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USWNT star Rapinoe is an inspiration - Mata

Published in Soccer
Friday, 23 August 2019 10:03

MANCHESTER, England -- Juan Mata has urged more footballers to follow Megan Rapinoe's lead after she used this summer's World Cup to stand up for her beliefs.

Rapinoe led the United States women to victory in France, while also becoming involved in a public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming "the administration doesn't fight for the same things we fight for."

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Mata and Rapinoe both pledge one percent of their salaries to Common Goal -- a collective fund that aids football projects around the world -- and the Manchester United midfielder believes Rapinoe's stand during the World Cup should act as an inspiration for others.

"She was scoring every game also and they won the World Cup so you can do it, you know," Mata said in an exclusive interview with ESPN FC.

"If you have time to do all the things and you're generally passionate about football, and about society and about how to use the power of football to try to make society a bit more fair, then you can do it. That's what we're seeing."

Mata made headlines two years ago after becoming the first footballer to pledge a portion of his wages to Common Goal.

Raheem Sterling, Hector Bellerin and Danny Rose have all spoken out on topics ranging from racism, environmental problems and mental health and Mata believes footballers have a responsibility to use their platforms to address issues away from the pitch.

"I think you have heard many football players, both male and female, speaking about social topics," said Mata.

"I think many players are standing up for what they believe and I think it's something nice. I think it's good when football players do that, like Raheem, or Danny or Hector."

Atlanta-Orlando 'rivalry' features plenty of bad blood

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 22 August 2019 14:00

The heckling was next level.

Here was Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan, attempting to do his bit for the MLS All-Stars against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. But even though he was ostensibly playing for the home team, the fans in Orlando's Exploria Stadium were having none of it.

The game clock had barely hit three minutes when the first "F--- you Guzan!" was picked up by a hot mic. Every touch was booed, and every goal kick was met with "You suck a------!" About the only good news was that given the exhibition nature of the match, Guzan's night was over after 30 minutes, at which point it was Atlanta teammate Josef Martinez's turn to be the hecklers' target.

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"I figured it would happen since we were in Orlando," said a bemused Guzan about the abuse he took. "It didn't surprise me, to be honest."

Such is the norm these days between Orlando City and Atlanta United, who will square off this Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN3 during MLS Rivalry Week. While encounters such as Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders (Friday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN), New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2) and LA Galaxy vs. LAFC will garner more attention, the Orlando vs. Atlanta tilt will carry its own share of intensity and invective. Atlanta is keen to solidify its hold on first place in the Eastern Conference, while the surging Lions are attempting to climb back into the playoff places.

Whether it amounts to a tried-and-true rivalry is open to interpretation. Sure, there's the geographic proximity, at least relatively speaking. At present, Atlanta and Orlando are the only two MLS teams that can call the southeast region of the United States home. While the two cities are a seven-hour drive apart, the next closest team to Atlanta is FC Cincinnati, which is about 460 miles to the north.

Time isn't on the side of calling this a rivalry, however. Atlanta is only in its third year of play, while Orlando is in year five. There simply haven't been that many opportunities for there to be give-and-take on the field. The matchup has also been completely one-sided so far, with the Five Stripes winning six times and drawing twice in all competitions, including last month's U.S. Open Cup semifinal victory in Orlando.

Yet the intensity from the fans is there.

"I don't know if rivalry is the right word," said Michael Collier, the capo (chant leader) for the Atlanta supporter group, the Terminus Legion. "But we definitely take up a lot of rent space in their heads."

On the other hand, Carlos Alvarado, president of the Orlando supporter group, the Iron Lion Firm, believes the "r-word" is appropriate, adding, "It's become a really poisonous rivalry."

You have to go back to a preseason tournament in 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, of all places, to see where the enmity began. Orlando was prepping for its first season in MLS while Atlanta's expansion intentions had been announced the previous year, and it would be another two seasons before the Five Stripes took the field. With that in mind, a group of intrepid Atlanta fans thought it was time to take their first road trip to that year's Carolina Challenge Cup, especially with former Atlanta Silverbacks attacker Kwadwo Poku suiting up for one of the participants, New York City FC. Orlando City was among the teams taking part.

When the Atlanta fans left some of their flags and banners out following their pregame tailgate, their Orlando counterparts saw an opportunity to claim some trophies, and did just that.

"They wrote in purple chalk on the pavement, 'Thanks for the trophy,'" said Collier. "They even hung the banner that they stole inside their stadium the first time we played them down in Orlando. They really didn't like us, so we didn't like them. They've been angry at us the whole time, and we just back it up by being able to beat them."

Once Atlanta took the field for real, matters escalated. Prior to the first regular-season meeting between the two teams, Atlanta rented a billboard in Orlando that read, "Orlando, We're Coming to Conquer." The move was widely viewed as Atlanta's front office trying too hard to generate a rivalry. It worked though. Alvarado recalled that the billboard was "mysteriously tagged" with the phrase ""F--- ATL, ILF [Iron Lions Firm], WE ARE HERE." The billboard was taken down a day later.

"The rivalry has been short-lived, but there's been a lot of shenanigans so far," said Alvarado.

For the return fixture in Atlanta the following week, a communication mix-up in terms of Orlando's ticket allotment saw the visiting fans not get as many tickets as they wanted. During that match, a 1-1 draw, some bleachers in Bobby Dodd Stadium were damaged and three Orlando City fans were arrested. Alvarado is of the opinion that the damage took place because the Orlando section was overcrowded, and that the arrests were over the top. The charges against all three individuals were eventually dropped, though the Orlando City front office suspended its supporters groups from the next four away Atlanta United matches.

"There's genuine dislike towards Atlanta and their front office," said Alvarado. "Not because of the success they've had, nothing like that, there's just a lot of bad blood from that first trip we had. For us, that set the tone for everything."

Of course, the tit-for-tat battle continued into the 2018 season, with Orlando City suspending the Atlanta United supporters groups' privileges, after the Atlanta front office didn't identify the fans who had allegedly thrown garbage onto the field during a game on May 13 of that year.

For a league that loves its rivalries, its juicier conflicts have proven to be oddly disposable over the years. Matchups like the Red Bulls and D.C. United, as well as the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes -- home to some of the more epic encounters in the league's first decade -- have been shunted aside in favor of intracity encounters. There is every chance that could happen with Atlanta and Orlando City before the rivalry can really take root. When Nashville enters the league next season, it will provide Atlanta with a team in closer proximity. The same will be true for Orlando with Inter Miami CF coming on board.

"Just talking to the Atlanta fans that I know, we're really looking forward to the Nashville team coming in, just because it's going to be a fun game to go to; easy to get to, and Nashville is a fun city," said Collier.

"I think when Miami starts up there's going to be this desire to have an in-state rivalry," said Alvarado. But he also notes, "Things have to develop naturally."

That may be where the Atlanta/Orlando matchup has an advantage. The intensity is there, and the rivalry window remains open. Of course, Orlando at some point needs to gain a victory on the field.

Maybe that will happen Friday and push the matchup firmly into rivalry territory.

In 1953, socialist football conquered England. That November, Hungary's "Golden Squad" -- the Aranycsapat, Olympic gold medalists who hadn't lost in three years -- traveled to Wembley and essentially reset the course of British soccer. England hadn't ever lost at home to continental opposition, but what was billed as the "Match of the Century" quickly turned into a rout.

Behind a never-before-seen kind of slick, positional fluidity, the Hungarians won 6-3, marking what Jonathan Wilson described in Inverting the Pyramid "not the moment at which English decline began but... the moment at which it was recognized." Hungary manager Gustav Sebes took it a step further. As Wilson writes, "[He] insisted Hungary's success, so obviously rooted in the interplay of the team opposed to the disassociated individuality of England, was a victory for socialism."

Well, 65 years later, collective football has returned to British shores. It's just that this time it's being funded by a Middle Eastern royal family worth over a trillion dollars and one of the largest payrolls the Premier League has ever seen. And while Hungary haven't qualified for the World Cup in over 30 years, Man City's dominance (barring outside intervention from an international governing body) doesn't seem likely to end any time soon.

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Before the 2017-18 season, no Premier League team had broken the 95-point mark in a full campaign. City have done it twice since. Last year, they relegated Liverpool's 97-point season to second best and won the domestic treble in the process. This year, they're the betting favorites to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Champions League. Oh, and they've already nabbed the Community Shield.

This season, every dropped City point seems accompanied by either a Puskas-nominated goal or some form of controversial technological intervention. The natural order of things is a City win; anything else is an aberration.

The only other teams to reach that level of inevitability this decade were a handful of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid sides. But Bayern had the spine of the World Cup-winning German national team along with perhaps the greatest pure wingers of their generation, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. And Barcelona and Real Madrid? Well, they had Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the only two players who were inarguably better than not just Robben and Ribery, but pretty much anyone else who's ever played the game.

After they broke 100 points to win the title in 2017-18, the consensus seemed to be that Kevin De Bruyne was Man City's skeleton key. He finished No.1 for attacking midfielders in the FC 100, and the Guardian had him at No. 4 in their 2017 annual ranking of the top 100 players in the world; no one else on the team was in the top 15. In 2017-18, he led City in outfield minutes, and Pep Guardiola's decision to slide him back into the midfield, coupled with his ability to still produce like an attacker from deep (eight goals and 16 assists), vaulted City into a stratosphere of their own.

Before last season kicked off, "a KDB injury" was probably No.1 on the List of Reasons Why City Won't Repeat. A KDB injury is exactly what happened; he played fewer than 1,000 minutes in 2018-19 after struggling with injuries, and yet City were basically as they good as they were the year before. In fact, according to TruMedia data, their expected-goal differential actually improved after the 100-point season. Guardiola has his third "superteam," but this time they don't have an irreplaceable superstar.

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Do Arsenal have the personnel to slow down Liverpool?

Arsenal certainly have the firepower to score goals against Liverpool, but can Unai Emery get his players to organize defensively at Anfield?

The soccer consultancy 21st Club has developed a player-rating system that calculates how many points an individual player is worth compared to a league-average player. It's a rough version of baseball's wins above replacement statistic.

"[Raheem] Sterling, [Sergio] Aguero and De Bruyne are fifth, eighth and ninth, respectively, in our ratings," said Omar Chaudhuri, head of football intelligence at 21st Club. "Our top four are [Lionel] Messi, [Mohamed] Salah, Neymar and [Cristiano] Ronaldo."

Since the Abu Dhabi Group purchased the club in 2008, City have spent more on transfer fees than any other team, but not a single transaction breaks into the top 20 of the most expensive transfers of all time.

"They have a group of outstanding players," said Chaudhuri, "but not any true superstars."

A team like PSG, with both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, the two most expensive players ever, has to sacrifice depth and quality elsewhere in the squad because of the resources put into those two players. And so the top-heaviness makes them more vulnerable to an individual injury. Neymar has missed the knockout stages of the Champions League two years in a row, and PSG have gone out in the round of 16 both times

Guardiola doesn't have that problem. According to the 21st Club model, City have five players in the top 20: the three Chaudhuri mentioned plus Leroy Sane and David Silva. Liverpool and PSG (three each) are the only other clubs that have more than two.

De Bruyne goes down and in steps Bernardo Silva, who's suddenly one of the best pressing midfielders in the world. If Sergio Aguero, perhaps the greatest goalscorer of the Premier League era, gets hurt, guess who backs him up? Gabriel Jesus, a guy with an even better goal-scoring rate. Sane, who was second in the league last year in non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 minutes, might miss the whole season, but it almost doesn't matter because Sterling, Bernardo and Riyad Mahrez are there to eat up his minutes.

Oh, and this summer they spent a club-record £63 million on Rodri to answer the lingering question of what happens when Fernandinho's battery dies, and Joao Cancelo came over from Juventus to add cover for the ever-present Kyle Walker.

"City hit teams with a double whammy," said Mark Taylor, an analyst who works with various Premier League clubs. "They have the best [Premier League] players in their position, and they are generally very consistent. They don't run hot and cold." According to Taylor's game-by-game performance ratings, most of City's players "don't stray too far from their average," he said. "You don't catch City on a collective off day."

Even when there's a roster question without a clear answer, Guardiola still seems to find one.

Two seasons ago, Benjamin Mendy, the £52 million left-back purchase from Monaco, went down with a season-ending knee injury in September. Then Guardiola turned Fabian Delph, at that point an unspectacular journeyman midfielder, into a full-back good enough to start for a 100-point team. Last year, Fernandinho played 90 minutes in only one league match after February, and City ended the season on a 14-game win streak.

"They've reached these heights in large part due to improving the performance of many existing players," said Chaudhuri. "There's no player you would say has gotten worse under Pep, which I think shows the gains clubs can make through good coaching instead of recruitment, which is often seen as a panacea at other clubs."

Of course, Guardiola is the one through-line that connects the great Barcelona teams with the great Bayern teams with the current great City team. There's still one thing left to be accomplished, and much like his time in Germany, his stint in Manchester likely won't be fully appreciated unless the team wins the Champions League. However, in an era where the Premier League has more money and more managerial talent than ever before, Guardiola and Co. put together the competition's best-ever season with just one player who finished in the top 15 of Ballon d'Or voting... and then they followed it up by winning even more trophies while he sat on the sideline.

Globalization and previously unimaginable amounts of money have transformed the sport -- and especially this club -- but City's on-field cooperation, albeit bizarrely, does evoke the success of Sebes's Hungary side. Given all of the resources behind Guardiola and given how his team has been able to dominate the most competitive league in Europe with a rotating cast of key characters, it's hard to see anyone else in England catching up for as long as he hangs around.

"To me, the tragedy was utter helplessness... being unable to do anything to alter the grim outlook," Harry Johnston, one of the England center-backs for the defeat against Hungary, wrote in his autobiography. Over half a century later, the rest of the Premier League might soon start feeling the same way about Man City, if they don't already.

India hit back with wickets to stop West Indies surge

Published in Cricket
Friday, 23 August 2019 12:17

Tea West Indies 82 for 3 (Bravo 18*, Chase 10*) trail India 297 all out (Rahane 81, Jadeja 58, Roach 4-66, Gabriel 3-71) by 213 runs

India took a big step towards seizing the advantage in the first Test against West Indies, taking three wickets between lunch and tea on day two. At the break, wickets from Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami meant the hosts were 82 for 3, trailing by 213.

West Indies lost both openers, John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite, and the debutant Shamarh Brooks in the session. Brooks looked solid in the middle, but he fell trying to cut Jadeja shortly before the break. At 50 for 2, Brooks failed to pick Jadeja's arm-ball and made room to cut a ball that was too close to his body. It found the outside edge and lobbed off the wicketkeeper's thigh to first slip.

Campbell and Brathwaite began West Indies' innings on a bright note. They saw off the new-ball spell from Ishant and Jasprit Bumrah without much trouble. Campbell, in particular, was aggressive, finding the boundary four times in the first seven overs. That forced India captain Virat Kohli to bring in Shami, and the pacer struck right away, finding Campbell's leg stump via the inside edge with a yorker.

Over the next 10 overs, Brathwaite and Brooks consolidated, but not quickly enough, scoring only 12 runs in that period. Ishant's inswingers kept them both in check while accurate bowling from Jadeja dried up the runs. When Ishant bowled a full ball in the 18th over, Brathwaite tried to drive him straight back, but a turning bat meant the ball plopped at knee height for Ishant, who was composed enough in his follow through to hold on to a reaction catch. His wicket, and then Brooks', brought two new men - Roston Chase and Darren Bravo - into the middle, and the duo added 28 before the teams left for tea. Bravo, in particular, looked in fine touch, smacking two fours and a lofted six off Jadeja over long-on.

Earlier in the day, Jadeja and Ishant frustrated the hosts for the majority of the session, putting on a 60-run eighth-wicket stand before the latter fell for 19. Their effort helped India post 297, adding 94 runs to their overnight total before being bowled out.

India started the day on 203 for 6, and Rishabh Pant fell in the day's third over, to Kemar Roach. From around the wicket, he found the outside edge with a ball that left Pant who tried to drive, only to be caught by Jason Holder at second slip.

Thereafter, Ishant bunted balls the few balls that were aimed at the stumps while leaving those - a majority - that weren't, and collecting what he could. From the other end, Jadeja dealt in ones and twos while picking boundaries whenever he found the opportunity to free his arms.

The day's first four came from Jadeja, driving Roach through gully. When Holder went around the wicket, Jadeja was fairly defensive up until he was offered a short ball wide outside the stumps. crunching it through point, indicating that the new ball was easier to score off. When Roach looked to cramp Jadeja with a short ball, he swiveled to pull to deep midwicket.

The short ball, however, was not so easy for Ishant, although he did play at them with soft hands. He was often attacked with the deliveries aimed at his mid-riff, and many balls from Holder came off his glove or handle. A few even fell marginally short of square leg. Ishant finally fell to Shannon Gabriel, dismissed by a slow yorker outside the off stump. Ishant tried to dig the ball out, but only managed to roll it back onto the stumps.

That brought in No. 10 Mohammad Shami, who lasted just one ball, chipping a full delivery back to the bowler Roston Chase. With last man Jasprit Bumrah for company, Jadeja changed gears immediately, slapping Gabriel past the slip cordon to stamp his intent. Shoddy glovework didn't help West Indies either; stand-in wicketkeeper Shai Hope conceded two boundaries off byes in back-to-back overs as India went past 280.

After Bumrah survived 11 balls without much drama, Jadeja reached his 11th Test half-century by cutting Chase through point as the session went into the extra half hour. Playing as the only designated spinner in the team, Jadeja played a near-chanceless innings up until his landmark. The next ball, Jadeja swept Chase for the Test's first six. Two overs later, Jadeja tried pulling Holder but sliced it to the wicketkeeper. That brought the curtains down on India's recovery after they were reduced to 25 for 3 within the first hour of the Test.

Yorkshire Diamonds 168 for 6 (Healy 77, Rodrigues 43*) beat Lancashire Thunder 164 for 5 (Threlkeld 52, Levick 2-19) by four wickets

Yorkshire Diamonds kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for Kia Super League Finals Day with a four-wicket win over Roses rivals Lancashire Thunder at Scarborough.

Alyssa Healy's blistering 77 set the tone for the Diamonds and broke the back of their chase of 165, after Ellie Threlkeld's 52 and Harmanpreet Kaur's 38 had guided Lancashire to a competitive total.

Yorkshire's hopes of a Finals Day appearance depends on results elsewhere. The Thunder, who were already eliminated, remain winless.

Healy's innings was a joy to watch for all gathered at Scarborough. She batted with power, timing and intelligence to get the Diamonds off to a flyer. Her half-century came from just 28 balls in the seventh over - brought up with a six - and she went on to post a century opening stand with captain Lauren Winfield.

The right-hander made her way to 77 from just 38 balls, including 12 fours and three sixes, with the Diamonds 103 without loss but Sophie Ecclestone returned to change the game.

The England spinner had Healy caught in the deep and struck next ball to bowl Winfield. Hollie Armitage was then run out by Kate Cross as three wickets fell in the over.

Cordelia Griffiths was stumped by Threlkeld off a wide by Natalie Brown before another run out for Cross as Bess Heath departed for 2. Yorkshire had slipped from 103 for 0 to 115 for 5, still needing 50 to win from 46 balls.

If panic had set in, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Davidson-Richards did not show it, putting on a 34-run stand to give Yorkshire control again. Davidson-Richards fell for 13 and the Diamonds needed 13 from the final two overs. But Rodrigues finished it a hurry, striking three successive boundaries to clinch victory with seven balls to spare.

Lancashire started their innings brightly as Tahlia McGrath offered some early acceleration. The Australia international struck five boundaries on her way to 29 and but she was the third wicket to fall as Yorkshire pegged back the Thunder momentum.

Sune Luus was caught in the deep by Rodrigues for 15, Sophia Dunkley departed for 8 before McGrath was trapped by Davidson-Richards in the ninth over to leave Thunder 58 for 3. But a superb partnership between Harmanpreet and Threlkeld proved crucial to the innings. Threlkeld was positive from the start, sweeping and striking aggressively to the leg side to offer momentum as Harmanpreet took time to get set.

Once she was set, the India star batted beautifully. She struck a huge six over midwicket off Leigh Kasparek before launching Katie Levick into the stands to take Lancashire to 116 for 3 after 16 overs.

Harmanpreet was brilliantly caught by India team-mate Rodrigues - diving forward in the deep - for 38, but Threlkeld continued her assault. She struck a six and a four in the final over to reach 52 from 36 balls, before being bowled by the next delivery. Ecclestone hit the final ball - her first - for six to carry the Thunder to 164 for 5.

Mignon du Preez takes Loughborough to Finals Day

Published in Cricket
Friday, 23 August 2019 11:24

Surrey Stars 147 for 7 (Taylor 51, Sciver 53) lost to Loughborough Lightning 150 for 5 (Du Preez 48*) by five wickets

Mignon du Preez scored an unbeaten 48 for Loughborough Lightning to send her side to a second successive Kia Super League Finals Day - while knocking holders Surrey Stars out the competition.

South African du Preez is Lightning's highest scorer in the KSL this season with 246 runs, having previously made unbeaten scores of 70 and 38, before clattering 48 in 25 balls at the Haslegrave Ground, Loughborough.

She finished the job with a four down the ground with nine balls to spare, after Chamari Atapattu had brilliantly notched 45 from 35 balls. Stars had set what had seen a competitive 147, thanks to Nat Sciver's first half century of the tournament and Sarah Taylor's second fifty in a row.

But the hosts chased well to set up a date with either Southern Vipers or Yorkshire Diamonds at Hove - with unbeaten Western Storm waiting in the final.

"We are super excited to go to Finals Day," said du Preez. "It was something we really wanted to do and to get there with two games to spare is super special. The key thing will be to keep the momentum into Finals Day, we want to keep the winning ways going.

"Big hitting isn't something I had been known for. In my ODI career I have only hit three sixes in over 100 games so to actually hit them frequently in games shows I have been working on that area of my game. I also usually struggle with staying to the finish, I usually get in and then get out, so to get those not outs and score runs consistently was one of my big goals.

"I have been really consistent in the KSL and hopefully I can continue that to Finals Day."

Loughborough's response had started in catastrophic style as Amy Jones was run out by Dane van Niekerk, before Marizanne Kapp bowled a maiden.

Having been involved in the Jones run out, Hayley Matthews seemed to feel some responsibility to score quickly, as she helped thunder 24 runs off the third and fourth overs. But the West Indian was stumped off Mady Villiers in the fifth.

Georgia Elwiss and Atapattu settled things down and added 49 in exactly six overs for the third wicket before the former was stumped.

Sri Lankan Atapattu used her power to take Lightning up to, along and then above the required rate - with six boundaries and a straight six, before she was bowled by Laura Marsh.

Du Preez, who had put on 41 with Atapattu, clubbed a quartet of balls over the ropes, and despite seeing Georgia Adams run out, saw her side to a comfortable five-wicket win.

Earlier, the Stars only managed 29 runs in the powerplay, after winning the toss, and had already lost both openers Lizelle Lee and Dane van Niekerk within the first 32 balls.

Lee was lbw to Kathryn Bryce to the first ball of the game before South African teammate van Niekerk was bowled by Jenny Gunn.

But Sciver and Taylor ticked the score along and slowly started to accelerate - the former playing conventionally, while keeper Taylor utilised her supple wrists to claim five flicked boundaries behind the bat.

Skipper Sciver was the first to fifty, off 31 balls, having tickled Atapattu for a boundary before arriving at the milestone with a hoicked single into the leg side.

It was the first time she had scored a KSL half-century since the semi-final against Western Storm last year.

Sciver departed when she offered a catch to extra cover for 53, having put on 87 with Taylor - the third time the duo had added more than 48 together in this season's competition.

Taylor arrived at the 50 landmark in 45 balls with back-to-back boundaries off Bryce, but the Scotland captain had the last laugh next ball with a slower ball yorker.

Surrey lost Kapp, Bryony Smith and Villiers in the last seven balls but managed to reach 147 for seven, despite Gunn's exceptional two for 19.

Australia 179 and 171 for 6 (Labuschagne 53*, Stokes 2-33) lead England 67 (Denly 12, Hazlewood 5-30) by 283 runs

A dire capitulation with the bat left England's Ashes hopes hanging by a thread after another thrilling day in this engrossing series.

Credit goes to Australia's strike bowlers - led by Josh Hazlewood's devastating five-wicket haul - for putting Australia in positition to win the third Test at Headingley and take a 2-0 lead in the series, which would allow them to retain the urn, with three days still to go in the match. But England did not help themselves one bit, bundled out for just 67 in reply to Australia's first-innings 179 with rash shots an all-too-common feature.

Sixteen wickets fell on a day when Joe Denly was England's top-scorer with just 12, Jason Roy's struggle to establish himself as a Test opener faltered again and Joe Root made consecutive ducks for the first time in his career as questions resurfaced about his batting position.

In all honesty, just about everyone in an England helmet looked out of position and out of their depth as Hazlewood struck early en route to claiming 5 for 30, well supported by Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, who chimed in with three and two wickets respectively.

Replying to Australia's seemingly below-par 179, England were in all sorts of bother at 10 for 2 after Hazlewood had Roy and Root both caught in the slips by David Warner - who had not only rediscovered some form with the bat, striking 61 the previous day, but also in the field, overcoming a rash of dropped chances earlier in the series to hold four on the second day at Headingley - the most ever in an innings by an Australia fielder in an overseas Ashes Test.

Roy was out driving at a Hazlewood delivery which was wide of off stump and moved ever so slightly to draw the edge, while Root hung his bat out to a good ball which had a hint of movement off the seam. When Rory Burns gloved a Cummins bouncer to Tim Paine behind the stumps, England were 20 for 3 and from there the procession of cheap wickets continued.

During the evening, as England attempted to claw their way back into the game, Ben Stokes toiled for a mammoth 15.2 overs, with only four balls breaking up his spell before he was called back into action when Jofra Archer suffered leg cramps. Stokes' efforts delivered two wickets for England, alongside two for Stuart Broad, as Australia finished in a strong position, Marnus Labuschagne passing fifty for the third time in as many innings and still unbeaten at the close.

With three days yet to build their lead and then bowl England out, Australia are in the best position they could have hoped for after grafting in difficult batting conditions on the opening day for their total of 179. Labuschagne top scored in Australia's first innings with 74, just as he did as Steve Smith's concussion replacement with 59 in the second innings at Lord's .

Australia's prospects didn't look so great when Warner was out lbw for a duck, dismissed for the fourth time by Stuart Broad in six innings this series. Marcus Harris followed soon after and, when Usman Khawaja was out to a loose shot off Chris Woakes which was caught by Roy, they were 52 for 3.

But Travis Head and Labuschagne dug in and it was a long time before Stokes, brought into the attack in the second over after tea, made the breakthrough. Stokes tried with all his might to make things happen for England, delivering a maiden first up and suffering a dropped catch - Labuschagne juggled and spilled by Root in his second over.

In his thrid over, Stokes hit 89mph bowling to Labuschagne, who - luckily for Australia - left it alone. Not so fortunately for the tourists, Stokes dismissed Head in the next. Matthew Wade treated an 88mph Stokes delivery with disdain, flicking it through midwicket for four before Stokes responded by peppering Wade with a series of short balls.

Stoke bowled eight overs straight before he was replaced by Archer but, four balls into the over, Stokes had to finish it when Archer was struck down by cramp. Archer eventually returned to the field, to the delight of the crowd, whose watermelon-shaped beach ball he had saved from the clutches of a security guard earlier. But Stokes bowled on and eventully struck again in his 13th full over with the wicket of Wade, caught behind by Jonny Bairstow. That prompted Stokes to collapse on the ground, and exhaused grin on his face as his team-mates gathered round to congratulate him.

Broad had Paine out amid some confusion over whether it was lbw or a caught, prompting the batsman into a hopeful appeal, but he was indeed caught by Denly for nought, nonetheless leaving his side in decent shape.

Seldom has the word "some" carried more meaning than in how Josh Hazlewood characterised England's Test batting line-up. It is a team composed of, in Australia's view, "some" great Test cricketers and several great one-day cricketers. Ruthlessly and relentlessly, Australia have attempted to pressure this hodgepodge of batsmen, some of whom were World Cup heroes a matter of weeks ago, into the horrendous display at Headingley, where they were shot out for 67 and left almost certain of losing the Ashes at home in the space of three Tests.

Hazlewood, who had never before taken the field to bowl with Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, stated bluntly that drying up the runs and forcing England into errors like those committed by Jason Roy and Ben Stokes was key to the Australian blueprint, which now sees them on the verge of retaining the urn in a Test series in this part of the world for the first time in 18 years.

"That's probably the general plan, they're all great one-day cricketers, some are great Test cricketers, so I think they love to feel bat on ball, especially through that middle order," Hazlewood said. "So if we can dry up the runs and force a mistake, which we saw a couple today, then that's fantastic.

ALSO READ: Australia find Ashes gold at end of pace rainbow

"I think when Davey [Warner] and Marnus [Labuschagne] were batting yesterday, you can see the runs can pile up really quickly in England, with such quick outfields and that hour or hour-and-a-half here or there, can really decide the game if the runs can flow quickly. I always love the scoreboard going nowhere and picking up a wicket here or there.

"I don't think many teams are winning if one of their innings is 60 or 70 runs, it makes it difficult. I think if we start well again next innings, they might think 'here we go again', so it's about creating that doubt in the mind. I think through the way we've gone about it is not letting the foot off, just keep going."

Similarly, Hazlewood said that England's decision to send Joe Root in at No. 3, meaning he is frequently facing a new and moving ball, has been to Australian advantage. "I certainly like him in there as early as possible," he said. "They follow him a little bit, he's the leader, he's the captain, he's got the best average, he's their best batsman going by numbers. So if we can get him I think they can be vulnerable at times, same as any other team, if their best batter's out you feel a bit more relaxed about your business."

Having been close to an automatic selection when fit for most of the past four years, Hazlewood was left out of the team for the opening Test at Edgbaston and had to work his way back via a tour game at Worcester. He has responded with several of the spells of his life, not least his 5 for 30 here, and agreed that the extra pressure for places - created by the presence of Cummins, Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser on tour - had pushed all bowlers to raise their standards.

"Yeah I guess at times you might get a little bit comfortable, a little bit relaxed in there's no-one really knocking the door down," he said. "I guess that can happen at certain times. But when they're right here training every day, putting pressure on you every day, it adds that extra element I think. How quickly the Tests are spaced together it brings that extra element of having six quicks here. Five of those have played a lot of Test cricket.

"We see how well [Peter] Siddle has bowled this series, he's been fantastic, our best at times. I would love to play every Test. The body feels great, I have had my issues over the last few years which has been disappointing but I feel really good and hope I can go back-to-back Tests. But the way the series is set out, we have six great quicks here and it keeps you on your toes."

A hallmark of the England innings was how wickets fell steadily, not in a rush of two or three in an over, through the constant pressure being applied. Another was the pace, bounce and carry in the surface, which offered Australia's catchers an excellent sight of the ball. It was not until Matthew Wade spilled a running chance from short leg, before Hazlewood bowled Jack Leach next ball, that Australia missed out on a perfect 10 chances taken out of 10.

"It didn't feel like there was a big collapse," Hazlewood said. "The runs stayed stagnant for a long time and we just kept taking wickets here and there. A bit of luck went our way and it felt like it was just our day. We bowled well, a couple of really good deliveries in those wickets and we were very happy with how we went about our plans. The slips caught well and everything went our way.

"I think they all carried through hip high, which is what you want. I wouldn't say it's slow, the carry is pretty good for both teams, there is sideways movement off the wicket, which is doing the damage and I am sure the slips love it coming through a bit higher. I guess sometimes in England they can go quite low but this wicket seems pretty good."

Not so terrific: Tom Brady's trademark refused

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 23 August 2019 07:53

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's application to trademark the term "Tom Terrific" has been refused by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Brady, who said his goal was to ensure people didn't refer to him by that nickname, created a stir among New York Mets fans because "Tom Terrific" is the nickname of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver. As it turns out, Brady's application for the trademark was officially refused by the USPTO on Thursday because "the applied-for mark consists of or includes matter which may falsely suggest a connection with Tom Seaver."

Brady has up to six months to respond to the rejection. If there is no response in that time period, the request for the trademark will be abandoned.

In June, Brady had expressed regret for applying for the trademark.

"It's unfortunate," he said. "I was actually trying to do something because I didn't like the nickname and I wanted to make sure no one used it, because some people wanted to use it. I was trying to keep people from using it, and then it got spun around to something different than what it is. Good lesson learned, and I'll try to do things a little different in the future ...

"It wasn't something I was trying to do out of any disrespect or ill manner or anything like that."

NFL announces 4-game ban for Titans LT Lewan

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 23 August 2019 13:56

Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan has officially been suspended four games for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances, the league announced Friday.

Lewan acknowledged last month that he had tested positive for the banned substance ostarine but said he would appeal the results. He also posted apparent polygraph results on Instagram to indicate he didn't knowingly use a banned substance.

He became the league's highest-paid offensive lineman last season after signing a five-year, $80 million deal that included $50 million guaranteed.

The Titans open up the season with a tough stretch of games that includes the Browns, Colts, Jaguars and Falcons.

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