Die Macht » defense, with wide receiver Trent

Dear Cricket Monthly,Cuppers It was all a terrible mistake. Clare Hall is a very small Cambridge college, composed, apart from staff and a handful of Fellows, mostly of senior graduate students and professors from abroad who visit for a year.This year someone at a central computer automatically entered ours in the list of teams to play cricket in Cuppers, the intercollegiate competition that takes place during the spring term, one that is short, marred by exams and finally upended by May Balls. We were drawn against Fitzwilliam. Could we field a team?We do have the nucleus for a team on site: among others, Andy, our imperturbable head porter; Dave, the gardener, a champion ploughman and ballroom dancer; Iain, the senior tutor, well placed to establish whether applicants to the college have cricketing as well as academic qualifications; and captain Sam, doubly an allrounder in that, while doing college accounts, he dreams of organising all-year-round cricket.But we cant make up a full team without an annual intake of people coming from the cricket-playing Commonwealth, together with erstwhile baseball players and a tail of other newcomers from as far afield as Singapore and Syria, all ready to give the English game a go.I was away and missed the Fitzwilliam match and called in to learn we had batted first and been all out for 19. Never mind, I said, at least double figures. What a pity that chap who plays for the MCC wasnt playing for us. Oh, but he was, came the reply. And? In the first over he was involved in a mix-up which resulted in the other opener being run out, and then he was clean bowled in the next over.News of our ten-wicket defeat clearly never reached our next opponents, Magdalene College, who conceded the match in advance. We sported a proud 1-1 Cuppers record.Visitors from London Our season this year included a fixture against a North London occasional XI founded by one of our own members, who, for his good offices, was dubbed a turncoat. We played what was intended to be a two-innings match of 16 overs an innings (that in effect became a one-innings match since not everybody on either side had a chance to bat). Peculiarly, Conrad the double agent, playing for the Interlopers, was the only player to bat and be out twice.Another oddity, apparently, was my (first-innings) umpiring. I had been out of the game for more than 50 years and had not umpired since 1957, when wides and no-balls (full tosses or grounders in those days) were things for batsmen to chase and hit. My failure to call these fashionable extras probably cost us the match. Result: Clare Hall, 119 for 0 and 78 for 6. Interlopers, 97 for 3 and 99 for 3.The Grand Challenge match Our club had no problem putting together two teams for the Grand Midsummer Challenge match between the college Presidents XII and the Students (including, incongruously, three players whose combined ages amounted to 210 years).As usual, about a dozen different countries were represented on the field but, sadly, no women (the sadder since last year the college bursar, a lady, took a decisive catch in the slips). Rain fortunately stopped shortly before play was due to start, and a low-scoring match was the more notable for the fact that nobody, but nobody, was out for a duck.One duck would have been particularly tragic: Desmond had travelled all the way back from China just to play in this game after a terrible misfortune last year, when he had been bowled first ball of the match by a yorker that he supposed, since it didnt bounce in front of him, was a no-ball. What had intrigued him was that, crestfallen as he was, he had enjoyed the taste of a team victory, and even more, the company at dinner that evening of the man who had bowled him out.This year Desmond was delighted not only to score but to hold on to a catch. He also figured in the result in another, curious, way. Put on to bowl for the first time in his life, this son of an Asian badminton champion served up a series of shuttlecock lobs. Eventually the umpire at his end, Darshil, the one (Thailand) international on the field, was forced to call a series of sky-high wides and these may have helped to determine the result of the match. At the traditional dinner that followed, it was the duty of the college president, in his capacity as match referee, to award the trophy to the captain of the winning team. According to the scorebook, the Presidents Men had scored 56 for 4 in reply to the Students 67 for 6 in a foreshortened 16-over match. The president, a distinguished law-giver, could never be accused of special pleading, but a senior member of his team (a former captain and this years highest scorer) appealed to the college rules that declared the team scoring the greater number of runs was the winner, and that, once eccentric extras were discounted, the presidents team had outscored the Students by 46 runs to 42. While the president overruled this objection and found in favour of the students, the club had been reminded that the decisive player in their fortunes had again been extras.Single-wicket cricket Nets, both indoor during the winter at Fenners (us at Fenners) and outside in the spring, are the sociable heart of a small club like ours, uncertain whether six will turn up or 16. In the summer it becomes altogether too tempting to pass by a vacant pitch on the way to the nets, and so we try to get a quorum out for the odd pick-up game.One enchanted evening following our big match this year, we booked a pitch but only seven turned up, including a sturdy Scot who had taken to the Sassenach game with such gusto he was suffering from a ricked back and a damaged left knee. What to do? We settled on a series of single-wicket contests (maximum three overs per batsman). Up first, I was closing in on the solid but attainable 9 scored by my 80-year-old opponent from Massachusetts (three years my senior) when I foolishly hit around a ball well outside the off stump and played on. Mid-Atlantic title to the USA.Two Williams brothers, vying for the family title if not the championship of Wales, then went head to head in an exciting encounter that remained in the balance till the last ball after both ran for everything: 15-14. That left our big hitter and incorrigible sledger from old Oz to challenge a keen newcomer from Syria. Luke, sportingly offering to bat left-handed, required only one of his massive sixes to win, but after limiting Wesam to 5 and scoring two singles in reply, he popped a catch to our 80-year-old at point. World title (Clare Hall version) to Syria.Short as our season had been, we had experienced a fair share of crickets vagaries. An ad-hoc post-season decision to abolish the hierarchy of club officers that had itself been ad hoc prevents me from signing myself as honorary president or equally as Twelfth Man.And so I remain, Sir, Your Own Special Correspondent in the Fens Mike Dunleavy Jr. Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Myles Turner Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. https://www.cheappacers.com/1143k-vern-fleming-jersey-pacers.html . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Billy Knight Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Pacers Jerseys China .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Trailing midway through the fourth quarter, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema wasnt all that concerned about style points or margin of victory.Not with another shocking loss like less than a year ago to Toledo still fresh on his mind.Behind a pair of fourth-down conversions in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks (1-0) managed to avoid another early season disappointment to a non-Power 5 conference team on Saturday -- rallying for a 21-20 victory over Louisiana Tech (0-1).I know everybody would have, including myself at the end of the day, would have liked to come out of here with a larger margin of victory, Bielema said. But ... I knew (the Bulldogs) were going to be a good football team, very well coached.The Razorbacks rallied thanks to a pair of nerve-wracking calls by Bielema, particularly with first-time starter Austin Allen under center for Arkansas.Bielemas faith in his junior starter was rewarded, especially after Allen connected with tight end Jeremy Sprinkle from four yards out on fourth down to give Arkansas the 21-20 with 6:37 remaining in the game.Im glad (Bielema) called it, Allen said. Wed been practicing that play all week, everybody knew what they were doing and we did it perfectly. It worked out for us.Despite the go-ahead touchdown, the Razorbacks didnt secure the win for good until another fourth-down call by Bielema with just over a minute remaining.Facing fourth-and-inches at its own 37, Arkansas converted a first down with a power run by 240-pound running back Kody Walker -- allowing the Razorbacks to run out the clock and exhale a welcomed sigh of relief following last years early stumbles.You make the fourth-down decision looking to have success, Bielema said. The last one, its just a gut feel. I just had a feeling we were going to have a nice push, and it ended up sealing the game.With 18 wins over the last two seasons, including a pair of bowl victories, Louisiana Tech didnt expect to enter Saturday as the usual kind of early season cupcake for the Razorbacks.And the Bulldogs didnt play like it, either.Freshman JMar Smith, playing in plaace of suspended starter Ryan Higgins, finished 19 of 31 for 212 yards passing for Louisiana Tech -- helping the Conference USA school take a 20-14 lead in the third quarter after a 20-yard field goal by kicker Jonathan Barnes.dddddddddddd.However, Barnes missed another kick off the left upright from 39 yards that would have put the Bulldogs up 23-14 in the fourth quarter.That gave hope to Arkansas, which responded with a 13-play, 77-yard touchdown drive -- capped by Allen finding Sprinkle on a throwback to the left side of the end zone.Allen finished 20-of-29 passing for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his debut as the Razorbacks starter, but he also threw a pair of first-half interceptions that led to Louisiana Tech touchdowns.Rawleigh Williams led Arkansas with 96 yards rushing on 24 carries, including a touchdown.THE TAKEAWAYLA. TECH: Minus 13 starters from a year ago, and with Higgins on the bench, the Bulldogs looked every bit as good as its teams that have won nine games in each of the last two seasons. Smith had little problem picking apart Arkansas defense, with wide receiver Trent Taylor leading the Bulldogs with eight catches for 78 yards.I think we have an awful lot of positive things to build on, but I dont think this a game we wanted to be close, Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz said. We dont want to be close, we want to win.ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks entered the season with three new starting offensive linemen, and their inexperience showed on Saturday. Arkansas allowed four sacks of Allen in the close victory, and it managed only 106 yards rushing on 40 carries -- a significant concern moving forward into Southeastern Conference play.UP NEXTLA. TECH: The Bulldogs take a break from Power 5 conference competition when they face South Carolina State in their home opener, a week before traveling to face Big 12 Conference member Texas Tech.ARKANSAS: Life doesnt get any easier for the Razorbacks, who travel to Texas to take on No. 13 TCU. ' ' '