uld have to renounce the rights to Barnes to create room u

Match FactsAugust 3, Edgbaston Start time 11am (1000 GMT)The Big PictureEdgbaston is like our Gabba, Stuart Broad said last week. After defeat at Lords, Englands confidence has soared again on the back of a thumping win at Old Trafford and now they arrive at a venue with good memories. They have won three of their last five Tests here by large margins, including last year when they reclaimed the lead in the Ashes, spurred on by the most vocal crowd in any English venue.But this series is still just 1-1. Old Trafford was the type of match Pakistan have not had to play in quite some time: asked to field first on a good batting pitch, with a four-man attack stretched to contain England. Yasir Shahs drastic change in fortunes meant Misbah-ul-Haq was always struggling to stem the flow of runs. Pakistans chances of pushing England in this match could well rest on the toss. Win it, put a decent score on the board and follow the Lords template.England will again have to cover for the absence of Ben Stokes after his calf injury. Chris Woakes form has meant that Stokes loss has not been as keenly felt as it might have been this summer, but his fiery pace bowling did add another dimension to the attack at Old Trafford before he went lame. His batting, although not especially required last time out because of Joe Roots epic 254, provides ballast amid a misfiring middle order that still has a lot of uncertainty about it.It will be those top-order batsmen outside of Root and Alastair Cook where much of the attention will be this week for England. The vulnerability - or at least uncertainty - of Alex Hales, James Vince and Gary Ballance remains the major weakness of this side and leaves much on the shoulders of the two senior batsmen. Ballance, on his return, has looked the most secure but Pakistans quicks appear to have the number of Hales and Vince having picked over their techniques.Given the size of victory at Old Trafford - and the fact they have a quorum of key players in form - if England get on top early they will be difficult to stop. However, in the likes of Yasir and Mohammad Amir, not to mention the steel of their captain, Pakistan have it them to strike back.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first) England WLDWW Pakistan LWWWDIn the spotlightPretty shots alone dont make a Test career. There is a strong desire, not least from coach Trevor Bayliss, for James Vince to make it as a Test batsman but so far there has been the occasional moment of style but very little substance. He had a perfect platform at Old Trafford to take advantage of good batting conditions yet once again fell to an edged drive - what has already become a signature dismissal. England will need to consider rebalancing their side when they get to the subcontinent, so time is running out for Vince to ensure he is not the fall guy should a batsman make way.Pakistan need their senior batsmen to lift. Younis Khans eccentric footwork remains a worry, but Azhar Alis form - scores of 7, 23, 1 and 8 - has also left the top order vulnerable, exposing Younis while the ball is still hard. He was the victim of a couple of tight lbw calls at Lords, but his first-innings dismissal at Old Trafford was limp - popping a return catch - and then he was beautifully set up by James Anderson in the second. He spent useful time in the middle against Worcestershire, making 81 against a modest attack, and at a time of questionable batting talent coming through for Pakistan they can ill-afford Azhar not to deliver.Team newsSteven Finn returns to the side to replace Stokes on the ground where he made his match-winning comeback against Australia last year. Cook said it was a tight call between him and Jake Ball: I was awake at 2am thinking about.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 James Vince, 5 Gary Ballance, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James AndersonSami Aslam, the 20-year-old batsman, is set to replace Shan Masood at the top of the order as Pakistan concede they cant accommodate Andersons bunny any longer. There may also be a change in the pace attack, with consideration being given to Sohail Khan replacing Wahab Riaz.Pakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Sami Aslam, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz/Sohail Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Rahat AliPitch and conditionsThere was substantial rain over Monday night into Tuesday but the forecast for the game is good. Cook said that there was a decent covering of grass on the surface. In the County Championship this season, the pitches have ranged from the lively (against Somerset) to the dead (against Hampshire). It is not expected to break up as the game progresses.Stats and triviaThis will be Englands 500th Test match on home soil.Pakistan lost by nine wickets at this ground in 2010 after being bowled out for 72 in their first innings: the England pace attack was Anderson, Broad and Finn. Englands last defeat here was in 2008 against South Africa.Cook needs one century to reach 30 in Test cricket; Wahab needs two wickets for 50 and Rahat Ali four wickets for 50.The most wickets for an England bowler in a series against Pakistan is Andersons 23 in 2010 - Woakes currently has 18.QuotesHes going to be a danger, theres no doubt about that, and he will have learned from his experience up at Old Trafford, thats what happens when you have a tough game. Thats the beauty of a series. He can bounce back now and perhaps pose a different challenge but if we play him like we did at Old Trafford and have that same kind of game-plan we should play him better than at Lords. Alastair Cook knows England cant take their eye off the ball with Yasir ShahWe need to really improve. In the previous Test match we let them score heavily on the first two days and couldnt put pressure on them. Its difficult to come back from 600 runs but still we could have done better with the bat. We got starts, 20s, 30s and 40, but we need to go big. Misbah-ul-Haq wants bigger contributions from his batsmen Jamal Murray Nuggets Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Malik-Beasley-Nuggets-Jersey/ . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Tyler Lydon Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Will Barton Jersey . 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. DALLAS -- The Mavericks signed free agent forward Harrison Barnes to a four-year, $94 million maximum contract as soon as the rules allowed, with a lighthearted poke at the drama that cost them DeAndre Jordan last year.Dallas owner Mark Cuban tweeted a picture shortly after the NBAs moratorium ended at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday showing the former Golden State player playfully handcuffed to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, with both smiling.It was actually still late Wednesday night in Barnes hometown of Ames, Iowa, where the signing took place. The photo included a smiling coach Rick Carlisle pointing to the contract, along with assistant vice president Michael Finley, a former Maverick.On the last day before signings could become official a year ago, the Mavericks lost out on Jordan when the center backed out on an agreement with Dallas and stayed with the Los Angeles Clippers. A contingent led by coach Doc Rivers descended on Jordans Houston home and stayed with him until he signed.After missing out on Memphis guard Mike Conley and Miami center Hassan Whiteside this year, the Mavericks worked a deal with Barnes as a restricted free agent, with the possibility of the Warriors matching. But that changed when Golden State got a committment from Kevin Durant and would have to renounce the rights to Barnes to create room under the salary cap.ddddddddddddDallas is also getting Andrew Bogut from Golden State in a trade also sparked by cap needs over the Durant agreement. The NBA must still approve that deal.The rest of the business in another busy year of free agency for Dallas can wait.That starts with star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who at some point will sign a two-year, $40 million contract after again removing any doubt over whether he would leave. The 38-year-old, who opted out of the final year of a three-year deal, is getting ready for his 19th season in Dallas.Point guard Deron Williams is returning for a second season with his hometown team on a one-year, $10 million contract. He came to the Mavericks last year in the wake of the Jordan reversal after accepting a buyout in Brooklyn. Williams had chosen the Nets over Dallas in free agency in 2012.The Mavericks also have an agreement on a four-year, $37 million deal with restricted free agent Dwight Powell, who is all Dallas has left to show for the ill-fated Rajon Rondo trade with Boston from two seasons ago. ' ' '