Pirate Galaxy » the eighth to cap the scoring. NOTES

Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order - but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durhams NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over - five balls, several hurried prods, one run - and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter - a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months, Wood said. To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I havent seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think its because I bowled so well at him, Joe obviously wasnt so fond of that one so hes given it to me.The surgery has allowed Wood to play without discomfort in his ankle when bowling and he believes that will enable him to maintain his pace from spell to spell, in particular over back-to-back matches, an area where there were previously concerns about his durability.I would say Im consistently quicker, he said. I wouldnt say quicker at my top speed, but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle, which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games, but it wasnt that I couldnt play back-to-back, [it was that] I couldnt bowl at 90mph every day and Im a totally different bowler bowling 90mph to when I am bowling 80mph. I need that pace and with no pain in the back of my ankle, I find that a lot easier on my body and that allows me to do that. Consistently it is a lot better for me.While Wood at top speed ranks among the quickest bowlers currently playing the game, he is less concerned than some about raw pace - the analyst gets quite worked up when I come in and he says youre bowling at 92 - and recognises he is more likely to be judged for England on wickets and economy. As Woods first over, in which Sharjeel Khan picked up two boundaries, demonstrated, extra velocity can sometimes cut both ways. I think the third ball, off Sharjeels bat, went about 98mph, so he was winning that one. Not that Wood will be looking to dial it down in pursuit of something more metronomically reliable. Having returned midway through the season, he has dived headlong into competitive action and believes he could still bowl quicker yet.I reckon I could, yeah. When you get that rhythm and match fitness back, he said. Ive been rushed back through to get some game-time having missed the first half of the summer, and Ive been desperate to play so Ive not really had that time where Ive been getting used to bowling and bowling again. Ive only played two Championship games, and in one of those I only bowled 14 overs. So if I get that match fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.Wood formed part of a three-man pace attack at the Ageas Bowl, alongside Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett. With David Willey hopeful of returning to action after the hand injury he sustained on Finals Day, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball also in the squad, Steven Finn recuperating from a hamstring tear and James Anderson and Stuart Broad filling out the options for the Test side, England look like having a considerable seam battery to call upon.For now, Wood is focused on proving himself worthy of a place - England have still to see the best of him in ODIs, with six wickets from eight appearances at an average of 66.83 - but there is another layer of uncertainty due to his contractual situation at Durham. Should his central contract not be renewed by the ECB, there are doubts about whether Durham could afford to retain him, but reigniting his international career remains the quickest (in every sense) route to a resolution.Its complicated off the field at Durham, everyone knows there are issues there, Wood said. My situation is to focus solely on getting back in the England team first. I love the north-east, Im a north-east lad.Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldnt say so, but I know that part of the reason that we give out central contracts is to look after fast bowlers and things like that. If I was to fall into that category that would be brilliant. Getting looked after by such a superb medical team that I talked about before, theyve been superb with us. Theyve looked after me tremendously well, to be honest.So I wouldnt say Im confident because Ive not played for England for a long time, and throughout this year I probably havent deserved to get another one, so well just have to wait and see. But in terms of Durham, Im focusing on England at the moment and Ill see what happens there come September.Fake Giants Jerseys .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. Giants Jerseys China . However, he did make them miss him a little less. 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Arroyo pitched seven crisp innings, Todd Frazier homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Wednesday to complete a three-game series sweep. "Its unbelievable the way he pitches," Frazier said. "I just cant understand how he does it and everybodys off balance and I know Im going to get ground balls so Im ready all the time and he starts striking guys out. "Its pretty cool to watch and see a guy like that just work his craft." Arroyo (11-9) allowed two hits, struck out seven and walked none in his second straight win. The sneaky right-hander retired his first nine batters and faced the minimum through six innings. Frazier also had one of Cincinnatis four run-scoring doubles as the Reds (68-52) earned their fourth consecutive win to move a season-high 16 games over .500. They improved to 13-3 against the Cubs this year, including a 9-1 mark at Wrigley Field. The defending NL Central champions have won seven of eight since an embarrassing 15-2 home loss to St. Louis on Aug. 4. They trailed division-leading Pittsburgh by 3 1/2 games at the start of the day, with the Pirates scheduled to face the second-place Cardinals on Wednesday night. "Sometimes a team has to hit rock bottom before you can start rolling," manager Dusty Baker said. The Cubs wasted a solid start by Chris Rusin (2-2) in their fourth straight loss. The left-hander allowed two runs and three hits while throwing just 76 pitches over six innings. "I was able to keep the ball on the ground for the most part and when the balls were hit in the air, besides Fraziers, the wind knocked it down," Rusin said. With Chicago struggling to score against Arroyo, manager Dale Sveum had Starlin Castro hit for Rusin with two out and none on in the sixth. Castro flied out to left, and Zack Cozart hit an RBI double off Carlos Villanueva in the seventh to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. David DeJesus rolled a leadoff single into centre field in the fourth for Chicagos first hit, but was promptly erased when Darnell McDonald bounced into a double play. McDonald singled off the glove of secondd baseman Brandon Phillips in the seventh and was stranded when Arroyo retired the next two batters.dddddddddddd Alfredo Simon worked a perfect eighth and Jonathan Broxton finished the two-hitter for Cincinnatis 13th shutout of the season. "To get shut out and get nothing going at all today, its frustrating," Sveum said. "Its frustrating for the guys in the clubhouse, too. Theyre plugging away the best they can." Arroyo improved to 13-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 30 career games against the Cubs, including wins in each of his last four starts. He has been quite good at Chicagos cozy neighbourhood ballpark, with an 8-3 record and a 2.83 ERA in 15 appearances. "Ive been comfortable in this ballpark for a long time for some reason, definitely the last probably seven years," he said. "Its just a lineup that a lot of times Im comfortable against." Frazier helped the Reds get off to a fast start when he drove Rusins third pitch over the wall in left and onto Waveland Avenue. It was Fraziers first homer since July 1 against San Francisco and No. 11 on the year. "Start the game off with a little bang, thats always a good look for me to get going for the day," he said. Frazier and Joey Votto had consecutive RBI doubles in the eighth to cap the scoring. NOTES: Chicago has been shut out 10 times this season. It managed just six hits in a 2-0 loss in the series opener on Monday. ... Reds CF Shin-Soo Choo got the day off. Baker said he wanted to give him some rest, and hes also dealing with a hand issue. Baker declined to specify which hand is bothering Choo. ... RHP Jake Arrieta will come up from Triple-A Iowa to start Chicagos game against St. Louis on Friday. The move put Villanueva in the bullpen. ... Baker said hes not counting on the return of LHP Sean Marshall, who went on the disabled list May 24 with a sore pitching shoulder. "You cant expect things, that way youre going to be disappointed," Baker said, "and if you get them back, then youre elated." ... The Cubs are off Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the Cardinals. ... The Reds send LHP Tony Cingrani (5-2, 2.87 ERA) to the mound on Thursday for the opener of a four-game series at Milwaukee. RHP Kyle Lohse (8-7, 3.26 ERA) is expected to start for the Brewers. ' ' '