the slips - Cook appeared to get a hand to the chance but coul

Great Britain didnt necessarily expect to win the recent World Baseball Classic qualifier.There were so many unknowns heading into the tournament in Brooklyn, New York, where the winner would advance to the 16-team main draw of next years event. Great Britain manager Liam Carroll wasnt sure exactly what to expect from his team, which was welcoming new members from the Bahamas and United States who were eligible because of British heritage. He also didnt know how this squad stacked up against experienced teams representing Brazil and Israel and a first-time participant in Pakistan.But after going toe to toe with Israel on the first day and withstanding a comeback attempt from Brazil in the penultimate game, a trip to WBC pool play in Korea seemed within reach. Unfortunately for the Brits, they ran into a determined Israeli team that played almost flawlessly in the final game Sunday.Were disappointed, Carroll said after Great Britain lost 9-1 to Israel. I thought we were gonna be Cinderella, and it didnt work out.Sundays final score belies how well Britain played over the course of the tournament, and this years performance was a far cry from September 2012, when the team suffered double-digit losses to Canada and Germany at the WBC qualifier.This time around, Great Britain led Israel 2-1 in the seventh inning on Thursday before ultimately losing 5-2. Britain then defeated Pakistan 14-0 on Friday and outlasted a talented Brazil team 4-3 in an elimination game Saturday. In the final, the Brits held Israel scoreless for the first four innings before their opponents took control with a pair of two-run homers in the fifth.Indeed, Great Britain came close to an impressive breakthrough in Brooklyn. But ultimately, its roster wasnt as deep or experienced as that of Team Israel -- it had 11 current players affiliated with major league organizations, in contrast to 21 for Israel. Britain was also unable to use three of its top pitchers, Chris Reed, Michael Roth and Blake Taylor, in the final game because they had reached pitch-count limits in getting to that point.Although Great Britain experienced a letdown by coming up one victory short of the WBC, Carroll believes the true measuring stick for his team will come in four years.Getting into the World Baseball Classic next time around is still within our mission and vision, Carroll said. Getting to the Olympics in 2020 is still within our timeline. As disappointing as this is, because I thought we really had a chance going in, everything we have written in our vision is coming true.Several factors play into his line of thinking. The British under-15 team reached the final of this years European Championship qualifier. The under-18 squad won twice at this years European Championship to remain in the main draw for the next championship. The Great Britain senior national team won its final two games at this years European Championship, likewise securing a berth in the 2018 field without further qualification.In Brooklyn, the British team proved its top players belong at this level, and it benefited from the services of several Americans and Bahamians who were eligible because of parental connections. Roth, who played in Triple-A for the Texas Rangers this season, limited Israel to one run in six innings on Thursday. Champ Stewart, a Double-A outfielder in the New York Mets organization, went 7-for-15 in the tournament with three RBIs and 11 total bases. Albert Cartwright, who spent 2016 with Ottawa in the independent Can-Am League, went 4-for-13 with five runs and eight total bases. Reed, a London native who played in the Miami Marlins organization this season, held Brazil to one run in 4 2/3 innings of relief on Saturday.Make no mistake, the British team acquitted itself well against formidable opponents on an international stage. So its no surprise that confidence is high within the Great Britain programme to win a WBC qualifier in 2020 and advance to the main draw the following year.Its gonna happen, Carroll said. Were gonna get to the WBC. Raphael Varane France Jersey . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Karim Benzema France Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/patrice-evra-france-jersey/ . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Patrice Evra France Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Anthony Martial France Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Essex 13 for 2 trail Leicestershire 238 (Cosgrove 71, Robson 52, Porter 4-50) by 225 runs Scorecard These are puzzling days at Leicestershire.On the face of things, this season has offered impressive improvement. After years among the also runs of the County Championship, here they are in late-August with a realistic chance of promotion. Going into this game, they were second in the table. If that sounds modest, it has to be remembered that they have not played in the top division since 2003 and did not win a single game in this division in 2013 and 2014. The improvement is welcome.The ground has improved, too. There are floodlights, new broadcasting facilities and improved stands. All of it is welcome.But scratch beneath the surface and you are left wondering how deep the roots of this recovery stretch. The only man in this side (Lewis Hill) who could indisputably claim to be home grown was making his first Championship appearance of the season and none of the top four were born in the UK.That is fine, up to a point. The addition of seasoned professionals may well have been required to alter the culture of a club that had become accustomed to losing. Their attitude and experience alongside some local talent could shape the future of the club.But theres the rub. Because the local talent isnt getting a game. Instead Atif Sheikh, a left-arm bowler of rare pace, has been released, Jigar Naik is seemingly sentenced to a future in the seconds, Aadil Ali, about whom there was such hope ahead of the season, hasnt played a first-class game since June and Zak Chappell, a promising fast bowler, here missed out to 27-year-old Dieter Klein, a journeyman South African making his first-class debut for the club who nabbed Alastair Cook as a notable maiden Championship wicket.Of course there is a balance to be struck. Of course young payers cannot be flung into the side without support. Of course in these mobile, multi-cultural times you would expect a team based in a city like Leicester to host players with wildly varied backgrounds. Of course the likes of Angus Robson, who here compiled a patient half-century, could go on to provide years of service for the club and be seen as Leicester through and through.But for five of this team to be born in Australia or South Africa and only one to have progressed through the clubs system suggests that balance has not been found. And for all the talk of embracing the local Asian community, there is no Asian face in the side here and very few in the stands. The two are probably connected.Leicestershire could claim, with some justification, that several players who developed through the club and might be playing for them even now (Stuart Broad, James Taylor, Greg Smith, Harry Gurney and Luke Wright, among others) had larger clubs not enticed them elsewhere. But Essex could say much the same. They have lost Adam Wheater, Reece Topley, Ben Foakes, Tymal Mills, Varun Chopra and Mark Pettini among many others. Yet they still fielded a side containing eight home grown players here.Most of all, Leicestershire could claim that it was always going to take time to turn things around here. So deep was the descent into mediocrity and irrelevance that it was always going to take years to produce a locally resourced, competitive side that reflected its local community. They are not so far into the rebuilding process that a judgeement can yet be made as to its effectiveness.ddddddddddddIt would have been nice to put these points to the clubs head coach, but Andrew McDonald declined the interview request until the end of the match. Perhaps Leicestershire are happy with an attendance of 800 (their highest Championship gate of the season) and the absence of independent coverage? Or perhaps the club are reluctant to put McDonald into a tricky position while his future remains uncertain. Despite having a contract with the club until the end of 2018, rumours linking him with a full-time return to Australia continue. He has already taken the Melbourne Renegades position; the Victoria role remains open. Some well-placed sources expect an announcement within days.And it needs to be asked how much have Leicestershire really improved under him? Or have they just plugged the holes with imports? Are they really any different now to the side that was ridiculed for filling itself with Kolpak registrations? If they are going to fulfil a role for English cricket - and they have a fine history of doing just that - they have to grow their own or improve those who were unloved elsewhere. In two or three of this side - Ned Eckersley, Robson and Ben Raine - they have such players. But there is a huge amount of room for improvement.They didnt have a bad day here. Put in on a green track that had been used for a previous Championship match, they found themselves on a hat-trick in the first over from Jamie Porter. Paul Horton played around one that may have nipped in and Neil Dexter was caught on the crease by an inswinger.But Mark Cosgrove and Robson added 129, with Robson showing admirable patience - he scored three from his first 38 deliveries - and Cosgrove feasting on anything on his legs to provide the foundations of a decent score on what Leicestershire say they hope is a result wicket.Both were troubled by the pace of Graham Napier. Still able to coax life out of a slow pitch even a few weeks from retirement, Napier produced a bouncer that took Cosgroves glove and ballooned just over Cooks head in the slips - Cook appeared to get a hand to the chance but could not cling on - and eventually defeated Robson with a fuller ball that seemed to surprise him with pace. It was the eighth time this season Robson had made a half-century but he has been unable to convert any of them into a century.Pettini was bowled leaving one that nipped back before Eckersley saw the ball dribbled off his bat and onto his stumps as he dropped his hand on an off-break from Tom Westley. By the time Cosgrove was bowled by a lovely, swinging yorker - his attempt to whip it through midwicket resulted in a lost middle stump - he was only four short of 1,000 Championship runs for the season.Leicestershire also enjoyed a couple of early wickets in reply. Cook, playing his sixth Championship match of the season with a view to helping top-of-the-table Essex secure promotion, was bowled by a full, swinging ball that clipped his off stump, before the nightwatchman, Porter, was adjudged - somewhat unfortunately, it appeared - to have been given out caught behind off the glove.So their promotion hopes remain alive. But, long term, you wonder what progress has really been made with this team. ' ' '