Pirate Galaxy » Stuffs good, velocitys good and comm

They have kissed some frogs along the way, but it looks as if England may have found their prince.It wasnt just Haseeb Hameeds runs that impressed. And it wasnt just the uncomplicated technique. It was, most of all, the composure of a 19-year-old dealing with the pressure of playing his first Test against the No. 1 rated side in their own country. If he had any nerves, he didnt show them.The basic facts are these: Hameed has become the first England opener to make a half-century on debut since Alastair Cook in 2006. He has become the third youngest man (after Jack Crawford and Denis Compton) to make a half-century in Test cricket for England (and the second youngest opener, after Crawford) and, if he makes 38 more runs on the final day, he will be the first England opener to make a century on debut since Cook and the youngest England Test centurion of all time.While the scorecard hardly suggests it, his runs were made under some pressure. With England starting their second innings just 49 runs ahead of India and the pitch starting to show signs of modest deterioration, any early wickets could have resulted in a serious case of jitters in the England dressing room. Offering a little more turn and a little more uneven bounce, this is no longer the genial-natured pitch on which five men have recorded centuries this match. These were not soft runs.So while Cook (who is said by the England camp to be in robust good health despite a couple of spells off the field, an uncharacteristic drop at slip and another scratchy display with the bat) prodded and poked as if batting on the most treacherous of surfaces, Hameed was able to drive boundaries through the covers off front and back foot, late cut anything even slightly short and, when Ravi Jadeja gave the ball just a little flight, skip down the pitch and drive him over long-off for six.His footwork was crisp and unhurried. His judgment over which balls to leave and which he could nudge off his legs was astute. He already uses the crease against the spinners better than all but one member of the England team. He could not be bullied by the seamers or befuddled by the spinners. This has been Englands most assured debut since Joe Root.But for a twist of fate, Hameed could have ended up playing for India. His father, Ismail, who looked understandably emotional in the stands as his son reached his half-century with a delicious late cut for four off the worlds No.1 rated Test bowler, tells a tale of the invitations extended their way after one of Haseebs trips back to the land of his parents to work on his game on turning tracks.Would he be interested in playing club cricket in Mumbai? Might he like to think of the Mumbai side in the Ranji Trophy as his target? Might he think of joining his heroes, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, as an Indian player?It was never going to happen. By then, Haseeb was impressing in the Lancashire age-group teams. Their Academy Director, John Stanworth, a man not prone to hyperbole, told All Out Cricket that Hameed was probably as good a player as weve had for a generation two years before he graduated to the Championship side, and made comparisons with Mike Atherton and John Crawley. He captained England U-17 and U-19 and although there have been setbacks - he was especially stung to be left out of the England team for the U-19 World Cup - he has long carried great expectations.The records followed. He became the youngest Lancashire player to make 1,000 runs in a Championship season, the first Lancashire player to make centuries in both innings of a Roses match (Tim Bresnan told him he had played a seriously special knock after the second innings century) and, despite it all, possessed a demeanour busting with a desire to learn but graced by humility. Even if Haseeb Hameed was hopeless at cricket, his parents would have reason to be immensely proud of him.His first memories are of cricket: batting with a mini bat and punching his fathers friendly lobs in the living-room of their Bolton home. Later Ismail resolved to teach his son the defensive technique of Geoff Boycott which, whatever the changes in the modern game, remains a decent foundation. He hasnt played a first team game of white ball cricket for Lancashire yet, but theres no reason why he cannot make a success of that. Hes not a blocker with a limited game; hes a class act with an array of elegant strokes and the sense to play within himself. He looks as if he was born to bat.There are still questions to answer, of course. Most of all, there was talk on the county circuit of the day he was worked over by a sharp Surrey attack containing Stuart Meaker and Mark Footitt. You can be quite sure that Australia, in particular, will explore any potential vulnerability against the short ball.The signs in this match are promising, though. While others have paid the price for taking their eye off the ball in this game and taken short balls on the head or upper body, Hameed reacted to the first ball of his Test career - a well-directed short-ball from Mohammed Shami - with a composure you suspect is going to become mightily familiar. He kept his eye on the ball and dropped his hands expertly. There havent been any obvious chinks in the armour.Other England openers have enjoyed good days, of course, only to be discarded a short while later. Sam Robson and Adam Lyth both made centuries in their second Tests and Nick Compton made two in New Zealand. But have any of them - and Hameed is Cooks 10th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012 - looked this assured and unflappable? Have any of them looked to have such a well-rounded game?Ben Duckett made a half-century as opener in the previous match, but it always seemed a little frenetic and little as if it was a punt that was coming off. Hameed offered something approaching certainty. His journey is just beginning and there will, no doubt, be some stony terrain on the way. But if you could buy shares in people, you would put your shirt on Haseeb Hameed.Hameeds runs have helped put England in an almost impregnable position. While there will be talk of a declaration sometime in mid-afternoon - you cannot give a side containing the best limited-overs chaser in history a hint of a chance in a run-chase - there might also be a thought to keep India in the field for another full day. With only three days between Tests, those extra overs could be telling in Visakhapatnam. Besides, any psychological edge India thought they had before this game could be further eroded. It was a tactic that served England well in Brisbane in 2010.The counter argument suggests that opportunities to win may be few and far between in this series and that England, with a slim chance, should do all they can to take it. In the end, it may depend on how much the pitch has deteriorated by lunch. It is breaking up, certainly, but whether it is doing it fast enough to force a result is doubtful.Hameed need not worry about that. He just needs to bat. And, for the first time in several years, England may well not need to worry about finding a new opening partner for Cook. Its premature to reach conclusions, of course, but it really does seem as if the search is over.Danilo Gallinari Thunder Jersey . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). 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Mike Muscala Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season.TORONTO - With his Blue Jays 41-41 through 82 games, general manager Alex Anthopoulos held court prior to Tuesday nights game against the Tigers. Anthopoulos discussed the approaching non-waiver trade deadline, July 31st, along with the statuses of a number of injured players and Ricky Romero. On Trade Deadline: "There has been a few clubs Ive talked to, Ive asked about their timeline, some teams have to wait. They want to wait to see where their club is in a few weeks. I had a club I talked to last night that said they need another week to 10 days. I think its as much about fan base, ownership, things like that, if theyre going to start trading players away. Right now, were not engaged in anything at all. In a lot of the phone calls Ive had, I think people are just trying to gather information at this point. Weve called clubs, clubs have called us and were just trying to take notes on what everyone is going to look to do." On Brett Lawrie: "The defence, overall, has stabilized itself. I think Izturis has been playing great. Hes made some great plays at third. And DeRosa has been fine when hes been over there. So I think we have time with Brett. I think with Brett, well just give him as many at-bats as we can. Its a 20-day assignment, he started it on Wednesday of last week, so youre still looking at another two weeks of it." On Kyle Drabek: "Drabek is close to being ready to come off his rehab assignment. Were just going to watch his innings for now. We basically capped him at about two innings, hes in the Florida State League ... Hell probably be optioned to the Florida State League." On Drew Hutchison: "Drew has been throwing bullpens and live BPs and things like that, feeling good, two innings, has not started a rehab assignment. Hell be 12 months post-op, beginning of August, so well probably get him on a rehab assignment soon." On J.A. Happ: "Happ threw live batting practice. His arm feels great, it just comes down to the knee and he wont start a rehab assignment until the soreness in the knee is completely gone. Its as much to keep his arm in shape." "Hes throwing right now, hes throwing batting practice. But being able to get off the mound, field your position, do all of those things, our trainers have said you cant take that chance until theres no soreness. Hell get up in the morning, be a little sore, and once he starts to get going, the soreness goes away. Until that pain is completely gone, he wont start an actual rehab assignment." On Brandon Morrow: "Morrow, finally, has no pain at all. He threw to 60 feet today, I thiink hes going to do 90 feet tomorrow.dddddddddddd I think the fact that the pain or soreness is completely gone now, he can get going on a throwing program and next step would obviously be a rehab assignment. Estimated return date? "We have a month of rehab assignment available and we havent even started that yet. By the time he does, youre looking at a two-week period every five days. It might be at the end of July but I think youre probably looking at late July or early August. But probably August at this point. On Luis Perez: "Perez is doing better. He had a bit of a flare up early on so he has just been throwing bullpens and sides. We want to be careful with him just because he did have a setback early. It wasnt severe but we just werent going to take any chances. He had been built up to go two innings and then had some soreness in his elbow. So, again, he may start a rehab assignment but were going to be 100% sure on him. Hes probably still pretty far away." On Ricky Romero: "You know, Id seen his start two outings ago. Actually Mike was there too and it was not a good outing. I think the line kind of speaks for itself. The first inning, the changeup was good and looked all right and he just didnt throw as well later. We actually had a scout in to see his last outing and said he was good; ground balls, strikes and really the outing that we saw, that was really the outlier for the last four or five starts so maybe thats something that happens over time. Maybe he makes four good outings, one shaky one and then he starts to get going and starts to remove himself a little more. Stuffs good, velocitys good and command is getting better. Hes not there yet but hes certainly getting better." What are you looking for from Romero? "The results. Youre starting to see some of the strike-outs come back, which is important because hes getting ahead and hes able to use his changeup. Hes going deep into games and I think its results at this point. I mean, at certain times, people may not make plays behind him and so on but from a consistency standpoint, you want to see him have the results he needs to have at that level, start after start. So I want to see him do it for a while." How is Romeros confidence? "Hes pretty honest about it. I think its confidence, like anything else, when youre not having success, thats part of it as well. It sounds like mentally, hes in a good place and if you talk to the staff down there, hes beyond over-analyzing and worrying about things. He knows hes just got a job to do and get better so I think hes in a great place." ' ' '