Clan-Members » Jonathan Villar could be productive.The C

Twenty-five years ago, Usman Khawaja left Pakistan as a little boy with his family, set for a new life in Australia. He has played 20 Test matches in the baggy green, and is about to play his first against the country of his birth. That match will take place at the Gabba, his adopted home ground. But despite being Queenslands state captain, Khawaja was still at the centre of an awkward moment on Tuesday.Funnily enough I was waiting downstairs and I needed the change room locker to be opened for us and I was just waiting and the Queensland Cricket lady came down, Khawaja said at the Gabba. She was like Oh, you need the locker rooms open? I went yes please and she started walking to the Pakistani change room. I was like, No, Im that way, thank you.His Pakistani background remains important to Khawaja, although he remembers only glimpses of his early life in Islamabad. He has not been back to visit relatives in Pakistan since 2008, and has had few dealings with the Pakistan cricket team, having played against them only in a solitary Twenty20 international during this years World T20 in India.Asked whether playing his first Test against Pakistan would be a significant moment, Khawaja said he had not considered the matter in that way, but he said it might be a big moment for his parents, Tariq and Fozia.They grew up in Pakistan and were there for a long time, Khawaja said. Obviously I was born there, so its a very close part of me. It still is a very big part of me... culture is very important, as is religion. My parents are Australian but theyre also very Pakistani. If I broke it down, the way I act and what I do, is very Australian, but there are always parts of me [that are Pakistani] - when I talk to my parents I still at times try to speak Urdu here and there. Its not as good as theirs but they can understand whats going on. It is a big part of my life when Im with my parents or around my parents, but other than that its usually quite normal.My parents are truly Australian now. They dont support Pakistan at all. They havent for a long time. They were there for 30 years but now they just want me to do well and want Australia to win every single time no matter who were playing. There is no allegiance conflict at all.Khawaja was four-and-a-half years old when the family moved to Sydney, and his life quickly became that of any young Australian. There was never any doubt over which country held Khawajas cricket future, and in 2011 he became the first Pakistan-born cricketer to win a baggy green.Ive had glimpses of memories from before I left, he said. I was born in Islamabad. So I have glimpses of memories of our old place and whatnot, but nothing too circumstantial. Most of my childhood memories revolve around being in Australia, being in Sydney.The Pakistan series will not only pit Khawaja against the country of his birth, but also against his former Australia coach Mickey Arthur, who is now in charge of Pakistans side. Khawaja was one of the four players suspended during the homework saga in India in 2013, which was a key moment in the eventual downfall of Arthur as Australias coach.Im not spiteful or vengeful in that sort of respect, Khawaja said. Mickey is a very good guy. He was very nice... every time we were around [each other] he was very helpful. It was such a long time ago. It was tough at the time but I was playing the next Test series anyway, so it didnt really mean too much. I played the next Test series [in England] and didnt play that well and then got dropped, so that wasnt anyone elses fault than myself.Im not the kind of guy who holds onto grudges. If I get into a fight or get angry with someone Im over it like that. Usually, anyway. Im sure if I see Mickey there would be no issues. Everything would be good.Vapormax Plus Pas Cher Chine . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Fausse Air Max 90 Femme Pas Cher . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.outletairmaxpascher.fr/fausse-air-max-97-noir.html . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Air Max 97 Off White Outlet . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Vapormax Noir Pas Cher Chinois . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence.Wednesday looks like an intriguing slate, especially since a couple of the better DFS options are working in the three afternoon affairs. While most of the scheduled starters are solid hurlers, there are not a lot of pairings in which a dominant arm faces a team with an elevated strikeout rate. This evens the playing field, spreading out ownership among more pitchers than usual. Hitting is also unusual; there are fewer obvious soft spots than a typical full slate. Heres what you need to know to navigate a challenging Wednesday split-docket.PitchingChad Green has been named the starter for the Yankees on Wednesday. We will update our matchup chart as soon as possible. EliteWhile its a little premature to start talking about Max Scherzer winning the National League Cy Young to bookend his 2013 award, were running low on narratives when he takes the hill. The Washington Nationals righty has his home run rate under control, so we cant even harp on that anymore. Scherzer will take the hill in Chase Field to take on an Arizona Diamondbacks squad that whiffs at an above-average clip, giving the 32-year-old the platform for his ninth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Scherzer is in play for all DFS formats; the punchouts justify the price.?Chris Sale made it through the trade deadline unscathed; he may not be so lucky facing the Detroit Tigers in Comerica Park. The Chicago White Sox lefty is still an upper-echelon pitcher, and ultimately may remain elite, but a precipitous drop in strikeouts lowers his ceiling and destabilizes his floor. Seasonal owners are forced to hope Sale continues to produce despite weaker peripherals. DFS enthusiasts can pick and choose favorable spots, and quite frankly, this isnt one of them. If youre paying up in DFS, Scherzer is better for GPP play, and Johnny Cueto, leading off the solid tier, profiles better for cash action.SolidAs alluded to, Cueto, as usual, sets up as a safe yet productive play -- exactly whats wanted for cash games. The San Francisco Giants visit Citizens Bank Park to face the Philadelphia Phillies. Cuetos strength is going deep into games, which shouldnt be an issue as the hosts sport a weak weighted on-base average (wOBA) with a slightly above-average strikeout rate. Cueto isnt a bad choice for a main slate GPP, but if youre OK with the all-day contests, Scherzer is a higher upside play.If Junior Guerra were pitching for anyone but the Milwaukee Brewers, hed be the talk of the town. To be fair, his 2.39 ERA is artificially low, buoyed by a fortuitous 0.239 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That said, Guerra has provided the Brewers with over 100 innings of solid ball, supported by decent peripherals. The 31-year-old righty is set up for another strong outing; hell take the hill in Petco Park to face the anemic San Diego Padres. In fact, since the Friars fan in one-quarter of their trips to the dish against right-handers, Guerra can be deployed in both GPP and cash formats.Jake Odorizzi takes the hill in Tropicana Field for a home contest with the Kansas City Royals. This looks like a low-scoring affair, which renders the Tampa Bay Rays righty a solid choice for cash play.The contrarian GPP play of the evening is Cole Hamels leading the new-look Texas Rangers into Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles. The hosts wOBA versus southpaws is actually below league average, which is one reason they acquired lefty-crusher Steve Pearce at the trade deadline. Hamels 8.9 K/9 in combination with an Orioles club with swing-and-miss potential fuels the aforementioned GPP option.As hinted in the introduction, the lack of strikeout pitchers with added whiff potential tilts most of the starters to cash play. Examples are Steven Matz in Yankee Stadium, Michael Fulmer facing the Chicago White Sox in Motown, John Lackey taking the hill in Wrigley Field against the Miami Marlins, and Rick Porcello toeing the Safeco Field rubber against the Seattle Mariners. Each is a quality arm, facing a pedestrian offense that doesnt whiff excessively, rendering each a cash candidate.Lets identify a few more tournament options, starting with Marco Estrada taking on the explosive Houston Astros in Minute Maid Park. Using righty pitchers opposing the Astros and their 24 percent punchout rate versus right-handers is a great contrarian GPP play. Adding to the intrigue: Estrada is a fly-ball pitcher, which is dangerous considering the beckoning Crawford boxes. But he also sports an 8.dddddddddddd.4 K/9. On a night when theres actually more safe than risky options, Estrada is the choice for the riverboat gamblers.Edinson Volquez and Trevor Bauer join Estrada as GPP options. Volquez draws the Tampa Bay Rays, who continue to fan at an accelerated pace against righties, while Bauer takes on the Minnesota Twins in Progressive Field.StreamersOnly 12 of the 30 scheduled starters fall in the streaming range as defined by a projected Game Score between 46 and 52. As is our policy, the focus will be on those with less than 50 percent ownership in ESPN formats. If youre curious about someone not featured, please dont hesitate to take advantage of the comments below or send a tweet to @ToddZola.Jeff Locke wont pad your strikeout total much, but with a date in Turner Field against the Atlanta Braves, run scoring should be minimal putting him in play for a win.Aided by being an extreme groundball artist, Tyler Anderson has pitched reasonably well in Coors Field. The acquisition of Josh Reddick will upgrade the Los Angeles Dodgers when facing right-handers but not enough to sway me from using the Colorado Rockies rookie in this home affair.Pairing off with Anderson is Brock Stewart, as the Los Angeles Dodgers are giving Kenta Maeda an extra day, something they may do a couple times down the stretch to help assuage the extra travel and the increase in games played as compared to the Japanese season. This will be Stewarts second visit to the bigs, having tossed five frames against the Brewers in May, whiffing seven but also allowing eight hits and two walks, leading to five earned runs. Stewart has been throwing very well at Triple-A Oklahoma, fanning over a hitter an inning while keeping the ball in the yard. This is the recipe for success when pitching at Coors Field, so while mimicking his minor league numbers is a tad optimistic, Stewart is in play if you need a little extra help in the strikeout department.AvoidTyler Duffey, Kendall Graveman and Jered Weaver check in with a projected Game Score 45 or below, which renders them too risky to start unless youre not at all concerned about your ratios. Joining the trio are Cody Reed squaring off with the Cincinnati Reds in the Great American Ballpark, Tom Koehler taking the hill in Wrigley Field and Rob Whalen making his MLB debut for the Atlanta Braves in Turner Field against the Pirates.HittingTheres just one club registering an eight for their overall hitting score, which makes finding traditional hitting stacks a tall task. The better ploy could be finding a couple of hitters taking advantage of platoon edges. The one squad in which a standard stack is effective is the Cleveland Indians, who are?taking on Tyler Duffey in Progressive Field. Duffey doesnt exhibit significant splits, which puts everyone in play. Most will be on Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana. Some will leverage Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall for the platoon edge. Using Mike Napoli is the stealth contrarian play.The St. Louis Cardinals righties enjoy a park upgrade, as well as facing lefty Cody Reed in Cincinnati. Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty, Matt Holliday and the recently activated Jhonny Peralta benefit the most.The Milwaukee Brewers dont have the quality or quantity of lefties to really take advantage of Edwin Jackson, but using some combo of Scooter Gennett or Kirk Nieuwenhuis with Jonathan Villar could be productive.The Chicago Cubs are in a bit of a slump, but they can break out any time. Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward, who has actually been making solid contact lately, are in play versus Tom Koehler.Kendall Graveman can frustrate a lineup, and on paper, the right-handed Los Angeles Angels are a candidate to be shut down. However, the Halos have been raking against righties lately, so using Kole Calhoun and Ji-Man Choi with Mike Trout or Albert Pujols is a sneaky mini-stack.Most likely to hit a home run: Stephen PiscottyPiscotty hit leadoff on Tuesday. Hes a threat to take Cody Reed deep regardless, but give him a likely five at-bats in the GAB and theres a great chance he leaves the yard.Most likely to swipe a bag: Travis Jankowski Jankowski has been a recent favorite in this spot and for good reason. He has been getting on and running at will. Look for this to continue against the Brewers. ' ' '