Scooter Tuning Pics » Hawthorn.In the final round of the 2007

England 297 and 120 for 0 (Cook 61*, Hales 50*) lead Pakistan 400 (Azhar 139, Aslam 82, Misbah 56) by 17 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe worm turns again. There is some wonderful Test cricket being played at the moment and the Edgbaston Test could bubble up into a humdinger after Alastair Cook and Alex Hales wiped out Pakistans lead with an unbroken stand of 117 on a day that England showed commendable resilience.Cook closed on 61, during which he become Englands leading run-scorer across all formats - overtaking Kevin Pietersen - although of more immediate relevance was the assurance with which he played, reaching fifty off 67 balls. Hales was less fluent, but showed the determination he had against Sri Lanka earlier in the season and brought up his fifty from 116 balls off the final delivery of the day. The century stand was this pairs first in Test cricket, in their 18th innings together, and Englands first since Cook and Moeen Ali in Abu Dhabi last October.Pakistans eventual advantage of 103 was good, but perhaps short of what they would have hoped for late on Thursday before Azhar Ali edged the final delivery of the day. In total, their last eight wickets fell for 143, with the last five managing just 42 as the flimsy lower order was exposed once Misbah-ul-Haqs diligent half-century was ended.Englands seamers bowled well (Moeen was only entrusted with two overs in the day) although James Anderson was ordered out of the attack after encroaching on the danger area for a third time - the second time in the year he had been removed having also transgressed in Johannesburg. But by then Pakistan were eight down and England were able to soak up his absence. Chris Woakes continued to impress to finish with three wickets while England earned another scalp through their fielding when Yasir Shah was run out.Unlike the opening day, Englands openers were able to start in sunshine and the surface remained placid. The Pakistan seamers fed Cook with too much width early on and the fifty stand came up in the 15th over, with Cook contributing 36 of them. The pace did not slow, aided by Hales also finding his groove after some hard work, notably when he flicked Yasir over the leg side. There was little help for Yasir, although he did spin one to bring an lbw appeal against Hales which went to review but had pitched outside leg.It was Hales who took England into the lead with a textbook back-foot punch off Sohail Khan who struggled to replicate his first-innings performance. Mohammad Amir was the pick of the quicks, but Misbah will need a telling contribution from Yasir on the fourth day. When the players walked off, with nine overs unbowled due to various delays, there was a very different feel to the match than a few hours earlier.A key element to this match could yet be the control England managed to exert with the ball, meaning that even when wickets were not falling the innings did not run away from them. The third morning, which began with Pakistan 40 adrift, started in a similar manner to the previous day with them willing to soak up the pressure: Andersons opening five-over spell cost just four runs and while Pakistan had plenty of wickets in hand they were content, but their approach did mean the lengthy tail remained a get-out for England if they could break through.Younis Khan was slightly less jumpy than in the first two Tests but could not escape his rut, providing England their first wicket of the day when he glanced Woakes down the leg side - a similar dismissal to the first innings at Old Trafford off Ben Stokes.Misbah continued to leave and defend against some tight bowling, only occasionally breaking free when he drove Stuart Broad for consecutive boundaries, in a manner very similar to how he has played throughout this cluster of England Tests in the last eight months. By lunch, the runs had started to come more freely.Asad Shafiq started brightly at Lords but has been slightly less productive since and could not break the shackles in an 18-ball stay before losing his off stump when Broad made a delivery nip back which he was late on. At that point, Pakistan were yet to take the lead and England sniffed a chance to keep the Test even.Not for the first time, Sarfraz Ahmeds appearance brought energy to the innings, both in his punchy strokeplay and eagerness to keep the strike rotating. Misbahs early caution was also rewarded as he moved from 7 off 39 balls to a half-century off 93, although one of his boundaries came when an edge flashed past Joe Root who was stood at a very close third slip.His dismissal had a dose of bad fortune about it, although Anderson was unlikely to see it that way, when he defended at a ball which then came off pad and boot into the stumps. It gave England an opening at the lower order and brought a period where the umpires were in the thick of the action.A superb piece of fielding from Woakes at deep square beat Yasir attempt to come back for a second, Jonny Bairstow doing well to gather the throw and break the stumps with his elbow - a dismissal which led to a thumbing of the Laws: it was perfectly legal, a run out can be completed by hand to arm providing the ball is under control.Amirs wicket also needed the intervention of the TV umpire when Woakes rightly thought the lbw shout had struck pad first, while Sohail was lbw walking across his stumps at Broad. By then Anderson had been removed from the attack by Joel Wilson, following further feedback from the third umpire, and his over was completed by Steven Finn who was destined to end wicketless again when Cook added to Englands list of dropped catches by shelling Rahat Ali at slip. It was the last moment that did not go right for them. Bill Walton Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Terry Porter Blazers Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/customized/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Anfernee Simons Blazers Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Bill Walton Blazers Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Stephen Gough, one of Australias most respected sports administrators, announced last week he would leave his job as MCC chief executive in early 2017, after 17 years in the job.The ever-popular Gough has seen it all while running the historic sports ground: AFL Grand Finals, NRL state-of-origin matches, Bledisloe Cup Tests, Commonwealth Games, Boxing Day Tests and World Cup cricket finals. Hes also closing in on 500 AFL matches watched.In light of all that, ESPN asked Gough to nominate his highlights, lowlights and most memorable moments from the past 17 years. Here, in spite of an obvious Carlton bias, are his answers to ESPNs questionnaire:Q: Most memorable MCG footy moment?After Carlton premierships, the 1999 Preliminary Final between Carlton and Essendon.Q: Most memorable non-footy moment?- Shane Warnes 700th wicket in 2006, and Australia winning that Ashes Test in three days with over 240,000 in attendance.- Commonwealth Games 2006 - Tsunami Cricket Match in January 2005 when over $15 million was raised.Q: Best AFL match ever seen at the MCG?(a) 1984 2nd Semi Final between Hawthorn and Essendon(b) The West Coast Eagles and Sydney grand finals in 2005, 2006.Q: Best player ever seen?Leaving aside Carltons Bruce Doull - Gary Ablett Snr.Q: Best AFL team seen?Leaving aside Carltons of 1979, 81 and 82 which, except for 1980, could have equalled Collingwood Football Clubs four in a row - Id say Brisbane of 2001/02/03.Q: Recent AFL rule change you most like?Restriction on interchange rotations - good to see star players being kept on the ground with different tactics being used by coaches.Q: Whats your proudest moment as CEO?Many come to mind, but being part of the Club (and Ground) for such a great period of activity, on and off the MCG.Q: Can you tell us a little-known fact about the ground that might surprise people?Approximately 120 metres of fence on the Southern Stand is the oldest remaining piece of infrastructure (1884) followed now by the light towers (1985).Q: Can the ground really hold 100,000?Yes. 100,024 seats plus standing room.Q: Whats the most interesting exhibit in the museum of sport?A peculiar one I like is the model of the revolving grandstand that was able to have it facing the cricket ground, then in winter swinging to face the outside to watch the early football matches from 1877 until its demise through fire in 1884. The Baer Collection (provided by the late Tony Baer) is some of our most delicate, curious and valuable pieces. Not to be missed.Q: How many AFL games have you watched in the past 17 years?I estimate it to be closing in on 500.Q: Most forgettable moment as CEO?Easy. The fiasco at the Members for the 2007 Preliminary Final between Collingwood and Geelong. We got our estimations and visitor tickets allocations wrong and locked out many people. A very traumatic night for all concerned, except the AFL who were delighted with a crowd of 98,000.Q: What else didnt we quite get right?We all (cricket and MCC personnel) didnt expect a crowd of 80,000+ for last seasons Big Bash League match (between Stars and Renegades) - hence massive delays with queues to buy a ticket and then to enter the G.Q: Recent AFL rule change you like least?- Countdown clock on scoreboard- Teams warming up on the ground well before the game starts. Understand the logic of this, however we lose that hugely anticipated moment when the teams enter the ground, especially on Grand Final Day.PATIENCE OF JOBE RUNNING OUTFormer Essendon captain Jobe Watson, currently working in New York as a barista while he serves out his WADA-enforced ban, is still rated only a 50-50 chance of returning to the club next year.We hear that Essendon executives recently returned from a trip to New York where they sounded out Watson about his plans for 2017.But the response they got was not exactly what they wanted to hear: Watson was enjoying life in the Big Apple - where he works at the Hole in the Wall café on West 38th and 5th Avenue - and wasnt sure whether he was ready to commit again to the demands of AFL football.Watson turns 32 next February.He and 33 other Essendon players were suspended until November 2016 when WADA in January successfully appealed against the AFL Tribunals not-guilty finding.This has imperilled Watsons 2012 Brownlow Medal, which was won while the supplements program was in full swing under Stephen Dank.If the clubs last-ditch appeal against the doping suspensions fails, and we wont have a ruling on that until later in the year, the AFL Commission will then have the unenviable task of deciding whether Watson keeps the medal.If they do indeed strip Watson of the award, we imagine the Bomber great might decide that New Yorks coffee scene is a more palatable place to be than Melbourne.MAJAKS SHARK TALESThis weekends AFL Multicultural Roound has inadvertently helped reveal one of the leagues great unsolved mysteries.ddddddddddddNorth Melbournes Sudanese excitement machine, Majak Daw, was photographed this week holding one of the special Multicultural Round match balls which have the word WELCOME printed on them in six different languages.But one eagle-eyed fan noticed something funny about the picture. What, he wanted to know, had happened to the top of Daws ring finger - it seemed to have disappeared.And a look at other action photos of the athletic big man revealed the same thing: the ruckman has 9.5 digits.A North Melbourne spokesman went in pursuit of the full story but came back empty-handed. After some digging, I believe the origin remains secret. He tells people a shark bit it off, said our man.BOUND BY PREMIERSHIP GLORYWest Coasts premiership-winning heroes are as a close as ever 10 years on from their one-point triumph over Sydney, contrary to reports of a fractious rift.Every member from the successful 2006 side - except champion Ben Cousins who is battling drug issues - reunited at a formal event in Perth ahead of last weeks clash Essendon at Domain Stadium.The celebrations spilt across three days, with players, coaches and staff reminiscing on the clubs third flag.Decorated ruckman Dean Cox, now an assistant coach at the Eagles, was quick to wrap up the post-match review on Friday night to catch up on the revelry.Some club officials believe it was fitting the match against the Bombers, now led by the Eagles 2006 premiership coach John Worsfold, coincided with the Grand Final celebrations.Some club officials squarely blame Essendon forward Scott Lucas for the Eagles failure to establish a dynasty, akin to Geelong and Hawthorn.In the final round of the 2007 season, the Bombers trailed the Eagles by 44 points at the last change.Lucas, clearly intent on honouring captain James Hird and legendary coach Kevin Sheedy in their last match at the club, piled on seven goals in a final-quarter blitz to get the Bombers within a goal.The Eagles eventually prevailed by eight points, but squandered a chance to gain much-needed percentage points.As a result, the Eagles slipped to third and were forced into a qualifying final against Port Adelaide away from their Subiaco fortress.They lost in a nail-biter by three points.The title defence ended the following week in a semi-final against Collingwood in extra time, without stars Chris Judd and Cousins, both out injured.Its a strongly-held belief that had a rampaging Lucas not got on a roll, the Eagles would have played - and beaten - Port in a home final, which would have granted the ailing team a much-needed week off ahead of a Perth preliminary.PAY DAY A MILE AWAYThe long-running pay stoush between the AFL and the AFLPA is at an impasse.The union representing more than 800 players is fighting to have a greater percentage of the leagues revenue, following its record-breaking $2.5 billion, six-year broadcast deal. (And more money could yet flow into the bulging pockets of the AFL, who are deep in negotiations over the renewal of the radio rights deal.)But ESPN understands the pay talks have come to a halt, with the parties failing to meet in almost two months.The players currently receive about 22 per cent of the industry revenue - four per cent less than the amount Cricket Australia pays its players.But as the indigenous code becomes more Americanised, a push for a much higher figure could be on the cards. Sportsmen from privately-owned US sports teams, for example, earn up to half of the monies generated from their code.For the first time in the AFLs history, the players are threatening to strike if an agreement cant be reached.A ROUGH DRAFT Club recruiters fear the AFL has been unable to find an appropriate venue for this years draft in Sydney.The AFL traditionally informs clubs where the November draft will take place well in advance of the event.But this year they are yet to alert teams as to where in the Harbour City it will take place.This has concerned representatives from a few clubs that the AFL might be scrambling to find a place to announce the names of the next batch of future stars.The AFL has persisted with touring the draft around the nation, despite almost half of the junior talent emerging from Victoria.The draft, first introduced in 1986, has predominantly been held in Melbourne.It ventured outside of Victoria in 1997 when it was hosted in Adelaide.In 2010, it headed north to the Gold Coast, the first year the Suns participated in the draft.Sydney previously hosted the event in 2011, a year ahead of GWS inaugural season.Last year, the Adelaide Convention Centre held the event. 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