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a story to successfully attach itself to a sports team over a number of decades while players and personnel change, while the game itself changes, while the world changes, it has to be flexible as well as meaningful and distinct. In the case of cricket, no team has a more oft-invoked story than the Pakistan national side. In the three decades I’ve been pinning my emotional wellbeing to the fortunes of the Pakistan cricket team, they have always been a group of men about whom you say: “They can win this, but it’s quite likely they won’t,” and equally: “They can’t win this, but it’s possible they will.” The Unpredictables. The Mercurials. The Never-Count-Them-Outs. But although this story has been shaping itself since the 80s, it became cast in stone 25 years ago, when Imran Khan’s team started their World Cup campaign in the most startlingly dismal manner, relying on a win against cricket-minnows Zimbabwe and a rain-enforced draw with England to get them past the initial stages of the tournament, and then went on to win five matches in a row and lift the cup. The Recap: sign up for the best of the Guardian's sport coverage Read more That victory has been much invoked since Pakistan won the Champions Trophy at the Oval on Sunday, after starting the tournament being so crushed by India that they walked off the field looking more like pulp than men. But parallels only go so far. The 1992 Pakistan team was expected to perform well; the real surprise Drew Brees Authentic Jersey was that they stumbled so badly before picking themselves up and showing their well-recognised worth, and then some. The Pakistan team of 2017 couldn’t have looked more dissimilar. They entered the tournament ranked eighth out of eight; the captain was newly appointed; most of the players young and unknown. And then there were the players who weren’t in the squad because they were being investigated for corruption; and the hugely talented bowler Mohammad Amir, who was trying to find redemption after having been found guilty of spot-fixing and banned for five years, but whose team-mates had been consistently dropping catches off his bowling since his return to the international game; and the largest and most heartbreaking story of all, which is the team’s inability to play any games in Pakistan since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, which has deprived the players of the emotional and psychological strength that comes from playing on home ground. Things were so bad that all the Pakistan supporters I spoke to had lost faith in the story. Before the opening match, Pakistan supporters weren’t praying for victory; that was too outlandish a prospect. Instead, they were praying for rainRain did come, but not enough to prevent a match from being completed. And so to start the tournament, Pakistan did what Pakistan so often do: they didn’t just fail, they did so calamitously. And then to end the tournament, Pakistan did what Pakistan so often do: they didn’t just win, they did so extraordinarily. All this fits that story of the Mercurials. But that isn’t the whole story, because both that calamitous start and that extraordinary finish were against India. Advertisement The Indo-Pak cricketing rivalry is inevitable, given the unceasing political tensions between the two countries. But in the past few years that rivalry has intensified and become increasingly mean-spirited, even though – or rather, precisely because – the teams hardly ever play each http://www.officialauthenticsaintsstore.com/Nike-Garrett-Grayson-Jersey.html other. In the past 10 years there have been only two bilateral one-day series between India and Pakistan; the last Test series was in 2007. This is not for cricketing reasons, but because of the Indian government’s interventions. Days before the start of the Champions Trophy, India’s sports minister announced that while India and Pakistan might meet in international tournaments, there was no question of any bilateral series between the two sides because “cricket and terrorism can’t go hand in hand”, reiterating an already-held official position. This sort of rhetoric poisons the air, and the long gaps between games mean that each encounter between the two sides carries far more weight than it should. Lately, though, India has been so dominant over Pakistan in international tournaments – particularly in the most important matches – that the story of Mercurial Pakistan has rarely been evident. Predictably, Losing Pakistan has been closer to the truth of it. Hence, the prayers for rain before that first game at Edgbaston. And yet, no one was praying for rain before the final at the Oval. Something happened to the Pakistan cricket team after that initial loss against India. The new players drafted into the side to replace the banned, the unfit and the injured burst into glory; the Fallen Angel that is Amir rose and helped pull his team up to victory – as a bowler and a batsmen; and the new captain grew into his role with every match. The victory against South Africa might have been helped along by the weather (rain shortened the game, and made it unnecessary for Pakistan’s fragile-looking batting side to last 50 overs in the field); the victory against Sri Lanka was certainly helped along by the opposition’s inexplicable awfulness on the day; but the victory against the tournament favourites, England, was about Pakistan outplaying their opponents in every aspect of the game. Just like that, an India-Pakistan final was on the cards, and so was something else that had been missing before that Edgbaston game: hope. Just a glimmer, no more, but even so. I was there, at the Oval. I was there not because I had thought to buy a ticket – like so many Pakistani supporters, I had lost faith in the story and was Authentic Jordan Staal Youth Jersey sure Pakistan wouldn’t be playing. But an English friend had a pair of tickets and his team wasn’t in the final, so he gave them to my sister and me. I went in with that glimmer of hope, but also much trepidation – not only about the game but about the crowd. The stakes were so high, the sun so strong, the political baggage so heavy. Surely, it would take only the tiniest thing to make tempers fray. But then the two teams walked out side by side, no hostility in their body language and even some smiles between them. Everyone stood up and applauded. The Indian national anthem played. The Pakistani supporters remained standing. The Pakistani national anthem played. The Indian supporters remained standing. And right then I knew the crowd would be fine. It would be a replay of Karachi 2004, when the Indian side started its first full tour of Pakistan since 1990, and the only mood in the stands was of friendliness and good humour. But when Pakistan ended their innings with 338 runs, I also remembered that, in that Karachi match, India had scored 344 to win an incredibly close match. So, when the India innings started and Amir took a wicket with the third delivery, it was hard not to have the jubilation mixed with the terror of knowing that the brilliant Indian captain, Virat Kohli, was going to walk out to the middle. In Amir’s next over, when Azhar Ali dropped a straightforward catch to give the captain another life, I thought, here we are, this is it, bad old Pakistan back again. But then the unthinkable happened – with the very next delivery, Kohli edged the ball to the new boy Shadab Khan, who held on to it, and the captain was gone. India were 6-2. Despite the heroics of Hardik Pandya with the bat, India never looked likely to win it from that point on, although I can only say this in retrospect. While the match was still on, I kept remembering hope’s propensity, in the life of a Pakistan cricket fan, for making sudden exits just when you think it has come to stay. But hope wasn’t teasing this time. Pakistan won by 180 runs. Champions Trophy 2017 review: our writers’ awards and hopes Read more When the match ended, Kohli was both generous and gracious in defeat, which added to the feeling that we were in a parallel universe – one in which the sun shone on English fields, Pakistan played brilliantly, Indian and Pakistani supporters joked around with each other, and Kohli won Pakistani hearts. It would be nice to take things even further. It would be nice to say that cricket can transform Indo-Pak relations. It can’t do that. But at its best, it can afford a place of respite from the hostility; it can bring us into stands http://www.authentichurricanestore.com/justin-faulk-jersey_c-447.html together bantering in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, English; it can make us want to see our teams play together more often, and not for the ugly reasons of wanting to crush the other, but for the joy of the sport that we love so passionately on both sides of the borderWhen the trophy was lifted, the ceremony over, the Pakistan team made a lap of honour around the Oval pitch. They were laughing and smiling, raising the trophy in the direction of their supporters, running on legs that seemed fresh despite the hours playing in temperatures that were the same that day in London as in Karachi. All but one of them. As the team ran past the area in which I was standing I noticed a man walking slowly behind. It was the captain, Sarfraz Ahmed. Pakistan’s bowling coach, the former international player Azhar Mahmood, was walking alongside and had an arm around the younger man’s shoulder, talking to him. Sarfraz nodded once or twice but didn’t say anything. He ran a hand over his face, his expression one of disbelief. Then he looked ahead and saw how far he had become separated from his boys, and scampered to catch up with them. Forget the Mercurials and the Unpredictables. At the Oval on Sunday, his team were the
curious thing happened in our corner of south east London last month. Normally quiet side streets were rammed http://www.minnesotavikingsauthorizedstore.com/eric-kendricks-jersey-elite with double parked cars, the babble of excited young fans with accents from around the country filled the air and the sold out signs went up at The Valley for the first time in many years. Since the absentee owner Roland Duchatelet began his one man war against Charlton Athletic’s fanbase, it has often been hard to tell when there is a home match in SE7 as a dispirited, desperate and dwindling band continue their estimable protest against an owner who has hollowed out their proud club. Hashtag United, Wimbly Womblys and the virtual gamers striking it rich Read more But these hordes of youthful and giddy fans were wearing not the red of Charlton but the black and white replica shirts of Sidemen FC – an online phenomenon who were to play a team of YouTube Allstars in a charity match. As just the latest iteration of a dizzying set of developments that have left those of us who find the prospect of watching clips of other people playing the video game Fifa as baffling as parents of the 1950s found a Chuck Berry 45, it was a sign that something is shifting. There is a palpable nervousness among television executives, expensively attired sporting executives and the concentric circles of advisers and analysts that populate the industry that something may be happening beyond their immediate vision. Television ratings Amos Youth Jersey for live sport, the rights fees for which have for so long been the engine that has powered the growth of sport in the modern era, are down. The Olympics, once seen as the pinnacle of sport but now tainted by cynicism, are struggling to attract a younger audienceMeanwhile interest in the likes of the Sidemen and Spencer FC, a gang of Sunday League footballers that reach audiences of 2m plus on YouTube for their matches in an imaginary league, is up. Rather like the swirl of the current political climate, there is a sense in which the combination of changes in media consumption and the sporting landscape have led to a youthful thirst for forms of sport and entertainment that the mainstream has been slow to pick up on. Perhaps it should be no surprise that as the old places where the young carved out an identity away from their parents – football grounds and concert arenas – have become the overpriced domain of their elders, they should seek out new ways of defining themselves against previous generations and find these virtual spaces where they can gather, play and posture. It is these shifting tectonic plates that the Guardian’s Sport 2.0 series, which grew out of a series of four documentaries conceived by our award winning sports photographer Tom Jenkins, has this week tried to trackAs ever, future gazing is an inexact science. In trying to predict the future Jeremiah Attaochu Authentic Jersey it is impossible to escape the whiff of those much parodied black and white documentaries that predicted we would all be travelling to work in hovercrafts. And yet, just because we cannot tell where any of these trends are leading it does not mean that we should not try to identify them. Our series of films and articles – from drone racing and driverless F1 to the debate over whether video gaming is a sport, from the concept of watching holographic players beamed in from the other side of the world to the challenges facing traditional formats to maintain an audience – have raised more questions than answers. Stadiums of the future: a revolution for the fan experience in sport Read more They go beyond the old pub argument of what makes a sport, and challenge long held assumptions. Perhaps it is no coincidence that they have played out against the backdrop of a continual drip feed of ennui-inducing news from traditional sport – most recently from British Cycling. As Jenkins and writer Simon Hattenstone proved in their final dispatch from South Korea , the dystopian dark side of e-gaming does not suggest that new forms of sport will be any less prey to malevolent forces. Amid concerns over grassroots sport and participation, the prospect of a generation bathed in the glow of screens can seem depressing. Yet there is hope here too. The kids playing Fifa, following Spencer FC or worshipping at the digital altar of a Neymar avatar then practising their party http://www.greenbaypackersauthorizedstore.com/jake-ryan-jersey-elite tricks in the park are just as in thrall to football as their parents who were hooked in through yellowing programmes and Jimmy Hill. It is hard to see where all this is all ultimately headed. But what is not in doubt is that the old order is changing and those sports that do not remain curious enough to at least ask the questions will eventually wither and die
Lewis Hamilton has said he and his Mercedes team need to be more consistent to challenge Ferrari for the Formula One world championship. The British driver goes into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday after a flawless win, from pole to flag, at the last round in Canada but warned that despite http://www.authenticfloridapanthers.com/authentic-jussi-jokinen-jersey that performance he still believes Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari remain the front runners in a tight battle. “Consistency is the key to winning the championship,” Hamilton, 32, said on Thursday. “Up until now, Sebastian has had the consistency of a winning championship, so we have to improve if we are going to have a shot at winning this title.” Hamilton trails Vettel by 12 points in the drivers’ championship, although both have three wins apiece. He had struggled in Monaco, unable to find the correct setup and balance for his car while having difficulty putting his tyres in their correct temperature-operating window. F1 owners say UK paywall TV deal they have inherited is detrimental to sport Read more He and the team addressed the problems with intent before Canada and the work paid off. The Englishman was hooked up from the off and went on to take a fourth career grand slam of pole, leading for every lap of the race and setting the fastest lap in Montreal. It is the second time he has done so this season, proving that when the Mercedes, described by the team as a bit of “diva”, is on form it is as formidable as it has been in the previous three seasons of dominance. They are optimistic that they can repeat the performance in Baku but Hamilton was taking nothing for granted. In reference to Ferrari he said: “They have had a more consistent season so far. We’ve had more of an up-and-down season. I think they still are favourites in terms of the fact their car seems to work everywhere. But I think there’s more unlocked Adidas Keith Yandle Authentic Jerseypotential in our car.” With new regulations this season the teams are still working on their vehicles to better understand and develop them and Hamilton believes there is more to come. “I’m hoping by August, coming into September, by then we are the favourites.”There is unfinished business in Baku for the British driver. This is the only track on the current calendar at which he has not won. Last year on F1’s first visit to the street circuit he had a troublesome weekend. He was quick in qualifying but hit the wall at turn 11 in Q3 and had to start from 10th from which he could only recover to fifth after also struggling with an engine mode issue. His team-mate Nico Rosberg went on to win untroubled at the front from pole. Advertisement “I looked through what I went through last year here and know where all the pitfalls and the issues I had then and don’t plan on having the same issues this weekend,” he said. “But it’s a new year, a new day, I am sure there will be other scenarios this weekend. I feel 12 months later we are better prepared than we were then.” The team’s executive director, Toto Wolff, said at the FIA conference in Geneva in Tuesday: “We know exactly what happened last year in Baku.” Hamilton was a the factory in Brackley on Monday preparing for the race with the Tony Gwynn Authentic Jersey team and Wolff was confident his driver had no issues with the circuit heading into this weekend. Vettel recovered well in Canada to take fourth after taking damage on the opening lap and was second in Baku last year but expects better this weekend. The German was happy with how his team were maintaining their development pace with Mercedes. “So far this season is really, really good for us. Let’s not forget that Mercedes blew everyone away the last few years,” he said. “This year it’s a match, and it’s more credit to us that we can go with their pace so far. We’ll see how it pans out in the later part of the season, but it’s crucial to keep the development rate up.” McLaren’s engine woes continued with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne both taking new parts that incur penalties that will put them to the back of the grid in Baku. The team are in the process of attempting to renegotiate their deal with Honda and Mercedes are the most likely engine supplier to replace them. Hamilton, who won McLaren’s last title in 2008, was keen that they should come to an agreement. “McLaren belong at the front with the top teams,” he said. “They have had a disaster of a time over the past few years. They are having a struggle right now, and http://www.authenticsandiegopadres.com/Trevor-Cahill-Jersey it doesn’t look like it will change any time soon. I hope they get either our engine or Ferrari’s engine next year so they can be up there with the top teams
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Chase Carey, the chief executive of the Formula One Group, the new owner of the sport, has explicitly criticised the previous administration of Formula One, managed by Bernie Ecclestone on behalf of CVC Capital. Carey was speaking at the FIA sport conference being held this week in Geneva and made it clear his organisation was addressing the shortcomings Amos Youth Jersey it had inherited. He was also particularly critical of the previous management that he believed had served Formula One poorly. “This sport has been underserved by a perpetual, short-term, deal of the day focus and one that has lacked a strategy, vision and longer-term plan, and a willingness to invest,” he said. F1’s Chase Carey: races should be Super Bowls, events that capture a whole city Read more CVC, a private equity firm, had owned F1 since 2006, until it was bought by Liberty Media (now known as the Formula One Group) in January this year. During the period under CVC’s control Ecclestone secured lucrative TV deals but faced criticism over the increasingly high prices of hosting races and expensive tickets. Ecclestone was replaced by Carey within a week of the takeover and although given the role of chairman emeritus, has been removed from the decision-making process. In Geneva Carey confirmed this had been the first move in a long-term restructuring of F1. “The sport didn’t have an organisation before,” he said. “Bernie, to his credit, was a one-man show with financial and legal support. One of the things we have done is put an organisation in place that can support the sport and we will have the key people in by August.” The Formula One Group has made considerable commitments to change the sport itself, including http://www.officialblazershop.com/authentic-22-clyde-drexler-jersey.html the appointment of Ross Brawn as the sporting director. Externally, progress has appeared slow with few concrete changes yet to emerge but Carey is confident in advances being made behind the scenes. “Priority one for us is still to make the sport and the competition on the track as exciting and engaging as it possibly can be,” he said. “Just the nature of what we do on the track – whether it’s rules, engines, costs – take time. We’ve had meetings on what is the next generation engine … That engine isn’t going to get implemented in three months but it doesn’t mean we haven’t had multiple meetings.” The FIA is holding the conference in Geneva to allow delegates from its 150 member nations to meet and exchange information, a goal that has been championed by its president, Jean Todt. Thus far in his negotiations with Carey he has been impressed. “We have had no conflict. They arrived humble, willing to learn, understand, participate and to work closely with the governing body. Which is importantminutes of Game II of State of Origin XXXVI this journalist – and I would suggest several other chroniclers of recent history – was cranking up the keyboard with variations of “It’s over – Queensland dynasty busted by marauding blue hordes”. Thirty minutes later I wondered how I could be so na?ve, so foolish. How could I forget the old but true edict, “Never write off a champion”. Queensland keep State of Origin hopes alive with thrilling late win over NSW Read more Because Queensland has four champions – Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater and http://www.officialcapitalsauthentic.com/Brooks_Orpik_Jersey Cooper Cronk. Though they were bashed up, run over and down by 10 points at half-time, they came out in the second stanza, with the Origin series on the line and did what they always do – play cool, smart, brilliant and perfectly-executed rugby league. And they showed that even with a combined age of 136, that there is plenty of life in these old dogs yet. Again, how could one ever doubt that with that quartet on the field that Queensland’s dynasty would live while they did? The “proof” was there on the field. The Blues’ first 50 minutes was effectively an extension of the 80 minutes from Game I: their giant forwards rumbled up the middle and hit hard, James Tedesco ran off that, and the Blues halves James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce fed big, fast men quick, slick ball. All three NSW tries, scored by backs, were made by big marauders in the middle. And you felt it just wouldn’t get any better for Queensland. When Aaron Woods went off, David Klemmer came one. Josh Jackson was strong, Jake Trbojevic was stronger. Wade Graham made some nice plays. Andrew Fifita took some stopping but was subdued with gang tackles. Yet you felt it didn’t matter – that the Blues were running roughshod through the Maroons. And that the great Queensland dynasty was run and done. The kings are dead. Long live the kings. But the kings weren’t dead, because the heirs apparent didn’t kill them. Rather the Blues Amos Youth Jersey shut up shop. They dropped the ball, gave away penalties. They didn’t do too much in attack and when they did they threw dud balls into touch
Chelsea’s Tammy Authentic Rickey Henderson Womens Jersey Abraham has agreed to join Swansea City on loan, with his agent finalising details for a move that will reunite the 19-year-old striker with his former youth team manager Paul Clement. Abraham, who is poised to lead the line for England on Thursday against Poland in their final group stage match at the European Under-21 Championship, was keen to test himself in the Premier League after scoring 23 league goals on loan at Bristol City last season. Europe’s top transfer targets: from Mbappé to Aubameyang via Verratti Read more The promoted sides Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United were also interested in taking him on loan, having been impressed with his performances in the Championship, but it is understood that the south London-born player preferred the option of working under Clement, who was once his coach at Chelsea’s youth academy. His arrival is not believed to have any impact on the future of Swansea’s top scorer last season, Fernando Llorente, with Clement keen to retain the Spain international, despite Chelsea’s attempts to sign him in the January transfer window. Abraham, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires in 2019, is expected to be offered improved terms before departing the club for his second loan spell, with Chelsea keen to see how he progresses at a higher level. The striker http://www.officialathleticshop.com/authentic-34-rollie-fingers-jersey.html impressed in England’s comeback win over Slovakia on Monday, playing a large part in Nathan Redmond’s winning goal, which ensured a win over the hosts will guarantee his side a place in the last four. He took part in a light training session on Wednesday as Aidy Boothroyd’s squad prepare for their third match, having drawn 0-0 with Sweden in the opener last Friday. Abraham had suggested his future would not be resolved until after the tournament but with England now hopeful of booking a place in Tuesday’s semi-finals, Swansea were keen to wrap up a deal as quickly as possible. “[Last season] was more about focusing on myself and trying to build up myself,” he said. “The players at Chelsea are established in the Premier League and this was my first season. I was trying to build myself up and make a name for myself. After this season I need to take myself to the next level. “That’s the type of person I am, I always want to do better. I always want to do more. So going into the new season my aim will be to top this oneManchester United have been cleared of wrongdoing in the transfer of Paul Pogba but Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Juventus. Manchester United manager José Mourinho denies tax fraud in Spain Read more World football’s governing body announced in May it had requested clarification from United and Juventus on every aspect of Pogba’s ￡89.3m move to Old Trafford. Fifa acted following http://www.officialmagicstoreonline.com/Evan_Fournier_Jersey allegations Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, would earn €49m (￡41.3m) from the most expensive transfer in history. Reports based on extracts from documents and contracts relating to Pogba’s move, revealed by the Football Leaks operation, alleged Raiola was paid €27m from Juventus, €19.4m by United and a further €2.6m paid by United on behalf of Pogba for negotiating his wage package. United said at the time they were relaxed about the investigation after offering Fifa all the relevant documents when the transfer was completed in August 2016. Fifa told ESPN on Tuesday: “We can confirm disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Juventus. We cannot comment further as proceedings are ongoing. We can confirm no disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Manchester United.” Fifa is set to examine Raiola’s agreement with the Serie A club to see if there is a breach of third-party ownership rules. Raiola admitted in an interview with the Financial Times last year that: “Juventus was not the only owner of the player’s rights.” Gianluigi Donnarumma staying calm as Milan transfer tension rises Read more However, he recently http://www.officialcelticsproshop.com/Dennis_Johnson_Jersey dismissed suggestions he had “cashed ￡40m” from Pogba’s move as “fake news” and, during an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, refused to confirm his slice of the deal. He said: “€27m? I’ll just say it’s not an exact figure: maybe it’s less but maybe it’s even more.” Agents are permitted to act for two sides to a transfer, and three in exceptional circumstances, as long as all parties are aware of it and agree. If Juventus are found guilty of wrongdoing, the Italian champions could be fined or handed a transfer ban
