Allgemeines » The guy is playing as good as anybody in the league righ

As a batsman, there are few things more bittersweet than accidentally middling one from the bowling of an express quick. My ungainly swipe at our opening bowlers offering had now triggered this precise predicament. It must be like the feeling of purchasing a house: at once a triumphant achievement and frightening prospect. The bank, an indifferent friend beforehand, is now your foe.Making matters worse, my limp underarm return to the paceman had arrived on the half-volley, causing him to offer a disgusted, token right hand that had no intention of stopping the ball. It thus rolled into the path of the second net, nearly causing the incoming bowler a rolled ankle. This short but eventful transaction caused an immediate cacophony of sighs, grunts and swear words from at least five people, maybe ten. I had rattled the hornet nest of net bowlers. My middled cover drive, glorious as it was, had now compromised my safety. I was now truly in cricketing debt.Fear began to take hold externally and internally. I had angered a bowler who, previous to this exchange, had never registered my existence in his life. Why am I even in this net anyway? I thought to myself.Id heard Ian Chappell once declare the importance of immediately countering negative thoughts with positive thoughts. I tried my best. That was a great shot. I do belong at this level. Maybe theyll respect me now that Ive middled one. The positive thoughts were contrived, though; the negative thoughts were true. My shot was, as they say, arsey. I knew it. They knew it.My spiralling negativity was punctuated with a relieving development - the next group had been asked to pad up. I officially had six minutes to survive.Dont get hit. Dont get out.Thankfully it was the spinner who was up next. Sweet, gentle spinner. In reality he was probably the most skilful bowler in the club. But in this context he was a sight for sore eyes, because whatever he produced, it wasnt going to hurt me. All I wanted from this cricketing trade was for nothing to happen. To calm the emotional fever that had spiked from the ball before. Maybe a tight forward defence. Maybe Id chop a ball meaninglessly to backward point. Anything to stop the building drama. To my surprise, it was full, really full. Slipped-out-of-his-hands full. Instinct took over. I waited, zeroed in, and unleashed the full force of my ageing hands, hips, weight and blade through the ball. The shot was not a controlled, lofted drive. It was a slog. It sailed over the net and through the region that would-be batsmen call wide mid-on. Others call it cow corner.Perhaps it was the subconscious release of tension that had built previously, but I had wilfully and deliberately hit the ball so as to clear the net. To do it represented a controversial play in the unwritten protocols of net batting. When a spinner gets a ball very wrong, the classy move is to bat the ball back; almost in acknowledgment of the aberration of such a poor delivery. I, on the other hand, had instinctively whacked it. There was no need for a call of heads. It was gone. Whatever you wanted to say about our club, it was big on encouragement. Praise like Great shot, mate! and Good leave were never far from the mouths of our senior players. As my slog sailed towards the playing wicket, I heard nothing.Just as this was dawning on me, I realised another thing. Our spinner, dejectedly commencing his latest hike to fetch a slog in the way that only spinners can, would miss his next turn. I had bought myself more fast bowling.My eyes turned to the trio of quicks standing atop their mark. Off their long run, they huddled together like the cool kids at the back of the bus. The club captain had wandered over there too to join the revelry, arms crossed, staring into the net. I noticed paceman No. 2 walk to paceman No. 1. He whispered something to him and caused him to laugh. I swear I heard paceman No. 1 reply, You think so? Okay. My heart sank and quickened, because this could only mean one thing: bumper.I could feel my feet shifting ever so slightly away from my stumps as I hunched over my bat awaiting my pain. The ground fell silent bar the heavy steps of our fastest bowler flying in. I swear Id never noticed how high he pumped his knees upon approaching the wicket. His face was again strained - more evidence that the effort ball was coming. He was into his delivery stride and releasing the ball. I searched for the bouncer but couldnt find it. In fact I couldnt find the ball at all. For that brief moment I was riven with fear. Those slightly shifting feet gave way to the batsmans version of a standing foetal position. I awaited an awkward blow to the body or swish of the ball into net, but heard something far worse - the crash of leather into stump, followed by howls of laughter.I had fallen for the two-card trick. I had been done by the slowest of slower balls. I had hunted for the ball in his half and caused it to escape my eyeline. In my haste to avoid a physical blow, I had failed my second priority. I had not been hit but I was out. Whats worse is that I was now compelled to endure that most humiliating of net experiences: resetting the stumps that Id allowed to be destroyed - in full view of my club.The episode formed another scar in the ceaseless epic that is net batting at dusk. Maybe next time Ill just swing. Maybe next time Ill refuse the good net. Because, like democracy, the ritual of net batting is a flawed - sometimes broken - practice. But when it comes to training, it remains the best thing we have.Read part one: How to survive the good net Cheap Brewers Jerseys . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Paul Molitor Jersey Large . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.custombrewersjersey.com/ . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Custom Brewers Jerseys . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Custom Brewers T-shirts . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. HOUSTON -- Houston Texans coach Bill OBrien was asked about Jadeveon Clowneys play this week, and for the first time in years the coach raved about the top overall pick in the 2014 draft.Hes playing well. He played really well (Sunday), OBrien said. He was one of our best players on our whole team.Clowney has shaken off two years of injuries to become one of Houstons most consistent players this season, and his transition to defensive end has helped the Texans absorb the loss of star J.J. Watt to injury.Clowney had a career-high four tackles for losses on Sunday to give him eight for the season, which ties his career-best and leads the NFL. While hes now listed as a defensive end, the Texans line him up in various spots on the line as well as at linebacker to keep blockers off-balance.Its been a difficult change for Clowney because playing end in a 4-3 scheme in college is vastly different than playing on the line in the NFL in Romeo Crennels 3-4 defense. At South Carolina, the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Clowney was bigger than almost anyone he had to block. But hes a bit undersized to play defensive end in the NFL, and when he lines up at tackle he faces offensive lineman that routinely weigh 60-70 pounds more than he does. This week he could have to block Colts right guard Denzelle Good, who at 355 pounds outweighs him by almost 100 pounds.But OBrien said Clowney makes up for his lack of weight in other ways.You can define size in a lot of different ways. Does he play big? He plays with a lot of explosiveness, OBrien said. Hes a very tough player. He plays with good leverage a lot of the time in certain situations. So look, does he weigh as much as some of the guys that he goes against in there? No. That could be said for a lot of different guys (but) I think hes playing at a high level.He has started every game this season, easily his longest streak in his NFL career. He didnt play more than four consecutive games in his first two seasons.Its a great feeling to be healthy and feeling good, Clowney said. Just getting better and better each week and hope I can sustaiin it for 16 games and keep going forward and keep getting better.ddddddddddddThough hes piling up tackles for losses, sacks have evaded Clowney and he has just two this season. Hes hoping to add to that total this week when he faces an Indianapolis line that has allowed Andrew Luck to be sacked an NFL-high 20 times this season.You want to get in there and make plays on him and get to him, he said. We have to come with a good game plan this week, go out there and rush and try to get to him.Some had wondered if Clowney was ever going to make the kind of impact he did during a three-year career at South Carolina where he had he had 130 tackles, 24 sacks, 47 tackles for losses and 20 quarterback pressures after his first two years in the NFL. So far this season hes proven that hes capable of being a disruptive force when hes healthy, and people around the league are noticing.Hes a different guy, Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. The guy is playing as good as anybody in the league right now up front. Hes playing with a ton of confidence, a ton of physicality. We know the athleticism. We know the God-given dominant traits that he has as a football player, but his motor is running and its running hot. It never stops.Though he didnt like to talk about it, fighting through the injuries and hearing all the negativity weighed on Clowney. He is much happier now. In his first two years he was almost never in the locker room when reporters were present. Now he spends much of each availability sitting at his locker chatting with people and joking with players and reporters.He beamed when told about the compliments his coach gave him this week.Its special, its good, he said. My teammates noticed. He noticed. I just have to keep playing well. They come out and say: `We need you this week every week. I have to keep playing for my teammates and keep trying to make plays for the team.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '