Pirate Galaxy » rly on despite interest from other schoo

If England go on to lose this series, they may well look back on the first day of this Test as the time it slipped away.It was hard to fault them in Visakhapatnam. Yes, they might have batted better on day two and, yes, they missed a key (though tough) chance on day one. But they were minor moments in a game in which the opposition took advantage of winning an important toss.Here England had every opportunity. They not only won a toss that should have proved every bit as important but they benefited from some poor fielding from India that had reprieved the highest run-scorer in Test cricket this year (Jonny Bairstow) and the highest run-scorer in Englands Test history (Alastair Cook). They should have punished such profligacy. They should have established a match-defining platform.Instead, they will start day two scrapping to remain in the game.That they have any chance of doing so is largely due to two facts: the sustained fine form of Bairstow and a pitch that has already misbehaved a little - Haseeb Hameed was dismissed by a delivery that reared and Chris Woakes by one that kept a little low - and may well deteriorate. Perhaps Englands total is not quite as modest as it appears at first glance.England will know, though, that they have allowed India a strong foothold in this game that they might have denied. And they will know that they squandered the chance to record a substantial first-innings total through some unnecessarily aggressive batting.We have to be careful with criticising Englands batting. We cannot praise them for their bold approach when the aggressive strokes land in the stands and chastise them for their carelessness when the same strokes land in hands. We cannot judge just by results.So Cook, for example, cannot be faulted for his shot selection. The ball that dismissed him was short. He was right to try and cut it. He simply executed the shot poorly. He should still play that shot the next time he faces the same type of delivery. He should do it better. He will know that.But some of the other batsmen need to ask themselves: what was the hurry? What was the necessity for Ben Stokes, who had been playing so straight and with such discipline, to skip down the pitch and even bring the possibility of a stumping into the equation? What was the necessity for Jos Buttler, who had done the hard work in reaching an increasingly assured 43, to skip down the pitch and try and drive through extra cover?Why did Joe Root, whose best Test innings (arguably, at least) came at Old Trafford earlier this year, when he demonstrated his denial as much as his strokeplay, think that he should pull the first delivery he received from a spinner before lunch on the first day, when he had not had time to assess the surface?The answer, as so often, is that England had decided to take the attack to the bowlers. They had decided not to let them settle and to be positive. They have embraced the modern approach - especially visible in Australia where attitude has largely replaced technique - that, to be successful in Test cricket, you dont just have to score runs, you have to score them fast.It is an error. While long-form cricket survives, there will always be a place for accumulation. The balls not played will always be as important as the balls that are. The likes of Cook will continue be as valuable as the likes of Stokes. There will always be a place for denial and discipline and determination. There are times when England have to dare to be dour, dare to be dull, dare to be different.As Bairstow put it: Grinding out the runs was something that we had to do. Its just that too few of them did it.England have to learn that there are different way to gain the upper hand on a bowler. One of them, no doubt, is to score at four an over. Another is to make them bowl for five or six sessions. Success doesnt have to be rushed. Erosions impact tends to last longer than a storms.This was, in some ways, an oddly low-quality day of Test cricket. After all, two of Englands top three were dismissed by long-hops and some of Indias fielding was more Monty than Jonty. We had deliveries that bounced twice before reaching the batsmen and deliveries that were so wide the keeper had no chance.All of which prompted the thought: might, by 2025, the best Test side be the one whose long-from cricket has deteriorated least quickly? Might it be the side who exhibit the fewest characteristics of T20? And, if so, will anyone want to watch them?Modern Test cricket is wonderfully entertaining. It may never have been more so. But is it as high quality as it once was? On days like this, it doesnt seem so. On days like this, it seems more circus than theatre. Air Max 720 Womens . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. Nike Air Max Plus Wholesale . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. 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The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Q: What has 30 legs, weighs 1? tons and cant decide whether to put Vegemite or jelly on its toast?A: The Saint Marys College mens basketball team.The pipeline of basketball talent from Australia to Moraga, California, has been gushing for 15 years, and its not likely to stop anytime soon. Following in the footsteps of NBA veterans Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, seven Aussies are members of the current Gaels team -- a program that has boasted at least one player from Australia every season since Randy Bennett became head coach in 2001. Seventeen Aussies have seen game action for the Gaels over the years.The discovery of future No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Andrew Bogut at the Australian Institute of Sport in the early 2000s greatly raised the profile of Aussie players with American recruiters. After Bogut signed on at the University of Utah, other colleges began recruiting Australia in hopes of finding another big man with soft hands and smooth footwork. At the same time, Saint Marys began developing talent at other positions with players such as Mills, a guard who drew little interest from rival schools.Everyone then was asking, Where did this Andrew Bogut come from? Mills said. He came from the AIS. So then all the college scouts came to the AIS for the next couple years, trying to find the next Andrew Bogut. I definitely wasnt a 7-foot-1 big white guy.Bennett forged a relationship with AIS and its head coach at the time, Marty Clarke. AIS was in the business of training athletes for Australias national teams, and most of the Aussies who have played at Saint Marys are AIS alumni. Clarke went on to serve as head coach of the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL, Australias top pro league, and as an assistant with the countrys national team. Hes now entering his fourth season as an assistant to Bennett at Saint Marys. Clarke still remembers Bennett telling him that it was a goal for Saint Marys to help develop an Olympic player for Australia -- something that came to fruition when Mills competed for the Boomers at Beijing in 2008.No other college coach had spoken like that, Clarke said. It was more about them talking about how the kid could help the school -- not how the school could help the kid. That really stuck in my mind. Its hard to recruit Australia, because there isnt lots and lots of high-end talent. Theres a lot of good players that maybe just dont have the raw athleticism that high-level Division I schools need.Fast forward to 2016: Now, the Gaels are getting the best of both worlds -- skilled guards in the mold of Mills and Dellavedova and big men to hold down the post, with four Aussies 6-foot-9 or taller on the current roster. And theres no reason to believe the connection that started with guard Adam Caporn in 2001 will end anytime soon. Saint Marys went 29-6 last season and has won more than 20 games in each of the past nine seasons. Thats heady stuff for a program that was 2-27 the season prior to Bennetts arrival.Where would the Saint Marys program be without its Aussie connection?I doubt we wouldve gotten to where we are now, said Bennett, who took Gaels teams to Australia for summer tours in 2005, 2009 and 2013. We stumbled upon it, and then we figured out, Hey, this is a good deal. And then we startted making sure we built our program with Australia involved in it.dddddddddddd.Indeed, many Aussies have been pillars of Bennetts program. Dellavedova and Daniel Kickert rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in career points at the school. Mills was a two-time All-West Coast Conference performer and remains the only Gael selected in the NBA draft since 1983. Emmett Naar and Dane Pineau were the top scorer and rebounder, respectively, on last seasons team.Mills was the tipping point for the Aussie connection, as more and more Gaels games were featured on Australian television during his two seasons at Saint Marys. After Mills elevated the programs status Down Under, Dellavedova cemented it by rewriting the schools record book.In addition to being the Gaels all-time leading scorer, Delly also owns the career marks for games played and started, assists, 3-point field goals made and free throw percentage. He helped the Gaels earn three NCAA tournament berths and was named All-WCC three times in four years.Typically, Australians arent into the hype and all that other stuff that might be presented in the recruiting process, Dellavedova said, explaining Saint Marys appeal to his countrymen. At the bigger schools, they might show you the facilities or the massive stadiums. But at Saint Marys, they talk more about how theyre going to develop you as a player and as a person. I think thats something that appeals to Australians, and we like the close, tight-knit community where everybody knows each other.Said Bennett: They dont have a basketball hierarchy the same way as the kids in the United States do. Saint Marys to them is just as good as going to Duke.Looking ahead to this season, which tips off for Saint?Marys on Friday against Nevada, Pineau and Naar hope to power the Gaels back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since Dellavedova led them there in 2013. Saint Marys is ranked No. 19 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and is once again expected to battle Gonzaga for the WCC championship.Pineau, a 6-foot-9 senior forward from Melbourne, started closely following the Gaels when Mills was on the team and said he had his heart set on Saint Marys pretty early on despite interest from other schools. Pineau then helped secure Naar, a 6-foot-1 junior guard from Sydney. Like Pineau, his former AIS roommate, Naar was influenced by Mills success.He wasnt the first Australian to come here, but he was the first big name, Naar said of Mills. Having an Australian come over, play two years and get drafted is pretty exceptional. That put his name out there and really put Saint Marys on the map.Meantime, the talent keeps coming across the Pacific to Northern California. The connection remains strong with the AIS basketball program, now known as the Centre of Excellence, which just happens to employ Caporn as an associate coach. Two of the Gaels incoming freshmen this year are from Australia, and the schools womens team lists three players from Australia and one from New Zealand this season.Its just a place that feels like your home away from home, Mills said. Thats definitely what it was like for me. ' ' '