My Profile » Discussions


way out of it, thats all you can

  • May 8, 2019
    Match factsSunday, October 30, Sharjah Start time 10am local (0600 GMT)Big picturePakistan have already won the series, after taking a 2-0 lead with their victory in Abu Dhabi, but the final Test in Sharjah presents them with an opportunity to set some benchmarks. In their sights is a sixth series whitewash, and a chance to complete a clean sweep of West Indies: 3-0 in the Tests, to go with 3-0 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20 internationals. Misbah-ul-Haq is also set to lead Pakistan for the 49th time in Tests, and pass Imran Khan as the countrys most-capped captain. Little did anyone think he would come this far - Misbah is 42 years old now - when he was appointed captain in 2010, and success in Sharjah would be an occasion for more celebratory push-ups.West Indies were not easily beaten in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They pushed each Test into the fifth day and made Pakistan bowl more than 100 overs in the fourth innings before the game was up. There were heartening performances from Darren Bravo, Devendra Bishoo, Shannon Gabriel and Jermaine Blackwood, but West Indies wait for victory continues despite having arrived in the UAE about 40 days ago.Jason Holders young team will hope they can end a couple of longer waits too. West Indies have not won a Test since May 2015, and the last time they won one outside the Caribbean and Bangladesh was in December 2007, against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. The Sharjah fixture is West Indies last chance to perform creditably in Test cricket for a while; their next series is only in March 2017, when they host Pakistan.Form guidePakistan WWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LLDLDIn the spotlightAfter taking ten wickets in Dubai, West Indies legspinner Devendra Bishoo managed only one in Abu Dhabi despite bowling 46 overs in the second Test. Misbah had said those conditions were extremely tough for wicket-taking, but Sharjah offers a bit more turn and Bishoo will want to ensure that eight-for isnt his only fond memory of the series. Sarfraz Ahmeds 56 in Abu Dhabi was his first half-century in 15 innings, and his consistency with the bat has been a talking point lately. Sharjah was the venue where Sarfraz kick-started his Test career with 48 off 46 balls in an astonishing chase of 302 against Sri Lanka in 2014, and he will hope to rediscover strong batting form over the next five days.Team newsMisbah hinted at changes in Pakistans XI and it is understood that left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar may make way for an extra fast bowler. Sohail Khan may also miss the game to give a younger quick a chance.Pakistan (probable) 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah ul Haq (capt), 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Imran Khan, 11 Sohail KhanWest Indies wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich was declared fit and is likely to return to the XI. Fast bowler Miguel Cummins, who took only one wicket in the first two Tests, is likely to make way for Alzarri Joseph.West Indies 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Leon Johnson, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Shannon GabrielPitch and conditionsSharjah is much hotter than Abu Dhabi and Dubai were and temperatures are forecast to hit 33-34C. The pitch appears flat and is likely to offer assistance to the spinners only towards the end of the Test.Stats and triviaPakistan have played four Tests in Sharjah since 2010. They drew one and won one against Sri Lanka, lost to New Zealand, and beat England.None of the present Pakistan batsmen average over 45 in Sharjah. Misbahs 43 is the best of the lot. Younis Khan averages 34 and Azhar Ali 31 here.Yasir Shahs 11 wickets at this venue have come at 30 apiece.QuotesEvery Test win has value in term of ranking, confidence level, so its important for us to try to win this game as well.Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq emphasises that there are no dead rubbers in Test cricketPeople forget this is a very, very young side. When you look at the number of players under 25, it is unbelievable that a side in Test cricket could be so young. But its a good thing and once the people of the Caribbean and the selectors remain patient, I think weve got the making of a pretty decent side in 12 to 18 months.West Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick is hopeful about the future Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax95.com/ . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Air Max 95 Australia Sale . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Air Max 95 For Sale Australia . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. PULLMAN, Wash. -- Over the past three weeks, Washington State has started conference play by taking down three of the teams expected to be at the top of the Pac-12.The Cougars are rolling and theyre winning with more than just Luke Falks arm.Hey, we can do it other ways, Falk said.Gerard Wicks rushed for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns, Jamal Morrow added another TD run, and Washington State won its fourth straight, 27-21 over UCLA on Saturday night.The Cougars beat Oregon, Stanford and UCLA in consecutive weeks and validated their position as the other contender in the Pac-12 North along with Washington.Wicks first touchdown late in the second quarter gave the Cougars (4-2, 3-0 Pac-12) a 10-0 lead and his second 1-yard plunge pushed the lead to 17-7 midway through the third quarter. Morrow added a 3-yard TD run late in the third as the Cougars beat UCLA in consecutive years for the first time since 2006 and 2007.I was proud of our guys for sticking in there and playing tough like they did. Because the conditions and our opponent, you have to be tough, Washington State coach Mike Leach said. We could have finished better but we had a lot of awful good stuff in between to make this happen.UCLA (3-4, 1-3) played without starting quarterback Josh Rosen a week after he suffered shoulder and leg injuries against Arizona State. The shoulder was the problem on Saturday, as Rosen only attempted a couple of throws during pregame warmups before determining he couldnt go.Backup Mike Fafaul, making his first college start, was 24-of-40 passing for 258 yards. Fafaul threw two touchdown passes to Darren Andrews and added a 5-yard TD throw to Jordan Lasley. Fafaul hit Andrews on a 22-yard TD in the third quarter and his 4-yard TD pass to Andrews with 3:17 left pulled the Bruins with 27-21.UCLA got the ball back with 2:43 remaining after holding Washington State to a three-and-out. But on the first play Lasley was hit from behind by Dylan Hanser and fumbled. Washington States Robert Taylor fell on the loose ball. The Cougars punted back to UCLA with under a minute remaining but Charleston White intercepted Fafaul to clinch the win.Im just kind of still feeling it about the game, the loss. It doesnt matter to me how I play, Fafaul said. Id rather throw three interceptions and win the game than throw three touchdowns and (lose).Falk failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in his career. He finished 28 of 48 for 261 yards on a cold, rainy night on the Palouse.dddddddddddd Falk was intercepted in the end zone in the first half and fumbled an attempted pass in the third quarter that led to UCLAs first touchdown.But Falk led three long touchdown drives, including an 18-play, 91-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Wicks first touchdown.It was a forgettable night for the Bruins that included a (minus) 1-yard punt from Austin Kent in the first quarter that led to a few choice words from coach Jim Mora. Aside from a promising debut by Fafaul, UCLA was bullied on the line of scrimmage and saw its defense give up more than 24 points in regulation for the first time this season.Im obviously not doing a good job of getting the message through, Mora said. The buck obviously stops with me. It should, as the head coach. All blame should be focused entirely, initially on the head coach. Its my job to make sure we get it right with everyone else. Im accepting of that. Ive been in this situation a lot of times. When you coach for a long time, youve got to fight your way out of it, thats all you can do.POLL IMPLICATIONSWashington State was already starting to pick up votes in last weeks AP Top 25 and thats only going to increase. It would be a stretch to see the Cougars crack the Top 25 this week, but another win may do it.FINALLY!Washington State became the final FBS team in the country to make a field goal when Powell hit a 36-yard attempt midway through the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. Powell had missed his first attempts of the season -- one in each game. Powell made another 36-yarder in the fourth quarter.THE TAKEAWAYUCLA: The Bruins continued to have no running game on a night where the weather and circumstances with their quarterback called for having offensive balance. The Bruins rushed for 43 yards on 25 carries, the fourth time in five games UCLA failed to crack 100 yards rushing as a team.Washington State: The Cougars continue to get big production from their trio of running backs. The Cougars rushed for 95 yards, but the trio of Wicks, Morrow and James Williams added eight catches for 65 yards.UP NEXTUCLA: The Bruins return home to host No. 21 Utah next Saturday, their next-to-last home game.Washington State: The Cougars travel to Arizona State next Saturday, the first of two straight road games. ' ' '