Just as nobody wanted to ask Usain Bolt how much quicker he might have gone had
he not slowed down before the line in the 2008 Olympics, so it seems churlish to
pick holes in Englands performance Old Trafford.
Dion Dawkins Jersey .England have, after all,
just completed the fifth-largest victory - in terms of runs - in their Test
history. Joe Root showed that he is continuing to develop as a batsman and has
the skill and intelligence to adapt his game to the situation. Alastair Cook,
whose decision not to enforce the follow-on was vindicated, continues to produce
at the top of the order and Chris Woakes emergence as an international-quality
bowler provides the strength in depth that England have been searching for in
the seam department.This is a more than respectable Pakistan team and they were
hammered. It is 1-1 with two to play and the Edgbaston pitch may well suit
England better than any other in the series.But the fact is that England came
into the summer with questions to answer about several areas in their side.
Notably, they were unclear over the identity of the most suitable partner for
Cook at the top of the order, unclear about at least one of the middle-order
positions, unsure about their keeper, their spinner and their first-change
bowler.So, five Tests later, how much progress have they made?The answer is a
little. But whether they are improving as a side or being dragged along by the
improvement in their best young player is open to debate. It remains entirely
possible that England will go to India later this year with a new opening
batsman, a new first-choice spinner and a new face in the middle-order.To some
extent, this is positive. If England can win against decent sides despite
performing at something around 75% of potential, they clearly have the scope to
develop into a fine side.And there have been positives. Woakes seems to have
come of age at this level and might, before the year is out, give the selectors
some interesting decisions to make if they decided to go into Tests in Asia with
fewer seamers. While he does not quite ease the pain of losing Ben Stokes for
Edgbaston, he does reduce it. The last time England had two such fine
allrounders was arguably in the brief period in the late 1970s in which Ian
Botham and Tony Grieg played together.In this match, too, Jonny Bairstow
produced an admirable performance with the gloves. There were only two catches,
but there were no drops, few fumbles and only two byes in total. He still has
questions to answer, but this was a step in the right direction.Most of all,
there was the performance of Root. If, in the first innings, he demonstrated the
discipline and restraint required to succeed at No. 3, in the second he
demonstrated the strokeplay and selflessness to prove he can adapt as his side
requires. Afterwards Cook referred to his double-century as a great innings and
one of the best he had ever seen while Misbah-ul-Haq described it as amazing. It
was hard to disagree. Root really does look as if he is developing into a
special player.So it is probably inevitable that England should rely upon him
and Cook. Just as Sri Lanka once relied upon Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela
Jayawardene, Australia relied upon Allan Border and South Africa now rely on
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. To some extent, that is the inevitable burden of
excellence.In the end, that was the difference between this Test and the first.
While at Lords, Root top-edged an overly aggressive slog-sweep, here he made
sure he took advantage and, as Cook put it, ground Pakistan down. England took
advantage of winning the toss, they werent in a rush with the bat or their
tactics and they still won with more than a day to spare. There is a lesson
there.The concern - or perhaps it is just a gripe - is that Root and Cooks
success is masking some pretty modest returns from the rest of the top-order.
Roots move to No. 3 has opened a hole at No. 4, with Alex Hales, Gary Ballance
and James Vince all struggling to supply contributions so far this series.It is
Vinces form that is most concerning. He is not just falling for low scores - he
is averaging 18.57 after seven Test innings - but failing in predictable ways.
His first-innings failure here, edging a drive at a ball angled across him, came
in spite of a life earlier in the innings attempting the same stroke. The
failure to learn does not bode well.If Vince is dropped - and Stokes injury may
save him - it does not mean the end for him. Many players have found their first
taste of international cricket tough but have returned to county cricket with
more knowledge of the standards required to succeed at this level. He has the
talent to come again.Ballance has only had three innings in this series - one of
them quite impressive - so probably deserves a longer run to prove himself,
while Hales surely did enough in the Sri Lanka games to earn a place for the
rest of this series. He is not at the stage, though, where he can be said to
have secured the opening position and is clearly struggling against the swing of
Mohammad Amir. How he overcomes that very specific challenge in the next two
Tests may define his career in this format.Moeen Alis form is a worry, too.
While he has the third-best average of any English spinner (with more than five
Test wickets) since the war, he also has the worst average of any England bowler
with more than 20 Test wickets this century.He took five wickets at Old Trafford
- a reflection of Pakistans policy of trying to destroy him as much as any
particularly wonderful bowling - but seems to have developed a worrying habit of
delivering a head-high full toss an innings, which betrays a man struggling for
form and confidence. England deserve credit for sticking with him - Cook has
developed as a captain in that regard - but Adil Rashid continues to push hard
for inclusion. It could well be that both men play on an Edgbaston track that
tends to turn as the game progresses.The truth is, England rather got away with
their errors in Manchester. They got away with Cooks missed slip chance on the
fourth day - had Younis Khan been at a different stage of his career, he may
have punished them - and they got away with a top order that offered
contributions from two players. So dominant were Englands seamers and two of
their top three that it made little difference that Hales, Ballance and Vince
struggled.Theres still work to do, Cook said. Theres still inexperience in that
batting line-up. Three of the top five are pretty inexperienced. We still have a
couple of years to go as a side.But that presupposes that experience will
improve players. It might, of course. But it might also show they are not quite
up to the standard required. It remains a bit early to draw conclusions about a
couple of this top order. As a result, it is a bit early to gauge how much
improvement England have made.Selection for the next Test will be intriguing. As
well as trying to find a replacement for Stokes - there is surely no way he will
be fit for next Wednesday - England must also reflect on Vinces form and decide
if Moeen did enough here. Had Stokes not been injured, there was a chance that
England could have picked Rashid in place of Vince for Edgbaston. But now they
must decide if they also want a replacement seamer and how much batting is
required. For a side who have just achieved a huge win, they have quite a lot of
thinking to do.
Dion Dawkins Womens Jersey . A big centre
with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a
standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high
three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game
losing streak.
Dion Dawkins Bills Jersey . Rousey will put
her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated
fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd.
http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elite-Zay-Jones-Bills-Jersey/
. Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined
longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an
injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games.The
Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have to do without one of their top draft picks this
season as defensive back Kris Robertson is out for the season with a torn ACL.
"Our organization was very much looking forward to Kris coming to camp this year
but unfortunately he has suffered a serious knee injury after the draft that
will force him to miss the entire season," said Blue Bombers general manager Joe
Mack in a statement. "We wish him well in his recovery and anticipate him
joining our tteam next year.
Zay Jones Youth Jersey. " "It sucks to say
but unfortunately I will not be going to camp with the blue bombers this year. I
tore my ACL. I will recover from this," Robertson (@KROB23) said on Twitter.
"Stay positive no time for negative thoughts or energy." The Concordia product
was drafted in the second round, 11th overall at this years CFL Draft. In other
news, the Blue Bombers signed non-import receiver Michael DiCroce, the teams
fourth round pick.
Cheap NFL
Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys
China Cheap Jerseys From
China Cheap NFL Jerseys
Authentic Wholesale
Jerseys China Cheap
NFL Jerseys China NFL
Cheap Jerseys ' ' '