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Thinking back to the English summer of cricket, I first remembered a conversation with Steven Finn after the second Test against Sri Lanka. I asked him about James Vince, whose selection had delighted anyone with Hampshire cricket in their veins and anyone else who appreciated batting in its purest form. I was worried that Vince was confused by the demands of the higher game and was therefore afraid to parade his gifts. Finn told me to rest easy. Vince, he said, was the real deal; so much so that the bowlers didnt much like lining up against him. He had time to play, said Finn, making a quick bowler feel as if he were letting it go at gentle medium. I wondered about saying this to Vince, but I dont know him well and decided not to meddle.Had I been his captain or coach, Id have told him to puff out his chest a bit. Batsmen need to create ownership, especially if they dont already have it. The Vince we love watching for Hampshire has a calm authority that is the envy of others. The one for England these past few months has been reticent. Sadly, at this first attempt, the Hampshire captain was unable to pass the ultimate test - the test that consumes us all.I like chatting with Finn. His honesty is refreshing, he is engaging and generally wise. As Middlesex surged to the County Championship title on Friday afternoon last, he knocked over Yorkshires Steve Patterson with a pearler of a full and fast outswinger. Watching his celebration, I figured all must be well with his world after a difficult period in an England shirt during the early part of the summer.At the other end Toby Roland-Jones was bowling in a manner that surely impressed all the old fast-mediums tuned in. Fellows such as Ken Higgs, who passed away recently, Peter Lever, Geoff Arnold, Chris Old and Mike Hendrick, Neil Foster, Angus Fraser, Andy Caddick, Dominic Cork and Matthew Hoggard, to name but a few. It is old news now, but to win the Championship with a hat-trick is a history-maker of note. Roland-Jones is a big man and immensely strong. It appears that Gus Fraser has rubbed some of the old magic on the boy: You miss, I hit was very Fraser, and now it seems, is very Middlesex dressing-room. The coach there is Richard Scott, who plays his own part deliberately low-key. Scotty was with Hampshire till lack of opportunity drove him to Gloucestershire. He had a fantastic ball-striking ability, far greater than his record suggests. He would have prospered in the freer-spirited atmosphere of todays game.Back to Vince. Correctly, he has been left out of the tour to Bangladesh. Ill bet he is mentally shot. Ill also bet that in the long term Finn is right, but we must wait the day. The spotlight caught Vince off guard. He is a shy soul, provincially so. After a few mistakes, the constant media examination and analysis are impossible to ignore. He cover-drives the ball close to perfectly but lost his chutzpah to do so. Half-heartedly, Test match after Test match, he fell on that very sword: the strength that betrays you as weakness. He is not the first, nor will he be the last. Even the best have to wade through the morass. David Gower was brilliant square of the wicket off either foot, but during a slump, the strokes that helped make his name cost him his place. Mind you, the analysts in his day didnt pick at the carcass as they do now. The selectors picked the right man. The right man failed them. A shame indeed, but dont give up on him. We all develop at a different pace. The problem for the selectors is getting it right. Talent is easy enough to see, temperament is not. When Tony Greig was searching for a batsman to repel first Lillee and Thomson and then the West Indians, he took a poll among the umpires. The question was simple - who is the hardest man to dismiss on the county circuit? Geoff Boycott, they cried. But Geoff wasnt up for it. Whos next? asked Greig. David Steele, they whispered, not truly believing they would see it for themselves. When they turned on the telly, there was Steele - or Groucho Marx as Thommo called him - marching out to bat at Lords. Nothing funny about it. Steele ended up as the BBCs Sports Personality of the Year. He would be the first to admit he didnt have Vinces sublime gift of timing, but he had a mountain of courage and temperament. Batting talent is mainly perceived as strokeplay but this is misleading. Talent is given in different forms and Steele, like Boycott, had plenty of his own.Not truly satisfied with Alex Hales against the red ball, the selectors have made two riveting juxtaposition choices to battle for his spot alongside Alastair Cook. Ben Duckett plays with fearless abandon, Haseeb Hameed with more modest intent. Hameed had made his impact in the first division, however - a definite plus mark. Duckett has torn the second division to shreds, as Vince sort of did in 2014. We shall see. It may be easier to fly under the radar in Bangladesh. Whichever one of them gets first dibs will almost certainly be given the series. Duckett has an advantage there in that he will open in the one-day games first and could make an unanswerable case with an innings or two that matches those for Northamptonshire this summer. If not, Hameed is pencilled in anyway.English batting is changing. Inherent fear - a reference to the glass being half-empty - has been replaced by a gratifying sense of adventure, as if cricket is for fun. This is the most encouraging thing to happen to the game across these green and pleasant fields in a long time. It has made England an enterprising and exciting side to watch, albeit one prone to a tumble. Rather that, though, than the meek surrender of days gone by.The Test series against Pakistan was a belter and 2-2 was about the right result. It was no bad thing that England didnt win, for the team has a way to go. For much of the summer Cook alluded to the periods when concentration and/or metal stamina go absent without leave. This is both cockiness and laziness, and it is a legacy of all that T20 brings - among them a lack of care for defence of the wickets. Its too glib to say you cannot have both enterprise and discipline. You can. Joe Root proved it with his fabulous 254 at Old Trafford; Younis Khan with his double-hundred at the Oval. These were two innings of substance and style that matched any played by the legends of the past.The only selection surprise that I could see was the omission of the Middlesex opener Nick Gubbins. What a gem he looks! We must assume Fraser, who is an England selector as well as the Middlesex director of cricket, knows best, for he has seen Gubbins from the starters gun to his superb match at Lords last week. It is no exaggeration to say that Middlesex would not have won without him.This is a good time for cricket at the top level. The price is high because the players have earned the board the chance to up the ante. International cricket usually receives the focus of general attention, but that extraordinary climax to the Championship brought the very best of crickets myriad attractions to the table in just four days of fascinating play across the land. There were winners and losers and saints and sinners, with teams caught the right side and the wrong side of the line. We should celebrate the fact that English cricket is not lagging behind. The advent of a new city-based T20 competition will allow it to become a market leader. But the Championship and the resulting Test match team are the soul of a game spawned every bit as much in the mining communities as within the estates of country houses. Cricket is no kind of a game without its soul. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Cheap Wholesale Adidas Shoes . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). http://www.clearanceadidas.com/ . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Cheap Adidas China Wholesale . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Adidas Shoes Cheap China . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers are ready to celebrate the Big 5-0.Its a golden anniversary for the orange-and-black and the Flyers plan a yearlong celebration of their history.Former Flyers stars will play an alumni game against retired rivals from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Theres a new book packed with history and promotional nights sprinkled through the schedule honoring Phillys greatest captains, tough guys, goalies and playoff stars.The Flyers even underwent a cosmetic makeover, producing special 50th anniversary jerseys and hanging new banners commemorating division, conference and Stanley Cup championships in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center.But will the Flyers add a new one in the 51st year in honor of this season?The Flyers made a surprising playoff run in coach Dave Hakstols first season, who seemed as smooth on the bench of an NHL franchise as he was as one of the great college coaches at North Dakota.Shayne Gostisbehere emerged as one of the top rookies and Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn handled the bulk of the goal scoring. Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth were steady in net. And the Flyers built on their one-and-done postreason run by ... doing nothing.Flyers general manager Ron Hextall had a quiet summer, a sign perhaps, that he expects the team to stay steady simply by having his core roster get better. The Flyers expect Jakub Voracek to bounce back after he tailed off following a breakthrough season; and theres a chance that 19-year-old prized prospects Ivan Provorov (defenseman) and Travis Konecny (forward) could make the opening night roster.Those guys have done a good job throughout camp, Hakstol said. Its not a single night evaluation but every evaluation and every game is important. They along with a lot of others in that room have are doing their job and making decisions difficult.Also difficult, the Flyers will play their first season without founder and owner Ed Snider. Snider died of cancer in April and his presence had been the one franchise fixture from the expansion years, the Broad Street Bullies era, the Legion of Doom and every run at the Stanley Cup.Neuvirth had the image of the respected owner painted on his goalie helmet .He is pretty special within our locker room and every player is going to pay tribute in their own way, Hakstol said.The Flyers should be playoff bound but are likely looking at another empty season without a Stanley Cup championship.Here are some other things to know about this seasonns Philadelphia Flyers:THAT DROUGHT: The Stanley Cup drought is one of the longest in the league: The Flyers havent a championship since back-to-back Cups in 1974 and 1975.ddddddddddddThe Flyers were the hit of the NHL in the 1970s thanks to those hard-hitting Broad Street Bullies. Led by Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber, the Flyers were Stanley Cup regulars and seemed poised to build a dynasty.The only thing the franchise has a built is a loyal, yet frustrated, fanbase wondering if the orange-and-black will ever celebrate with a championship parade again through the heart of Philadelphia.The Flyers have been close -- real close: Philadelphia lost in the Stanley Cup finals in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010.NEW KIDS IN TOWN: Provorov and Konecny hope to turn sensational preseasons into spots on the roster.Hextall is a patient GM and he wont put them on the roster with the idea of sending them back to the minors in a month. Provorov said hes felt comfortable in camp. Konecny has impressed his veteran teammates by playing like one in preseason games.Hes not a big guy but hes not afraid to go into the dirty areas, Flyers forward Sean Couturier said. He wasnt afraid to share his thoughts on the bench of what he could see out there and what he could tell us. He wants to learn and to get better and thats all you can ask from a young guy.WHOS NO. 1: Mason was the clear No. 1 entering last season and won 23 games to help the Flyers reach the playoffs.But he never recovered from the 101-foot goal allowed in a Game 2 playoff loss at Washington that was replayed on an endless loop in Philadelphia.Neuvirth stepped in and won two straight games, including a whopping a 44-save effort in a Game 5 shutout win. He stopped 103 of 105 shots in only three games.Both goalies can become unrestricted free agents in July.GHOST BUSTER OR BOON: Gostisbehere might have won rookie of the year had he played a full season. But 17 goals and 46 points in only 64 games made quite an impression on the Flyers and the rest of the league. He was the Flyers top defenseman and he set a team rookie record for goals scored by a defenseman. The Flyers were 5-8-3 when he was promoted, and with his Ghost nickname name and instant hot streak, he was an immediate fan favorite.I didnt think I was going to make such an impact the way I did, he said.Can he do it again? cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '