Die Macht » Sporting were reduced to 10 men in the

By the time Jonathan Trott trudged off the pitch at the end of Englands Caribbean tour in 2015, it seemed his days in the sun were over.What once had come so easily had become torturous. He admits to have a sense of relief when he was dismissed in the second innings of that final Test in Barbados: relief he would never have to put himself through the torment again. When Alastair Cook suggested he review the lbw decision, he apparently replied Nah, Im out of here and walked off to one of the more unusual standing ovations you will witness. Everyone knew his international career was over but, despite scores of 0 and 9 in that last Test, the Barmy Army proved they had longer memories than some sports fans when they rose to applaud him off.The months that followed were not easy. Trott didnt just struggle to score runs in the 2015 season - he averaged 25.05 in the Championship - he struggled to muster any enthusiasm for the game. Maybe he even started to resent it.For Trott was a boy brought up to bat. He didnt have a teddy, he had a sawn-down cricket bat. He didnt go on holiday, he went on tour. So while he never much bothered with education - why did he need qualifications when he was going to score centuries? - he learned to express himself through runs. Want to make his parents happy? Score a century. Want to impress new team-mates? Score a century. Runs made everything all right.But, somewhere along the way, batting become too important to him. It wasnt just a game: it was his profession; his identity; his means of providing for his family and making them proud. By the time it all came crashing down - unmasked and, in his eyes, humiliated in public in Brisbane - he felt he had nothing left. He has a book coming out in the coming days (I must declare an interest; I helped him write it) which will surprise a few by revealing the depths to which he sunk and how early in his career the demons started to take control. In short, cricket had become agony to him and he really didnt have anything else to fall back upon.It has taken a long time to recover. But somewhere, maybe through the faith shown in him by Warwickshire, maybe through the hours spent with the psychiatrist Steve Peters, maybe by simply keeping on buggering on (as Winston Churchill memorably put it) he seems to have emerged through the other side of the storm.Oh, yes, the game defeated him in the end. Brisbane and Barbados still happened. Mitchell Johnson was still too good. Nothing will ever change that.But, as he showed at Lords, the experience has not destroyed him. It has scarred him, yes. But he has recovered sufficiently not just to re-emerge as a fine player at this level, but to have rediscovered his enjoyment for this great game. Maybe there is a happy ending to his story, after all.There should be. While his international career ended in failure - they nearly always do - there were some great days along the way. There were Ashes wins at home at away. There was the rise to No. 1 in the Test and ODI rankings. There was the highest ODI batting average of any regular England batsman. It would be a shame if all that was overshadowed by the ending. It would be a shame if his second Test in Brisbane was remembered but his first not.It looks, at least, as if he will be able to look back with a sense of proportion and pride. To have paid the club he loves back with a Man-of-the-Match performance in a Lords final will ensure he leaves the game - and that departure is not especially imminent - with head held high and good memories outweighing the bad. He finishes as the competitions second-highest run-scorer (only team-mate and imitator Sam Hain scored more) with three centuries and two half-centuries from seven innings. You didnt have to be a Warwickshire supporter to celebrate his success.For maybe the first time in his career, Trott is playing the game for fun. He still puts himself under pressure to perform - as an ex-international player you want to set the standard he said - but he is not driven by the same desperation to prove himself. He knows there is more to life than cricket now. He knows its not everything. There were many heroes in this Warwickshire performance. There was Laurie Evans, who owed his selection over Ireland captain William Porterfield to an impressive display in a fielding training session earlier in the week and took what may have been a match-defining effort to dismiss Jason Roy. There was Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who gained seam movement absent to Surreys hugely talented quartet of pace bowlers. There was Chris Wright, who bowled with intelligence and control to tighten the grip on Surreys nervous batsmen. There was Tim Ambrose, who shrugged off injury to keep magnificently on a tricky surface and completed a stumping off a leg-side wide as if it was easy. There was Dougie Brown, who remains under pressure, but deserves time to lead this team through a tricky transition; the club will not find a coach who works harder or cares more. And there was Jeetan Patel who, with his quicker pace and greater turn, easily out-bowled Surreys two spinners. As Ian Bell said afterwards: He is the standout spinner in county cricket.But most of all there was Trott. The limited-overs game may have moved on from the time he took England to the brink of their first global ODI trophy - he still refers to the Champions Trophy final defeat at Edgbaston in 2013 as the biggest disappointment of his career and the moment his decline began - but if you need a man to chase a relatively modest target, there is nobody better. There might never have been anyone better. He was never going to let a chase of 137 bother him.If theres one bloke in world cricket who I would want to knock off a small total - or a total where you can pace yourself - it is Jonathan Trott, Bell said.That is not faint praise. This was a surface - a poor surface for a showpiece final, really - on which nobody else in the match passed 40. Only one man reached 30. Not even Roy scored at such a strike rate. It required a man with a calm head and masterful technique to conquer it. It was a reminder of the high-class player he once was.It was noticeable at the end that the supporters of Surrey, as much as Warwickshire, stood to applaud him. As cricket crowds become more partisan such moments become ever less frequent. But maybe there has been something in Trotts public struggle - and his public attempts to overcome it - that struck a chord with spectators. That has endeared him to them in a way that runs and records never can. Most people have experienced failure and fear at some time; they can respect a man who has faced his and, if not defeated them, at least not allowed to let them defeat him.It was noticeable, too, that with the game won and the rest of the players leaving the pitch, Trott paused for a while and marked his guard one more time. It was a ritual that once seemed to infuriate, but now appears a more endearing quirk. Trott will leave the game with a smile on his face and many good memories. From the position he was in not so long, that is something to be cherished.Air Force 1 07 Norge . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Air Force 1 Dame Norge . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. http://www.airforce1norge.com/ . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Air Force 1 Dame Norge . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Nike Air Force 1 Norge Prisjakt . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason.Real Madrid qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to a 2-1 victory against 10-man Sporting on Tuesday evening.On Cristiano Ronaldos return to his former club, Raphael Varane gave Zinedine Zidanes side the lead in the 29th minute and Sportings task became even harder when full-back Joao Pereira was sent off after appearing to strike Mateo Kovacic in the stomach.However, Jorge Jesus side got back in it thanks to Andrien Silvas 79th-minute penalty after Fabio Coentrao handled in the area. Sporting had their tails up after the equaliser with on-loan Arsenal star Joel Campbell providing the threat for the hosts, but Real, who lost Gareth Bale to injury in the second-half, grabbed the winner through Karim Benzema three minutes from time to book their place in the knockout stages and eliminate the hosts. Gareth Bale went off injured for Real Reals next fixture in Group F is against Borussia Dortmund, who beat Legia Warsaw 8-4 in the highest scoring Champions League of all time, and the winner will finish top for the group. Sporting take on Legia Warsaw with a place in the Europa League on the line.Knowing only a win would keep alive their chances of qualifying for the last 16, Sporting made a fast start with Silva almost getting away from Sergio Ramos in the third minute, but the Spaniard made an excellent tackle just as he was about to get a shot away.Ronaldo, keen to put on a show at his former club, had an early sight of goal but his weak effort was easily saved by Rui Patricio before Bale almost released the Portugal international with a diagonal through ball. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score on his return to Sporting Real were starting to find their rhythm and Bale again was causing the hosts problems but his cross was turned behind by Ruben Semedo with Ronaldo poised at the far post.At the other end, Gelson Martins almost picked out Bas Dost at the far post but the Dutch striker could not get a toe to his team-mates inviting cross.The deadlock was eventually broken in the 29th minutte and Ronaldo was involved not once, but twice.ddddddddddddThe former Sporting star drew a foul from Semedo before poking the resultant free-kick into the path of Varane, who beat the offside trap to finish powerfully. Raphael Varane (right) celebrates opening the scoring Despite ferocious appeals from the home side, the goal stood and they could have been level three minutes later when Bruno Cesars shot was headed away from goal by Ramos.Cesar went close again just before the break after Marcelo brought down Gelson Martins just outside the penalty area. The midfielders sweetly struck free-kick had Keylor Navas scrambling but the ball flashed wide of the near post to leave Real leading at the break.In the 58th minute, having earlier needed treatment on what looked like an ankle problem, Bale was replaced by Marco Asensio. Bale gets treatment on an ankle injury Sporting were reduced to 10 men in the 64th minute following the dismissal of Pereira when the defender appeared to punch Kovacic in the stomach as the duo squared up on the far touchline, leaving Scottish referee Willie Collum little option but to show a red card.The Portuguese side, though, were gifted a way back into the match with 11 minutes left.Real substitute Fabio Coentrao was punished for a handball just inside the box - the defender appearing to still be appealing for the same offence against Joel Campbell - and Silva made no mistake from the penalty spot. Adrien Silva scored from the spot for Sporting Sporting had suddenly found new life and pressed for a winner, as Campbell sent a header over at the far post.But it was Real who sealed all three points after 87 minutes when substitute Benzema nodded in to book the defending champions passage into the knockout stagesUpgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! ' ' '