Preise » might even have had the game by its collar by now

Everything about Sami Aslam was slow. He was slow to pick up the ball off Jeet Ravals edge, and slow to move to his right. His hands closed like the gates of a warehouse in an action movie - the ball screeching through like the hero on a motorbike. After it had made its triumphant escape, Aslam rose in increments; unsticking each of his limbs from the ground. Slow is not what Pakistan wanted from this innings. It is not what they needed from this Test.When a side picks four fast bowlers, they want the game to go quickly. Not for this particular attack is staying patient on a fifth stump line or tying batsmen down with diligent lengths. Bowling dry works when a high-quality spinner plays, because on his best days, Yasir Shah can wall batsmen in for hours and hours, until the pitch is sufficiently dry that with a flick of his hair and a snap of fingertips, he can send entire batting orders cascading.But this is not the strategy Pakistan opted for. In their dream sequence for this match, Pakistan won the toss, bowled first, had Mohammad Amir get more nicks than a first-time shaver, had their two honest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Khans shoot balls between bat and pad, then - preferably after a New Zealand batsman provoked Wahab Riaz - had Wahab send them sarcastic flying kisses, his deliveries at their grilles, and pieces of protective equipment into the stumps. The whole thing would be done in 40 overs. A demoralised New Zealand would have no more than 200 on the board. On Friday, Amir had bowled a first over deserving of the Pakistan fantasy. He was in the New Zealand openers heads straight away. He pitched deliveries on lines they had to play at. He shimmied the ball away. He drew four edges with six balls, and nearly grazed off stump with one. Yet Amir came away with only one wicket in the opening over when he should have had at least two. Aslam had been the culprit then as well, trying to trap the ball with wrists instead of palms, and fending it away onto a quivering boot. Raval went on to make New Zealands highest score of 55, dropped on 0 and then 40. Amir was quivering himself. Maybe he wondered after a season of dropped catches off his bowling, if the universe would ever forgive him; if it would let him have the hauls his skill deserved.The drops stung because unlike in the UAE, where games pick up speed like a boulder coming down a hill, matches on green-tops come roaring out of the gates. The more quickly attacks can get through the top three, the more chance a middle order can be exposed, and the tail shot out. If the ball still had its gloss when Henry Nicholls (in his ninth Test) or Colin de Grandhomme (in his second) had come to the crease, chances of them lasting more than fifty balls apiece would have been slim. With every over bowled, the seam became a little less pronounced, and the surface grew a little less damp. Where a clinical catching side might have built enough pressure to spark a collapse, Pakistan saw New Zealands tail get quick runs. It was only later that they paid for failing to knock over one of the early dominoes.Yes, they shouldnt have got 270 on that pitch, Sohail Khan, the most successful of Pakistans seamers, said. Even though the ball was a bit damp on the first day, which prevented us from using it as well as we could have, we still won the toss. The score they got was a bit on the high side on that pitch.When Pakistan took guard, New Zealands quicks showed the pressure early wickets can impart. Raval held a low chance from Aslams bat, and when Azhar Ali was also caught behind, an out-of-sorts Younis Khan was drawn out of the dressing room. By the end of the day 8 for 2 had turned into 76 for 5 - a huge first-innings deficit likely, unless the two overnight batsmen can defy New Zealand on the third morning.If we get one good partnership, we can take the score very close - Babar Azam and Sarfraz Ahmed are still there, Sohail said. When we bowl again, this game is more like an attacking one now, and we could still finish it in a session.For the second time in as many Tests, Pakistan are faced with a difficult route back into the match. Had they done Amirs spell justice, they might even have had the game by its collar by now. Pat Tillman Jersey . 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. 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Akapusi Qera insists Fiji do not resent Nathan Hughes and Semesa Rokoduguni for pledging allegiance to England, but has promised them a bone-jarring reception on Saturday.The second autumn international at Twickenham has cast the spotlight on the issue of overseas agents, clubs and nations plundering Pacific Islands talent and the vast disparity in pay.Rokoduguni and Hughes have qualified for England on residency grounds and will earn a match fee of ￡22,000, while the Fijians must settle for a daily allowance of ￡60 during their tour. In a damning statistic, all four wings in Frances Test against Australia in Paris on Saturday night are of Fijian origin.Qera, Fijis captain, understands the motivation for players heralding from his poverty-stricken homeland to seek the riches available overseas, but insists there will be a price to pay on the pitch.At the moment we are happy for the boys getting the achievement, Qera said. We have got the likes of Waisake Naholo at the All Blacks, the Australian boys Tevita Kuridrani and Henry Speight, and then Semsea and Nathan.We are happy for them and happy for the achievement. We cannot stop them from trying to progress their rugby careers. But as I always say, on the field its a totally different ball game. We will meet up after the game as mates, but during the game it will be a different story.Hughes, who startts on the bench with Rokoduguni on the right wing, accepts the welcome signposted by Qera.ddddddddddddI do understand it. If youre an Islander, and I have this opportunity to play against Fiji, you know what is coming, Hughes said. You take it and you have got to give it back. Theyll know its coming too.Hughes made his Test debut as a replacement in the 37-21 victory over South Africa having qualified for England on residency grounds in June, saying of his choice: I play my rugby to support my family and put shelter over their heads.Fiji coach Johns McKee admits there were attempts to persuade Hughes to choose the country of his birth and does see a solution to the problem.I spoke to Nathan a number of times over the past three years and he never actually made himself available to play for Fiji, which was disappointing, McKee said.People make their own decisions. It is their life, it is their livelihood, it is their family. Under the current regulations after 36 months you are eligible to play for a country based on continuous residency.The Fiji Rugby Unions policy is that it should be extended to 60 months, which is five years. In the current professional era of the game I think that would be a more realistic timeframe. ' ' '