England squad for the first Test with Sri Lanka, rubbing shoulders with the

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David Lloyd on the England squad for the first Test with Sri Lanka, rubbing shoulders with the stars at the BAFTAs and riding on steam trains with Bob Willis and Paul Allott. Corey White Bills Jersey ... The England squad was predictable. Another option would be that Jonny Bairstow bats five and Jos Buttler keeps wicket but Buttlers still at the IPL so thats put to bed.James Vince is a good pick, hell probably bat five. Theyve been looking at him for a while, hes got a century this season and hes a player whos improving all the time - a good pick. Then theres Jake Ball. I watched a championship game down at Lords, Middlesex versus Nottinghamshire and he bowled really well there, even though he didnt get any wickets when I watched him. But another lad who caught the eye was Toby Roland-Jones, he had a good solid action - very, very similar to Jake Ball and both of them bowl with good discipline. Toby Roland-Jones impressed Bumble at Lords As for the series as a whole, I would think that England are deserved favourites. Youve always got to factor in the weather and delays in the game but Id expect England to win this series comfortably and to win the Pakistan series comfortably too. That means they can get to work moving up the ICC Test rankings, theyre fourth and by the end of this Id expect them to have made a big move forward.This week also sees Mark Butchers documentary England in the 90s go to air and things have certainly changed since then. Wed had enough of playing catch up and central contracts were a vital part of the England Test team moving forward. Theyre now England players, I think everybody has accepted that now. It was difficult at the start, certainly in the 90s, David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, almost had to go cap in hand to the counties and ask if they could rest a player. Understandably, the counties said well were employing him but thats changed now and the England contracted players are exactly that.It wasnt the most successful decade for England but we were up against some wonderful opposition. We had a good side, make no mistake about it. In the late 90s England were a very good side but we were up against some world class performers. Shane Warne was part of a formidable Australian side in the 90s You look at the Australia team who were carrying all before them at that time with McGrath, Gillespie, Fleming, Warne - they had a wonderful attack. Then you had Pakistan with Waqar and Wasim, South Africa with Donald and Pollock, youve Ambrose and Walsh at the West Indies, there were some fabulous teams around.We had a really good team and sometimes wed come out on top, we had some good wins and we probably had some predictable losses. The disappointing loss would be losing in the West Indies 3-1 when I thought we were a better team than that performance, I thought we should have won that series - I was a bit disappointed at that.We did beat South Africa 2-1 in a five-match series, we hadnt played a five-match series for a long, long time and so to win that was a real highlight. We also manoeuvred away from the idea that Test team plays one-day cricket, we were trying hard to establish a one-day squad, a specialist one-day team. Back to the present day and Ive seen a couple of matches and Ive been really impressed by the cricket that Ive seen in County Championship Division One. There are some wonderful players, some really good teams, some potent bowling attacks and youve got to play really well now in Division One.Lancashire have had an excellent start with a good attack. Every team would say we need a good attack - well youve got Anderson leading the attack, Wagner, Jarvis and Kerrigan - thats a damn good attack. The top two teams are Lancashire and Yorkshire and theyve both got really good bowling units.Warwickshire will be round about too, I think theyre an excellent team and if I was making a favourite then Warwickshire would be my favourites. James Anderson has led the Lancashire attack so far this season Accrington Stanley have their first play-off match this weekend but Im still profoundly disappointed with the Stevenage result, we just couldnt get that ball in the back of the net - we just kept hitting the bar! We were all over them like a bad suit but we couldnt score and it was heart-breaking for the lads.John Coleman and Jimmy Bell will work hard to lift the players again and whats gone is gone, thats it. Our next game is Wimbledon on Saturday so we go again. We know what is expected of us as a team, we dont lie down and we will come again. Sky Sports won a BAFTA for the coverage of the 2015 Ashes series Elsewhere, we won a BAFTA last Sunday which was fabulous - mixing it with the stars! Walking up the red carpet, waving to people and they hadnt a clue who I was and rubbing shoulders with Lenny Henry, Mark Rylance, Peter Kay, Alesha Dixon. Oh by jingo, Ill never be the same again!I also went to the Sports Book Awards, Im short-listed for that, and then myself, Bob Willis and Paul Allott caught a train from London to north Wales and weve been riding on steam trains and walking. It was a bit like Last of the Summer Wine - Foggy, Compo and Clegg. Im the scruffiest so Im Compo.As well as that I was interviewed by Michael Parkinson at Lords for the Taverners this week and tomorrow Im going to the racing, a horse that Ive got an interest in is running at Thirsk. Im not telling anybody what its called though because itll stiffen the odds! Also See: Great challenge for Sri Lanka Watch England in the 90s Who is Jake Ball? David Lloyd John Miller Bills Jersey .  Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday. Tyrod Taylor Bills Jersey . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor.MONTREAL -- All things considered, Chelsea Carey would rather be in Sochi, Russia. But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. And Carey is making the most of it, taking her record to 7-1 after an 8-4 victory over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (5-4) on Wednesday night. Earlier, the Carey rink trounced Quebecs Allison Ross (1-8) by 15-3. The 15 points tied the Scotties record set in 1989, when Alberta beat Newfoundland 15-6. Carey reached the Manitoba finals twice, losing in 2011 to Cathy Overton-Clapham and in 2012 to Jennifer Jones, the four-time Scotties champion who will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Games. "We wanted to be here badly and lost a couple of heartbreakers and thats no fun, but it wasnt the only thing for us," said Carey. "The (Olympic) trials was our first goal and this was our second goal." Her only loss so far was an 8-3 setback this week to defending champion Rachel Homans seemingly unstoppable Canada team. Homans Ottawa foursome extended its unbeaten string to eight games with a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Islands Kim Dolan. They have outscored their opponents 62-26 and have yet to play a full 10 ends. Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton (7-1) posted an 8-6 win over Nova Scotia (3-6) and Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-5) completed a sweep of her sides two games on Wednesday with a 12-2 victory over the Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-8). Flaxey had the upset of the day in the afternoon draw with a 6-5 win over Albertas Val Sweeting (6-3). Carey put together her team with lead Lindsay Titheridge, second Kristen Foster and third Kristy McDonald specifically to take a shot at the Olympics. The rink has been among Canadas best for a few years, winning often in national and regional events, and did well enough to earn an invitation to the Canadian Olympic trials in Winnipeg. When that dream died with a fourth-place finish, Carey admits it was tough to find the energy to go to last months provincial championship, let alone win it. "I took a week off and didnt throw," she said. "I forced myself to go back, but I wanted no part of it. "I was just going through the motions. It took a long time to get our heads back there, but wed played in a lot of provincials before and we knew going into the trials that it was something wed have to transition to. It wasnt easy, but we did a good enough job to pull off the win there." Once she got her Manitoba team jacket and got to Montreal, she was thrilled to finally have a chance to represent her province at the Scotties. On the team website, Carey describes herself as "Unemployed, AKA Starving Curler." She worked as a sales representative for a mattress company for six years, but was finally told to choose between curling and her job. "It was the yeear of the trials and Im not going to pick that job over curling," she said. Marcell Dareus Bills Jersey. . "My initial thought was to get a new job, but with trials in December its hard to start a new job and say I need six weeks of holidays. "Ive been unemployed since then. It will have to change after this because I cant pay my bills." Manitobas win over Quebec had some wondering if curling needs a mercy rule. It was Quebecs worst beating since a 13-1 setback to Alberta in 1991. A rule obliges teams to play at least eight ends no matter how badly theyre trailing. "Im not so sure I believe in the eight-end rule," said Manitobas McDonald. "If things arent going well, the other team should be able to get out when they feel its time. "Theyre a good team. Theyre much better than that. But theyre just having a tough go. When things go sour, they go sour." Ross had plenty of support among the 1,790 spectators at the Maurice Richard Arena, but her squad has been off the target consistently all week. She was also missing second Brittany ORourke to the flu bug that has sidelined several players and officials during the week. "Todays game was tough for sure," said Ross, whose team also lost 6-5 to B.C. in the morning draw. "We didnt play well at all." Flaxey turned around what had been a dismal week with her win over Alberta. Ontario held off a charge that saw Alberta score two in the ninth end. She took out Sweetings stone on the button in the 10th to prevent a steal and secure the victory. "We havent been playing as well as we could have all week," said Flaxey, the 2001 Manitoba junior champion now based out of Listowel, Ont. "To show that we are a good, solid team and that we belong with the favourites and can play with the favourites, it shows people why were here." Ontario is all but eliminated from playoff contention, but can still play the role of spoiler with three round-robin games remaining, including a match Thursday afternoon with Manitoba. "Its all we have left so youve got to love doing it," said Flaxey. "Weve got a couple of tough ones left and hopefully we can at least shake things up." The afternoon draw saw Homan put up a 7-3 victory over British Columbia (5-4). Homan has a shot at being the first skip to go undefeated in the tournament since B.C.s Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones went undefeated in the round robin last year but lost to Homan in the final. "Im confident we can win the rest of our games," said Homan. "You have to be confident in your abilities. "You put in the practice and the hours and the work. I believe 100 per cent in our team. Were in a good spot now and we have to keep playing the way were playing." Lawton downed Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-4) by 7-3. Other early matches saw Alberta top Newfoundland 9-5, New Brunswick beat P.E.I. 9-6 and Nova Scotia down Yukon 7-3. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
Posted 06 Dec 2016

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