rs on the receiving end.RED ZONE: Both teams have had ball security issues in the red zone. The Hokies had three turnovers ins

Faf du Plessis style of batting is not for everyone. It is especially not for high-adrenaline, instant-gratification seekers, many of whom watch Test cricket and wonder why it does not play out more like T20.Leave, leave, block, edge, leave, leave, block.A strike rate below 50 after 100-odd balls is just being negative.Is Faf showing any intent to score runs?! I really cant see any positives in getting a 50 off 200 balls. Runs on the board, yes, but any other batsmen would have put the game to bed in that space of time. Add to that the boredom factor. Those were some of the comments that came into ESPNcricinfos very own commentary feedback. Du Plessis never looked as though he was batting freely, his strike rate only stuttered into life in the 15 balls he faced between 60 and 80 and finished on 47, and he had the biggest crowd of the series to entertain at his home ground but he could explain why he approached his innings with caution.When I score big runs in Test cricket, its when I play those gritty innings and mentally tire the opposition out, du Plessis said. I had to make sure I knuckle down to my gameplan and wait for the bowlers to bowl in my area.The pressure to post a decent score lay squarely at du Plessis door for a handful of reasons. He had gone two years and 16 innings without a century. He had been dropped because of that lack of form. He had been recalled as a stand-in captain for this series and was expected to lead from the front. He had underperformed in the first Test in Durban. And he said he knew that all South Africa needed was for someone to convert a start into a hundred to take control. As it turned out, he had to be that person.We needed one guy to anchor the innings and keep them out there for as long as possible, he said. The plan was to get to 400.After the start Stephen Cook and Quinton de Kock provided and the support from Hashim Amla, it was up to du Plessis to stretch the innings out as far as he could. In conditions where the ball moved and against bowlers who sprinkled their spells with unplayable deliveries, the only way for du Plessis to do that was to play within himself.In the same way as Dale Steyn does not want to go from zero to 200kph, du Plessis did not want to play all his shots. Not until the time was right. When du Plessis temporarily accelerated, it was when his former primary school-mate Neil Wagner was hurling down a succession of short balls. He got me going because he is aggressive, du Plessis said, while admitting that the history between them may also have played a role in the authority he wanted to assert.I didnt want to get out to anyone but I read last night that he was determined to get me out so maybe that made me determined not to get out to him, he said. I was just really focused on trying to value my wicket. I was trying to put a huge price on it.That is something du Plessis has become known for since he made his Test debut. In Adelaide in November 2012, he had a match to save, and in doing so showed a stickability he has revealed plenty of times since. As long as he has someone else to spice things up, it is not a bad quality to have.Usually, that person would be AB de Villiers, but that person could become JP Duminy. He was promoted to No.4 for the series and after he also answered his critics, he may be given more license to bat aggressively in future. We are trying to be more positive in our thinking and thats why we told JP he is batting four, du Plessis said. I see JP as a hugely talented batsman and we wanted to give him that confidence as a coach and captain that we back you and believe in you.Duminy fell 12 short of a century and du Plessis believes there is more to come from both of them in future. You can see when a guy is in good touch and he is playing positively and JP will be the first guy to say thats something he has changed. Hopefully this will be the start if a new JP. And for me, its important that I score hundreds so it was nice to get those runs and prove to my critics that I still belong here.Not everyone will like it but maybe not everyone has to.Fake Football Jerseys . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Football Jerseys China . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.cheapfootballjerseyscustom.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Football Jerseys 2020 Outlet .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Custom Football Jerseys 2020 . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead.Virginia Techs most lopsided victory in several years might have given the Hokies a bit of a swagger heading into this week, but then came some cautionary words about their not-so-stellar recent past against East Carolina.The Pirates (2-1) of the American Athletic Conference have won two straight against the Hokies, and six in a row against Atlantic Coast Conference competition. Thats more than enough to get the Hokies attention.Were about to face a great team, Hokies linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. I think it starts with us. We have to prepare this week, come out to practice each and every day, prepare like a team, prepare to go get a win.The Hokies beat Boston College 49-0 last week , and first-year Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said its not necessary to remind his players about the challenge the Pirates present because of the last two seasons. Ending the skid wont be easy, even at home.The Hokies have won just three of their last 10 home games against Power Five conference programs.This is a program with great tradition that has won a lot of games, he said of the Pirates. They have very good football players. When you watch them play, theyre athletic. Defensively theyre moving all over the place.The Pirates had 519 yards last week in their 20-15 loss at South Carolina .East Carolina also has a first-year coach in Scottie Montgomery, but he spent the last three years as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Duke, and the Blue Devils won two of three against the Hokies.Hell arrive with limited history against Fuente, but plenty against defensive coordinator Bud Foster.There is no one, as a coordinator, who has challenged us as much as he has, Montgomery said, adding that a veteran secondary seems to key this years team. This is a football team that can cover your receivers.---Some other things to look for when East Carolina vissits Virginia Tech:WHERES ZAY? ECUs Zay Jones last week had 22 receptions for 190 yards against the Gamecocks.dddddddddddd That left him one catch short of the FBS record for receptions in a game. He has 39 catches for 443 yards in three games, and just one touchdown this season, but has managed five touchdown receptions in each of his first three seasons and will present a challenge for the Hokies secondary.EVANS PROGRESS: QB Jerod Evans fumbled three times and had a snap go over his head for another turnovers in the Hokies first two games, and threw his first interception last week on a ball that Isaiah Ford juggled into the arms of a defender. But Evans has also thrown for 10 touchdowns, with six different players on the receiving end.RED ZONE: Both teams have had ball security issues in the red zone. The Hokies had three turnovers inside the opposing 10 yard-line in their first two games, and the Pirates had four inside the South Carolina 20 last week. Those plays can be deflating for the team preparing to score, but invigorating for the team that took it away.IGNORING HISTORY: The Hokies have not been very good at home against top flight competition in recent seasons, losing nine of their last 12 against East Carolina and Power Five conference teams. A poor start can silence the crowd quickly, so they either need to start strong or play with resolve if the early going isnt promising.STAMINA IN THE SUN: Both coaches come into games hoping to run a fast-paced offense with a lot of plays. The Pirates had 91 snaps from scrimmage at South Carolina last week, and the Hokies had 77 against the Eagles.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '