Forums » Off-Topic Discussions
only 50 yards on 31 carries before dam
-
Marlon Samuels isnt known to show anything approaching haste when he runs between wickets, but here he was, scurrying as fast as his legs could manage, taking a short detour to avoid running into the bowler as he reached the other end. Nike NBA Jerseys From China . This was the 30th ball of his innings; this was his first run.The last time Samuels played a Test match at Sabina Park, he had made two-ball ducks in both innings. He had endured quite a wait to score his first run at his home ground in nearly four years.The crowd was small, but they made a big noise now, whistles and applause, the piercing cry of a conch.Two days before the game, Samuels had spoken of wanting to show my Jamaican people what they have been seeing over the years, me coming out here, playing shots, and just enjoying myself in the middle. Now, on day one of the Test, he had walked in with his five-year-old son Dimitri, who had been the mascot at the toss, in the crowd.Playing shots and enjoying himself would have been the farthest thing from Samuels mind when he took guard. West Indies were 4 for 2, and the two wickets had fallen off successive deliveries. He had made a pair in his last Test at this venue; now he had to prevent an Ishant Sharma hat-trick.The pitch was green, it was moist, and his captain had chosen to bat first. The first ball he faced jagged back, climbed from a good length, and hit him high on the front pad. Not convincing by any means, but the hat-trick was averted.West Indies had added a mere three runs to their score when Rajendra Chandrika hung his bat out at a rising away-seamer from Mohammed Shami, and nicked to gully. In walked Jermaine Blackwood.Two local boys in partnership, just the sort of thing the crowd might have come to watch, though they would probably have preferred West Indies to have made at least a hundred more runs before they joined each other.Samuels had made a fifty in his last innings, the second innings of West Indies innings defeat in the first Test in Antigua. In his ten most recent Test innings before that, he had made 11, 0, 13, 6, 9, 3, 0, 19, 4 and 1. Blackwood, meanwhile, came into this Test match with scores of 16, 4, 0, 0, 28, 20, 10, 0 and 0. Some may have counted him lucky that his captain, while picking an extra fast bowler for this Test, had kept faith in him and instead dropped a bowling allrounder with a half-century in the first Test.Blackwood left the second ball he faced, bowled by Shami. The charitable explanation may have been that he trusted the bounce. It was probably more likely, given the form he was in, that he had misjudged the line. The ball bounced over off stump, and didnt miss by much. Not convincing, but a ball survived.Two balls later, he scored his first runs of the series. The ball was full, though not a half-volley, and he went after it and got four runs, even if the ball went squarer than he probably intended, slicing off the face of his bat and racing past point.By the 10th over, West Indies had moved to 21 for 3. Samuels was still on 0, off 23 balls. He had been beaten attempting one wild drive, but had otherwise been leaving everything outside off stump, crabbing across the crease before lifting his bat over his head. He had inside-edged one ball into his pad, and was lucky it hadnt gone to either short leg or short midwicket. He had played the lifting ball well, bat tucked close to his chest and bottom hand barely touching the handle.It was a fraught existence, but there was a method to it.You couldnt say the same about Blackwood, not just yet. He had moved to 13 and had hit two more fours, one a top-edged hook, the other a glance that only seemed half-controlled.But now, Ishant sent down a full ball wide of off stump. Traditional coaching manuals tell you to get your head over the ball to drive, but plenty of great batsmen have driven with an entirely different technique, leaning back and lashing through the ball with a rotary, whiplash bat-swing. Don Bradman drove that way. So did Garfield Sobers. And so did George Headley, whose statue - hooking rather than driving - stands outside Sabina Park. Blackwood isnt Bradman or Sobers or Headley, but he played a drive in their style, upper body leaning away from the ball rather than into it, and the ball flashed between bowler and short extra-cover. There was no mid-off.Two balls later, another fullish ball, though nowhere near a half-volley. Once again Blackwood leaned back, flung his arms through the ball, and sent it skimming low over bowler, umpire and boundary rope.The drive is crickets definitive shot, central to the tug-of-war between bat and ball. Most of the other classic attacking shots tend to come off bad balls. Not always so with the drive. Batsmen get rank half-volleys every now and then, but more often, particularly at the highest level, the balls they drive occupy a grey area between good and bad.Its an area of negotiation, a constantly shape-shifting zone full of questions. A skillful bowler poses those questions with great deliberation. How full do I need to land the ball for you to dare to drive me? How far outside off stump are you prepared to reach? How good is your technique?All these questions have different answers, depending on the surface, the atmosphere, and, obviously, the batsman. Some try to force the bowler away from this grey zone by ignoring the bait. Samuels, apart from one indiscretion, seemed to be adopting this approach.Others accept the invitation and try to show the bowler how good, how safe, and how productive their drives are. Almost like theyre saying, Try something else, mate.Blackwood was going after anything remotely in his hitting arc, but this wasnt about showing his mastery of the drive, as much as a recognition that he might as well score as much as he could, as quickly as he could, before the wicket-taking ball came along.The ball soared over the straight boundary, and the conches blared, just as they would when Samuels scored his first run. A smattering of Jamaicans celebrating two Jamaicans raising the small possibility of a fightback.Blackwoods willingness to drive had an immediate effect on Ishant. Perhaps this was what the batsman wanted; three balls later, a short ball, wide outside off stump. Blackwoods response was an uppercut, airy, too close to Amit Mishra at point but going too fast for him to get his hands to the ball.India rang the changes, and Blackwood continued to attack anything remotely drive-able. Down the track to R Ashwin to hit him into the North Stand; a genuine half-volley from Umesh Yadav, smashed through mid-off; flight over the eyeline from Amit Mishra, and a flat-bat wallop for another straight six.That six brought up his half-century, off 47 balls. At the other end, Samuels was batting on 7 off 54.Together, in their contrasting ways, they had given India something to think about. They had rattled India. Umesh dropped short, Samuels uppercut him for six. Then, Blackwood fell with three balls to go for lunch, to a marginal lbw call, but his effect continued to be felt after the break; Ishant kept pitching short to Samuels, and went for four fours in two overs; a pull and three successive square cuts.For perhaps the first time in the series, Indias bowlers were being seriously challenged. But almost inevitably, the challenge was short-lived. Samuels launched R Ashwin for the sweetest six youll ever see, and then, stepping out again, failed to reach the pitch of a ball laden with topspin. Inside edge, caught at short leg.Back walked Samuels, out for 37. A slow start, an earlier finish than he would have liked, but in between, briefly, he had given a Jamaican crowd, his son among them, something to cheer. He had played his shots, perhaps he had even enjoyed himself. Signed Nike NBA Jerseys . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Stitched Nike NBA Jerseys .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. http://www.cheapnbajerseyssigned.com/ ;. It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Sam Bradford has started all of four games for Minnesota.The Vikings arent yet one-third of the way through their schedule.The early return on that expensive emergency trade the Vikings made for Bradford, though, could not have been better.Theyre the only undefeated team remaining in the NFL, and Bradford has the second-best passer rating in the league (109.8) among quarterbacks with a qualifying amount of attempts.Obviously, its a great start, said Bradford, who was fetched from Philadelphia for a first-round draft pick in 2017 and a conditional selection in 2018 thatll be in the second, third or fourth round. You couldnt ask for anything more than being 5-0 going into your bye week.Waiting for the Vikings after the welcomed break is a road game on Oct. 23 against those Eagles (3-1), who havent missed Bradford one bit because of the success of rookie Carson Wentz.Coach Mike Zimmer cracked a couple of smiles after Minnesotas 31-13 victory over Houston on Sunday, but hell soon enter his usual state of anxiety about the upcoming opponent and how to slow its offense.Like Coach Zimmer said after the game, its still a lot of work this team needs to do, Bradford said. I think theyre still rooting for us to improve, and I think thats our mindset going forward. Were not satisfied. Its early in the year, and we havent accomplished anything yet.No, but the Vikings have at least mastered the art of resilience, after losing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, running back Adrian Peterson, left tackle Matt Kalil and now right tackle Andre Smith, all perhaps for the rest of the season.Bridgewaters colossal injury to his left knee triggered the deal for Bradford eight days before the opener , and the 28-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick has meshed with his new teammates and picked up offensive coordinator Norv Turners playbook as if hes been in purple his whole pro career.The offensive coaches have done a great job of getting him prepared, Zimmer said. The one thing about Sam is that he will communicate the things that he likes to do.If we have a play in the game plan that he doeesnt like, hes going to tell Norv, and we get rid of the play. Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys. We try to do things that hes comfortable with, even though its been a short period of time.When wide receiver Stefon Diggs (groin) was held out on Sunday against the Texans, Adam Thielen stepped up with seven catches for 127 yards and a tone-setting touchdown on the opening drive .I really didnt know much about this team at all, to be honest, before I got here. I think I learn a little bit more each week, Bradford said. I think weve definitely got a lot of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, a lot of guys that we feel if can get the ball in their hands then good things will happen.According to the NFL, the Vikings are only the second team since 1933 to go five games into the season without throwing an interception while also winning all five. Roman Gabriel and the Los Angeles Rams also did so in 1969, when Gabriel went on to be voted the NFL MVP.Peterson won the award in 2012 and led the league in rushing again last year, but he had only 50 yards on 31 carries before damaging his right knee.His absence, as strange as it sounds, could actually have been a productive development for the offense provided Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata remain healthy as a viable two-man fill-in.Bradford, who has completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 990 yards and six touchdowns, acknowledged on Sunday the creative spark that followed the loss of Peterson.Rather than lining up in traditional setups for power running plays, the Vikings have been operating predominantly out of the shotgun and frequently using spread formations for a quick-passing, up-tempo attack.I think thats a little bit different than what the offense has done in the past, Bradford said. I think its just us getting to know each other, us getting familiar with where were going as an offense. But I think its just guys buying in.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL