same fightback as Sri Lanka, who were dismissed for 117 against Australia. Why?There are the obvious reasons, which were feared before the series, and have been discussed on each of the three days so far. Zimbabwes players dont get enough game time, not even in first-class cricket, and they dont have a deep enough player pool to fulfill all the requirements of a winning team. They also dont have a financially stable board, or many solid structural plans to back them, but Sri Lanka have managed to rise above that and, on occasion, Zimbabwe have, too.Then, there are the less glaring factors to take into consideration; the ones that the modern age and its instant lifestyle cause us to forget even though they may still be relevant today. Put simply: competing properly in Test cricket takes a bloody long time.Sri Lanka played their first Test 34 years ago, in 1982. Since then, they have competed in 249 matches. Zimbabwe played their first Test ten years after that, in 1992, and have only had 98 matches since then. Of those, Zimbabwe have won 11. In Sri Lankas first 98 Tests, played over a period of 18 years, they won 18.The evidence suggests the so-called smaller Test nations need several decades before they can develop the consistency of bigger ones. Even New Zealand, who first played in 1930, took 45 matches before they won their first Test, only won seven of their 98 Tests, and have only recently begun what is considered a steady improvement.Perhaps, Zimbabwe can be forgiven for how long it is taking them to get things right, but that may not take away from the focus on their personnel. While Sri Lanka seem to find players who become match-winners - Kusal Mendis and Lakshan Sandakan are their latest - Zimbabwe have an oversupply of what seem to be middling cricketers. Perhaps, conditions in Sri Lanka allow for the development of more specialised skills than those in Zimbabwe, where pitches tend to follow a trend of slow, low and unexciting, and produce a glut of batsmen with averages in the 20s, part-time spinners and medium-pacers.Zimbabwe dont have players who bamboozle and blaze, but slowly, they are finding a small selection of those with quiet determination. Look at Brian Chari. With a first-class average of 20.89, he may not come off as an immediate candidate for a Test call-up, but in the absence of regular openers Vusi Sibanda and Tino Mawoyo, and on the back of a 98 against South Africa A, he was selected and then asked to do much more than he would have expected.Chari, who hadnt kept wickets in his two Tests prior to this, had to take over after Regis Chakabva took ill. He had to do it for 166.5 overs, over more than five sessions. He had to stand up to Graeme Cremer, who was turning the ball out of the footmarks. He made a few mistakes and missed a few chances but, for a first-timer, he did an adequate job. And then, just when he thought he could put his feet up, he was called in to bat in the first over, when his senior-most team-mate, Hamilton Masakadza, was dismissed cheaply for the second time. Its hardly surprising Chari could not cope with a Boult inswinger and left a bat-pad gap for the ball to find his off stump, and even less so that Masakadza lauded his effort.A lot of credit to him for the way he has carried himself. He has never kept before, and to have kept the way he did for a day-and-a-half really showed a lot of heart, Masakadza said.Zimbabwe also dont have the old hands like Herath, but if they can hang on to their players with experience, they have some who are willing to take responsibility. Their captain, Graeme Cremer, bowled 35 overs on the second day, including 26 in one spell, and Masakadza himself is an example. He was visibly pained at the post-play press conference when he spoke about his own failure in this match, and its clear his underperformance is weighing on him. My biggest disappointment is the way I got out in the first innings. Its still playing on my mind. I was set and I could have dragged the innings a little deeper. As a senior player, its never easy to take when things go awry, he said.Where Zimbabwe get it wrong is that the energy of youth and the wisdom from their experienced players rarely have the kind of meeting Mendis and Herath had in Kandy. They dont fire as a collective unit. Sometimes, that is because theyre not playing in the same team. Sibanda or Mawoyo, for example, could have been the perfect foil for Chari. Tinashe Panyanagara or Tendai Chatara would have complemented Michael Chinouya. Injuries have been mostly to blame for them missing each other, circumstance and selection may also be the cause.Some curious picks in Zimbabwes squad, which did not seem to be based on first-class numbers or recent form, and a recent change in coach and captain have meant Zimbabwe are unsettled in every way. Compare that to New Zealand, who are set to have Mike Hesson at the helm until 2019, a stint of seven years, and who enjoyed a smooth transition from Brendon McCullum to Kane Williamson, and its clear why the hosts are playing in such helter-skelter fashion and the visitors in entirely the opposite.Zimbabwe almost beat New Zealand at this venue five years ago. That they are being so badly outplayed now is a sign both of how much they have slipped since then and of how much New Zealand have progressed. If Zimbabwe hope to turn Bulawayo into Kandy one day, they have to find a way to close that gap. Air Jordan 1 Australia . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Cheap Air Max 97 Australia . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/cheap-air-max-270-fake.html . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Nmd Outlet Store . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Cheap Jordan 1 Australia . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Top-ranked Duke bounced back from its loss to Kansas by beating Penn State, but watched another player go down with an injury.Freshman Frank Jackson led five players in double figures with 17 points and Amile Jefferson added 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils to a 78-68 win Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.Sophomore Chase Jeter rolled his left ankle in the first half and didnt return.Tony Carr had 20 points and Shep Garner added 15 to lead Penn State (2-2).Jeter went down under the Penn State basket while going for a rebound. The 6-foot-10 sophomore was on the floor for several minutes before being helped off the court. His injury came minutes after Grayson Allen left the game, favoring the right foot he hurt in the recent loss to Kansas.Allen went back to the locker room, but returned to the floor a few minutes later. He finished with 12 points and needs just three more to become the 65th Duke player with 1,000 points for his career.Matt Jones and Luke Kennard added 15 points each for Duke.Were banged up more than any team Ive ever coached, said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. Before the game and then during the game. I mean, Amile has been hurt this week. He has 15 rebounds and 16 points.Despite the injuries, the Blue Devils went on an early 13-2 run that turned a tie game into a 21-10 lead. They led 36-24 at the half, despite some poor shooting from Allen and Kennard, who were a combined 4-15 from the floor. But Jackson picked up the slack, scoring 11 of his points before intermission.To be able to have the next man up, coach does a good job motivating us, Jones said. We didnt come to Duke to lose, be second fiddle or bow down to anybody. We know what were capable of and everyone on that sideline can help. That confidence that is instilled in us, takes us to where we need to go.A 3-point play by Allen stretched the lead to 64-51 midway through the second half.Penn State trailed 72-57 wiith just under 5 minutes to play, but went on a 9-2 run before the Blue Devils closed out the game.dddddddddddd.Dukes short bench outscored Penn States 19-5.BIG PICTUREDuke: Jeters injury further depletes a Blue Devils team that is still without three highly touted freshmen -- Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden -- as well as junior Sean Obi. They may have just seven players available for Sundays championship game. Krzyzewski pegged Jeters status for the game as doubtful.I know if he can play, he will play, Krzyzewski said. Were going to try and win. We would like to win.Penn State: The Nittany Lions are using the tournament as a measuring stick to see how the young team stacks up against top-level competition. This was the programs first game against a No. 1 ranked team since 2011, and theyre now 0-14 in those games.We took another step today, said coach Patrick Chambers. We got better. And thats our goal Just keep getting better. Its a process thats going to take some time, but were going to eventually get there.POLL IMPLICATIONSDuke was No. 1 in the preseason poll and the first voting of the regular season, but likely will fall a few spots after its loss to Kansas. How far may depend on how they do in this tournament.PERIMETER DEFENSEDuke held Penn State to six 3-point baskets on 21 attempts. Thats not a fluke. The Blue Devils held their first three opponents under 15 percent from the outside and were giving up fewer than three 3-pointers a game coming into the tournament. Duke was 9 for 24 from 3-point range.UP NEXTDuke will play either Cincinnati or Rhode Island in the tournaments championship game Sunday afternoon.Penn State will play the loser of the second game in the tournaments consolation game.----More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '