Reiseberichte » Sri Lanka, only Mitchell Starc has fired a single, u

The sky was wrapped in a blanket of cloud, the air was laced with a light drizzle and the temperature hovered a few degrees too close to uncomfortable - so it is hardly surprising Vernon Philander woke up in a UK state of mind. Lords was the last place Philander took five wickets away from home, more than four years ago, and he may have had a feeling today was the day to change that. It just seemed right.There was enough grass on the surface, enough moisture in the air, enough fortune at the coin toss, and enough of Australias batsmen made themselves available for exploitation. They were also in a UK state of mind, just at a different venue. Their performance dredged up the bones of Trent Bridge when they were shot out for 60 and buried in 18.3 overs. Philander needed a little longer than Stuart Broad did, perhaps only because he spent half the first session recovering from a collision from Steven Smith.By then, physicality was the only kind of aggression Australia had left after Philander followed through on his warning that things would get ugly. Australia would not have expected 4-for-8 ugly, but they have their best batsman to blame for how it started. David Warner played a shot for which only an ugly cry can be consolation, especially considering when it came.Philander used the opening over to get a measure of the movement and soon saw there was more than enough on offer. He sent one swinging down Warners leg side and then tried to correct his line to complete the over but went wayward on the opposite side. Warner chased a delivery he should have left and Australia were opened up.It did not take Philander long to gain control from there and he began to boss proceedings as he had done in Cape Town in 2011, when he led the rout of Australia for 47. He landed the ball in the channel outside off stump and moved it just enough to sow uncertainty in batsmens minds. Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges were done by successive balls that seamed away, forced them to play and took the edge. Callum Ferguson was squared up by the hat-trick ball, prompting a cautious prod which could have brought point into play.Philander did to Australias top order what he had done to England at Lords in 2012, when he cleared the path to the Test mace. The only way to stop Philander when he has found that kind of rhythm is by absorbing pressure and although Steve Smith strived for that, he got more immediate relief in a different way. Smith would not have meant to, but he collided heavily with Philander when the bowler turned to appeal for an lbw after the Australian captain played across the line, was struck on the pads and went for a run. So heavy was the collision that Philander was sent rolling onto the floor, curled up and clutching his left side.Faf du Plessis had to ignore the memories of Dale Steyn going down - in a far less dramatic way, but with far greater consequences - the previous week. He reviewed, but the ball was going down leg and Philander off the field. Philander spent the rest of the session having his shoulder iced, but was able to return after lunch to finish the job. Again, the he used his first over to feel his way back in, tried to hold the length back and even went short, but quickly reverted to his default style. Philanders most emphatic wicket came when he burst through Joe Mennies gate and made the off stump reel, but nothing else about his performance was theatrical. Thats just not how he does it.He left it to Kyle Abbott to pull the Oh my Broad expressions and to Dane Vilas, JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock to claim the front-page photographs with their efforts in the field. Even if Philander does not get all the plaudits, there is no doubt that Philander is back and maybe even better than what we thought was his best, precisely because so many thought he was past it.Philanders last five-for was in February 2013, against Pakistan at home. After that series, Philander lost some of his shine. At that point, he had played 16 Tests, taken 89 wickets at 17.13. After that, although he still managed to become the fastest cricketer in over a century to 100 wickets, he broke through less frequently. In 18 matches after that, he took 41 wickets at an average that had ballooned to 32.85, in a period interrupted by torn ankle ligaments which kept him out of six of the eight Tests last summer. And then came this series.Circumstances have conspired to ask Philander to spearhead the attack and he has responded. Even though Kagiso Rabada has been crowned the successor to Steyn, it must be remembered that it was Philander who ensured Australias lead was negligible. As the senior seamer, Philander has stepped up and leads the wicket charts for series so far.His 10 scalps have come at 13.20 and defied the pre-series expectations of the battle of the bowlers. The talk was about Steyn and Starc; speed and swing. There was not much focus on skill, which is what Philander has built his career on. This innings is one of the finest examples of it. Philanders wickets all came off deliveries that clocked in at under 130kph. Four of them came off balls that landed on a good or full length, on or outside off stump. The magic is not in how much he does, but how little.For Australias batsmen, that means they could not approach him with the UK state of mind that they had at Trent Bridge. For Philander, it was exactly the thinking he always needs to have. Jason Adam Jersey . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Shawn Green Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/936h-billy-mckinney-jersey-blue-jays.html . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Rickey Henderson Blue Jays Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Ken Giles Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. The series has not even begun, and, oh dear, Darren Lehmann has called Muttiah Muralitharan a f******** c****. This was in no sense a slur - the likes of which a now-contrite Lehmann used once to refer to Sri Lanka cricketers. Yet his appraisal of Murali as a fantastic coach has been received in the vein of a dirty phrase by some. With the islands greatest cricketing weapon now trained on its own team, consternation has been widespread enough for several Sri Lankan MPs to give voice to their umbrage in parliament. Perhaps we should listen to the politicians for a change, because on the subject of switching sides for the right price, these are people who know a thing or two.Murali cant take all the credit for Steve OKeefes ten-wicket haul in Australias tour match, but thanks at least in part to his work, Sri Lanka now have a second spinner to fear, in addition to Nathan Lyon, one of the best pace attacks in the world, an opposition captain averaging 60 with the bat, a middle-order batsman averaging 96, and an opener for whom boundaries flow from the bat almost as prodigiously as abuse from the lips.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are still mired in their ever-lengthening transition, and worse, their frontline attack is mostly in triage. This will be the third consecutive Test series without Dhammika Prasads hit-the-deck intensity, thanks to a shoulder complaint. They will also have to do without Dushmantha Chameeras bouncers and bony limbs. Shaminda Eranga has been suspended for an illegal action. And legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who it was hoped might make a Test debut in this series, remains unavailable through a finger injury.Yet, though the team vehicle appears to be spluttering on the bumpy road to stability and competitiveness, there does appear to be mild optimism for Sri Lanka. Fittingly, it is the cricketer most shaped like a bus driver on whom much of this rests. Rangana Herath had green, unresponsive pitches to work with in England, but now, having shed the multiple jumpers, made appearances for his bank, attended a wedding or two, and spent some time with his family, he prepares to derail his sports No. 1 team on more conducive home tracks.Herath was dismayed that, through a quirk of this tours scheduling, he cannot conspire with his beloved Galle pitch to deliver Sri Lanka the initial series advantage he so often provides. But all international pitches in the country offer turn, and, for Australia, even the seam-friendly Pallekele deck may turn into a dustbowl.dddddddddddd For a sidekick, Herath will have Dilruwan Perera, who with his classical action, modest spin and devious smarts, is virtually Heraths offspinning mirror image, right down to the being deprived of chances into his thirties because a senior spinner is already holding court.Dry decks and twin spin is the strategy the hosts will likely deploy in this series, in light of Australias failures in India and the UAE, but unlike for the other South Asian sides, the tactic is fraught with danger for Sri Lanka. Perhaps they can be excused for capitulating last year to Yasir Shah, as he is now the top-ranked bowler on the planet, but in the past 13 months, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and even Kraigg Brathwaite have had Sri Lankan batsmen writhing on their own soil as well.Perhaps it is because Australia sense this is a series they are expected to win that their standard pre-series insult mill has, this time, been oddly inert. Often, they seem to arrive in each new country with a pre-prepared sheet of sledges to be rolled out systematically in press conferences through the tour. In Sri Lanka, only Mitchell Starc has fired a single, underwhelming shot, claiming that Angelo Mathews is under pressure after the English tour and that as a captain, hell have to go through that pressure and perform. The thing is, though, Mitchell, Mathews can only be under so much pressure, because there is no alternative choice for the captaincy, and he remains the teams best batsman. So why bother with the jibes, I guess, when reality paints an even bleaker picture? Sri Lanka have just one victory against Test-playing opposition this year, across all formats.As a result of this terrible run, Sri Lankas fans have cooled their cricketing passions, and the board has begun a concerted campaign to woo them back. There have been pleas for support from players and PR folk, some rebranding here, a little publicity stunt there. Nothing, of course, will inspire the fan-base like a series victory but, until that comes, the die-hard supporters will have to cling to the hope that rests in Herath, and at least no one can say there isnt enough of him to cling to. ' ' '