y score on the power play, they win; at least that is how it has happen | Forum

On Saturday, a mate took his girlfriend out for birthday brunch at the same time David Warner and Joe Burns walked to the middle in Hobart. Air Jordan 1 Retro Outlet . By the time they returned home, Australia had been bowled out for 85.On Tuesday, two former Australian Test players checked the scores to see the team were still two wickets down on the fourth morning before heading into work meetings. By the time the pair broke for lunch, the Test match was over.These are but two examples of how far the batting cancer in Australias Test team has spread. A collapse of 10 for 83 in the third Test of the series in Sri Lanka was noticed by some, being the third defeat in a row. But those of 10 for 86, 10 for 85 and 8 for 32 so far against South Africa are disturbing the rhythm of Australian life at a time when vast swathes of the community expect to be sitting down to watch the cricket. It is, quite literally, beyond a joke.A problem of this magnitude stretches beyond the players immediately concerned to affect the rest of the team, the support staff, coaches, selectors, management, the Cricket Australia board and the sporting public at large. Right now, Australias batting is driving down the value of the game in this country - a rude shock to those administrators who have at times made the teams performance subservient to the bigger picture of growing the game.There was nothing particularly unusual about the way Australias batsmen folded at Bellerive Oval. A poor choice of shot by Usman Khawaja ended a partnership with Steven Smith, the new man Adam Voges was placed under immediate pressure, and once he was out the rest fell apart like a slow-cooked lamb leg off the bone.The only salient differences from other days were the fact that the short ball did as much damage as deliveries probing a length around off stump, as South Africas pacemen recognised the best way to utilise the indentations left in the Hobart pitch by their spells on day one when the surface was still fresh. Voges and Callum Ferguson both fell when trying to leave shortish deliveries, while Peter Nevill was out fending at a Kagiso Rabada throat ball, in a dismissal that could have been from any number of West Indian victories in the 1980s.It is beyond doubt that the South Africa seam and swing attack has been of the highest quality, as demonstrated by the present career averages of Vernon Philander (21.67), Kyle Abbott (21.83) and Rabada (22.75). But it is equally true that when other highly skilled pace ensembles have charged in at Australian batsmen in the past, whether it be the West Indians, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, or Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, they have found the baggy greens harder to shift.Thats what Smith referred to in an impassioned address after the match. I need players who are willing to get into the contest and get into the battle and pride in playing for Australia and pride in the baggy green - thats what I need, he said. At the moment its not good enough. Im quite tired of saying it, to be honest with you. Its happened five Tests in a row now, for an Australian cricket team thats humiliating.Something that has clouded Australias batsmen over the past five matches is a state of conflict between the philosophy that informs their approach and the match scenario in which they find themselves. Notions of driving the game forward, being proactive and entertaining are second nature to the team and the coach Darren Lehmann, but as one former player has put it, you have to earn the right to play that way.Intriguingly, there was little identification among some members of the team for the way JP Duminy and Dean Elgar dug in on day three of the Perth Test. They did not score at a rate deemed attractive to the public, but did as much as anyone, in their understated way, to decide the outcome of the series.Yet the overwhelming body of evidence now before everyone connected to Australian cricket is that this team is not good enough to attack at all costs, as much as they would like to do so. Basics, and stubborn application, must be rediscovered. Were only driving a game if were in a position, to be perfectly honest and we havent been for a while now, Lehmann said. Weve got to stay in long enough to create those chances and put pressure on the opposition and we havent been able to do that.South Africa have been driving the game barring day one of the Perth game and we had an opportunity there and we didnt take it. Thats probably happened in the past few Test matches - even in Sri Lanka we had a couple of opportunities to grab the game and didnt. Its about these young guys getting better about grabbing the game and taking it from there.Unquestionably, Australian cricket must refocus on the defensive basics of batting, and also on ensuring players are as focused, prepared and energised as possible when the time comes to pull on the national team kit. South Africas cricketers did something similar earlier this year, following an 18-month lull that followed the 2015 World Cup won by Australia at home. What they have now achieved is a strength in depth that Smith, Lehmann and the selectors can only dream about, without anything like the same budgets.After play, the Australians met with the chief executive James Sutherland, the team performance chief Pat Howard, and a quintet of former playing luminaries in Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Ian Healy, Michael Slater and Tom Moody. That too, provided a reminder of how far this batting cancer has spread, for continued problems will affect the jobs of the administrators and also the salaries of the commentators - a new round of broadcast deals is to be decided over the next year. Chronic batting troubles could reduce the money available to the game.A third example of how Hobarts events are spiralling ever outwards could be found on the boundarys edge at Bellerive an hour or so after the final wicket fell. A man had picked up his primary school-aged grandson from school to take him to see the cricket, but there was none to see. Instead they were left to wander around an empty stadium, as South Africas winning players caroused in the middle of the ground. Air Jordan 1 Retro 2019 . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Discount Air Jordan 1 Retro .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. http://www.cheapairjordan1retro.com/ . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.The Boston Bruins scored late to put the New York Rangers on the brink of elimination, while the San Jose Sharks held serve at home to even up their series with the Los Angeles Kings. BRUING BURYING RANGERSBoston LW Dan Paille scored with 3:31 left in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 2-1, taking a three-games-to-none lead in the series. The Rangers are left to pray for a miracle to climb out of that hole. Bostons fourth line was instrumental in the victory. Paille, who banged home the winning goal, assisted on Bostons first goal and Shawn Thornton, the Bruins tough guy, assisted on both goals and both wingers were plus-2 for the game. Its not exactly par for the course when the fourth line scores both a teams goals, and its not the kind of production that can be counted on consistently, but its precisely the kind of contribution that can make a difference over the course of a playoff run. Another Bruin doing a lot more than expected is D Torey Krug. He was held without a goal for the first time (leaving him with two goals and three points in three games), but the AHL call-up isnt shying away from the action. He tied for the team lead with four shots on goal and played 18:02. In a one-goal game, thats a positive sign that hes earning the trust of the Boston coaching staff. Of course, while the Bruins get unexpected contributions, they also wait for the first goals from Tyler Seguin and Jaromir Jagr. The right wingers have combined for 69 shots on goal in the postseason and have yet to find the net. That the Bruins are winning despite their lack of production should be favourable in the long run because they cant stay goalless forever, right? Bruins C Patrice Bergeron continued to dominate in the faceoff circle, where he was 14-of-20 (70.0%). Bergeron is at 64.2% for the playoffs, best among all that have taken at least 100 draws, just fractions ahead of teammate Chris Kelly, who is also at 64.2%. Teammate Rich Peverley has only taken 81 faceoffs, but has won an astonishing 69.1%. The counter to Bostons faceoff dominance is that Rangers C Brian Boyle was just 4-for-21 (19.0%) in Game Three. In a losing effort, Rangers C Derek Stepan had a strong possession game and recorded a game-high five shots on goal. Rangers RW Derek Dorsett, on the other hand, was seemingly on the wrong side of the puck all night, posting the games worst possession numbers. Rangers C Brad Richards remained in the dooghouse, playing 8:10, a playoff career low. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Retro. It speaks volumes that the Rangers, desperate for offence having scored five goals in three games against Boston, are comfortable leaving Richards, their most accomplished playoff scorer, in a fourth-line role. Down three games to none, the Rangers are going to need spectacular goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist if they are going to mount a comeback in this series and, right now, even a great Lundqvist performance may not be enough if the Blueshirts cant find the net. SHARKS KNOT SERIES WITH KINGSThe San Jose Sharks held on for a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, evening their series at two games apiece. The Sharks winning goal was another power play marker for C Logan Couture, a deflection off a Dan Boyle blast from the point. Couture has five goals in the playoffs, all on the power play and eight of his team-leading 11 points have come with the man advantage. San Jose has been lethal on the power play, earning 40 power plays in eight games, an average of 5.0 per game. The Rangers, who have been alleged to be getting such favourable treatment, have 38 power plays in 10 games (3.80 per game) and the second-best per-game rate belongs to the Ottawa Senators (4.38 per game). At the other end of the spectrum, Washington (2.29), Boston (2.50) and Vancouver (2.50) have the fewest power plays per game in the playoffs. It was a strong game at even-strength for the line of Couture, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau, the only real possession standouts for San Jose by games end. For the Kings, D Jake Muzzin had an impressive showing. Kings LW Kyle Clifford made his first appearance of the series, recording five hits in 11:25 of ice time, putting up decent possession numbers in that limited role. Now that the series is down to a best-of-three, the Kings need more from their top line if they are going to get past the Sharks. Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams have combined for two points through the first four games. As for San Jose, if they score on the power play, they win; at least that is how it has happened in the playoffs. The Sharks are 5-0 when they score a power play goal and they are tied with Pittsburgh for tops in the playoffs with 10 power play goals. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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