Clan-Members » ffs because of the quality of pitching.Kris Br

Another England Test, another Alastair Cook milestone.Having passed Alec Stewarts England record of 133 Test appearances in the victory over Bangladesh in the first Test in Chittagong, Cook is now set to become Englands most capped captain of all time when he skippers the team against India in the first Test, on Wednesday.Cook moved level with Michael Atherton when he led his side out for the 54th time in the second Test in Dhaka but come Wednesday will top the list. There have been plenty of highs, and lows, during his spell as skipper. Click on the video above to see just a few, as we also chart them below...Bangladesh beginnings Cook celebrates after scoring a century against Bangladesh during his first Test as captain Its somewhat fitting that Cook equalled Athertons record where it all started, in Bangladesh. Though it was in Chittagong, and not Dhaka, where Cook became Englands 79th Test captain, covering for Andrew Strauss as he was rested at the time.He couldnt have wished for a better beginning either, smashing 173 against his hapless hosts to become only the fifth England batsman to score a hundred in his first game as skipper.Cook would lead his charges to a 181-run victory in that first Test in 2010 - Graeme Swann taking 10 wickets - before cracking another century in the second Test, as a nine-wicket win in Dhaka secured a 2-0 series triumph.Early success as skipper Cook kisses the urn after winning his first Ashes series as captain in 2013 Cook would have to wait over two years till next tasked with the Test captaincy, permanently taking over from Strauss for the tour of India. It represented a bit of a baptism of fire for Cook, with England having relinquished the No 1 Test ranking to South Africa earlier that summer amid rumours of ructions in the dressing room that led to Kevin Pietersens exile from the team for texts exchanged with the opposition.Cook brought KP back into the team for the India tour and would lead his team to a staggering 2-1 triumph on the sub-continent, made all the more remarkable by the fact that England were trounced by nine wickets in the first Test in Ahmedabad; albeit Cook scoring a century. Hed also tonk tons in the second and third Test wins.The Ashes (preceded by home and away series against New Zealand) were the next test, but one Cook passed with flying colours, leading England to a 3-0 series success. The margin of Englands win would somewhat flatter them, however, as following a 347-run drubbing in the second Test at Lords, a revitalised Australia were much more competitive, hinting of what was to come.Whitewashed in Aus Mitchell Johnson (L) celebrates the wicket of Cook, one of his 37 victims in the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013/14 And what was to come was an utterly emphatic 5-0 series defeat in the return Ashes series in Australia later that winter, where a broken and battered England were routinely bounced out by Mitchell Johnson at the peak of his pacey powers.England lost Jonathan Trott - a key component of their top order for the last four years - after the first Test defeat in Brisbane to a stress-related condition, while Swann retired, having been troubled by an elbow injury, with the series already lost following defeat in the third Test in Perth.Desperately searching for answers, England used 19 players during the five-Test tour, of which the resounding find was a certain Ben Stokes, who struck a first Test ton on a hideously worn Perth pitch in only his second game.Cook defies doubters Cook is warmly applauded off the field at The Rose Bowl despite falling short of a century against India in 2014 There was worse still for Cook after the drubbing down under. A devastating defeat to Sri Lanka at Leeds in 2014 off the penultimate ball of the game that saw England lose the series, and an embarrassing 95-run second Test loss to India on a green-top at Lords perfectly catered for home advantage, had many calling for him to step down as skipper.They made a compelling case, as coupled with those heart-breaking defeats was that Cook couldnt buy a run - no Test tons for 14 matches, averaging 23.63. The captain, at his lowest ebb, himself admitted: No-one has a divine right to captain the side, or play in the side if theyre not performing.The tide began to turn though in the third Test at The Rose Bowl. After a painstaking 231-ball stay at the crease, Cook agonisingly fell five runs short of that long-awaited century. Regardless, the crowd appreciating the courage of a man under such pressure gave him a rousing reception from the crease. Cook would score an unbeaten 70 in the second innings, lead his side to a 3-1 series win, and would average 58.30, scoring three tons, in his next 14 Tests.Ashes redemption Cook celebrates winning back the Ashes urn in The Oval dressing room after a 3-2 win over Australia in 2015 599 days after handing the urn over to Australia, Cook has his redemption, said Sky Sports Nasser Hussain when calling Englands Ashes-winning moment in 2015, and how right he was too. 18 months on from his nadir as England captain at the hands of the Aussies, Cook was instrumental in wrestling the Ashes back.Not necessarily through sheer weight of runs - Cook hit just the two fifties across his nine innings in the series, averaging 36.66 - but through innovative captaincy, and impeccable leadership, specifically in rallying England from a 405-run thrashing at Lords that levelled the series after two Tests.Stuart Broads stunning 8-15 to bowl Australia out for just 60 on the first morning of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge all but ended the contest, though Cook would have to wait till The Oval to get his mitts on the urn, his redemption confirmed with a 3-2 series win.Watch the first Test between India and England from 3.30am on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports 2 HD. Or watch the whole of the first Test for £10.99 without a contract - with a Week Pass from NOW TV.Also See:India v England statsStuart Broad quizLive cricket on SkyBen Duckett blogChina Jerseys Authentic . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. http://www.cheapchinajerseysnfls.com/ . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta.CHICAGO -- About the time Travis Wood was dousing Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein with champagne Tuesday night, Epstein was explaining the prevailing theory of roster construction.You build it for 162 (games) and you watch it play out, Epstein said.You build it for the postseason and you pray.So far, so good for the favored Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who advanced to meet in the National League Championship Series after difficult NLDS challenges from San Francisco and Washington, respectively. The first two games of the best-of-seven series are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday night at Wrigley Field.The Cubs beat the Giants in four games with a four-run rally in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday, only the second time in playoff history a team had scored four runs in the ninth inning to win a postseason clincher. The Mets did it to the Boston Red Sox in 1986.When you go through these moments, I think they make you better, and it makes you continue to focus, said Cubs catcher David Ross, who homered and hit a sacrifice fly in Game 4. Weve been through a lot of these with comebacks in the ninth. You just continue to grind. It just says a lot about the character of these guys in the young group. They continue to fight.The Cubs, who won a major league-high 103 games in the regular season and have been favored to win the World Series since the playoffs began, have won 10 games this season when they trailed entering the ninth, including Tuesdays game.Not that the Dodgers are fazed by being labeled underdogs.For us, its just a lot of noise, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. I think it comes down to 25 players against one another. It really doesnt matter to us, to (be) quite honest.The Dodgers advanced to the NLCS just as unconventionally, with a 4-3 victory at Washington in Game 5 on Thursday. Trailing 1-0 entering the seventh inning, the Dodgers scored four runs in that inning to go ahead, then held on by using closer Kenley Jansen to get seeven outs and set up three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, who got the final two outs with the tying run on base.ddddddddddddJansen threw 51 pitches, but Roberts would not rule them out for use this weekend.Cubs left-hander Jon Lester, a top Cy Young candidate, opposes Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda in Game 1. Lester gave up five hits and no walks in eight shutout innings of a 1-0 victory over the Giants in the first game of the NLDS last Friday.Maeda gave up four runs in three innings of the Dodgers Game 3 loss on Sunday and will be pitching on regular rest.The Cubs and Dodgers were eliminated by the NL champion Mets last season. New York beat the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS and then swept the Cubs in four games in the NLCS.The Cubs may need to improve their hitting in order to advance to their first World Series since 1945, although batting averages are normally down in the playoffs because of the quality of pitching.Kris Bryant and Javier Baez had six hits apiece in the Giants series, and Wilson Contreras was 4-for-6. All were major players in the Game 4 rally -- Bryant singled to open the ninth. Ben Zobrist doubled in one run, Contreras singled in two to tie the game, and Baez drove in the game-winner before Aroldis Chapman recorded his third save of the series.Pitchers have driven in six of the Cubs 17 runs this postseason -- three coming on starter Jake Arrietas three-run homer in Game 3. Dexter Fowler has two hits while Jason Heyward, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell all have one through four games.Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was 6-for-15 in the NLDS, and his double drove in the final run Thursday. Joc Pederson, whose homer off Max Scherzer began the Dodgers four-run rally, was 5-for-15. Shortstop Corey Seager, the certain NL Rookie of the Year, was 3-for-23, although two of his hits were homers. ' ' '