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Fortress Old Trafford proved a happy hunting ground for England once more as they demolished Pakistan by 330 runs to level the four-match series. We already knew England would come back hard after losing at Lords, so what did we learn in Manchester?Bumbles Brassica Hes a man of the people, is Bumble, but that didnt stop Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton giving David Lloyd a right good ribbing for his attire and, er, holiday home when they stumbled across a rather glowing newspaper article on the lad. Nasser and Atherton give Lord Bumble a good ribbing Ill be honest, Ive never seen Bumble in a three-piece tweed suit either but Im pretty sure he wears the label of a legendary commentator well. The carefully ordered homestead pictured in the newspaper photograph was swiftly undermined by the chaos Bumble brought to the third man seat as he struggled to deal with a rogue cable, holding it aloft for all to see. David Lloyd offers some gardening tips for the summer His knowledge of Brassica is of the highest order, however, as he demonstrated during our Saturday Debate. If you want a few tips for your allotment, Bumbles still your man…How to nullify YasirEngland fought back like cornered Lions - the gulf between the teams quite staggering in terms of runs scored for wickets lost (762-9 plays 432-20). Most tellingly, Alastair Cook and Joe Root neutralised the leading Test bowler in the world - Yasir Shah returning 1-266 after having England in all sorts at HQ to grab 10-for. Shane Warne was in The Zone to look back at Yasir Shahs display True, there wasnt much in the pitch for the leggie on day one but with expectation high he bowled a fraction too quick, enabling Englands batsmen to pick off his flatter trajectory on the back foot. Without a total on the board behind him - this was the first time England have batted first against Yasir in a Test - the spinner lost patience surprisingly quickly and well find out in the two-day friendly against Worcestershire at the end of the week if a fourth morning pep talk from Shane Warne perks him up.Roots a quick learnerPoor shot selection was one of the criticisms levelled against Englands batters after the Lords loss and while James Vince, caught on the drive again, didnt learn from previous mistakes Root did - adapting his game to astonishing effect to become the first Englishman to score a Test double century at Old Trafford since Ken Barrington in 1964. Watch the best bits from Joe Roots double century Top of the improvement list was the way he eliminated risk, even if that meant scoring at a slower rate on day one. The slog-sweep was kept firmly in the locker in favour of playing much straighter - in particular against Yasir - yet England still ticked over at a decent Test match tempo and Roots reward was a first hundred since Johannesburg in January, the frustration of failing to turn three subsequent fifties into three figures eased if not erased. Wardy catches up with Joe after his career-best 254 The ruthlessness of his second innings strokeplay had Pakistan on the run to an almost embarrassing extent and when added to five catches and a bonus wicket, made it a pretty perfect Test.Follow-on follow-upThere was a lot of time left in the game and we didnt have a tee-time on the fifth day at 10 oclock, quipped a cheeky Trevor Bayliss, answering yet another question on why England chose not to enforce the follow-on despite securing a 391-run first-innings cushion. The follow-on - or lack of it - stirred plenty of debate In the final analysis, it mattered not a jot that England batted again - indeed it allowed Cook and Root to fill their boots to the brim. Beefy observed, there are many ways to skin a cat and yet it escaped no-ones attention that Mickey Arthur was a rare voice of support for the decision, which in itself should say something. England assistant coach Paul Farbrace explains the decision Paul Farbrace stated England simply wanted to bat while the wicket was still good but you cant help feel that the impact a high-intensity schedule has on seam bowlers played its part in the decision, particularly given the hardness of the Old Trafford pitch, with injuries the last thing on Englands wish-list…Choked for Stokes…but an injury there was nonetheless, Ben Stokes sustaining a calf strain while bowling on the fourth afternoon. You have to feel for the lad, having just returned from knee surgery, which itself came on top of that shoulder problem sustained over the winter when he dived and did himself a mischief. With Chris Woakes in such prime form with the ball and having to bat all the way down at nine (when not required to be one of the most highly-qualified night-watchman in English Test history), its a setback England can perhaps afford but that doesnt make it any less jarring. Watch the moment Stokes sustained his calf injury The dressing room door must still be vibrating after feeling the force of Stokes dismay. Maybe, though, just maybe should Stokes be ruled out for the next Test this is a chance for England to mix things up a little bit and if Adil Rashid is still to be banished to the sidelines, what price an eagerly-awaited return for that Ashes-winner Mark Wood?Watch day one of the third Test between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Wednesday, August 3. Also See: England level series Scorecard Cook praises character Setback for Stokes Custom New York Knicks Jerseys . Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. Tracy McGrady Jersey . The right-hander said he threw about 30 pitches in a routine bullpen session Sunday at Yankee Stadium, his final hurdle before starting Tuesday night at Tampa Bay. http://www.nbaknicksauthority.com/allan-houston-knicks-jersey-c-10/ . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. Walt Frazier Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Willis Reed Jersey . -- Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was alert and recovering at a Denver hospital Saturday after suffering seizure-like symptoms when the teams bus pulled into the airport Friday afternoon for the flight to Kansas City.The situation in the East is simply fantastic for fans of the CFL. All Week 20 games in the East matter as to who is in the playoffs and that’s how you want it to play out. I will be on site at the marque game of the week, Montreal at Hamilton. I am looking forward to seeing Hamilton’s new stadium and the facilities they have for the players and coaches. I can remember when I worked for the Ticats, Jamie Barresi and I shared an office which was fine except for when we had to meet with the players there. The players sat on the floor and watched practice and game film on two TVs we jerry-rigged to play the same video. We had to do this because the room had a weird shape and the guys closest to the exit could not see the big TV. The big TV was actually one I had at my house and had brought in to be able have a bigger screen! I have heard nothing but great things about this new facility that will provide the players with a professional work environment they deserve, looking forward to seeing that. Speaking of Coach Barresi, he is now the head coach of the University of Ottawa, and led them to a 5-3 finish and a first round playoff win over Windsor. He will now come home to Hamilton to take on McMaster this weekend in the second round of the playoffs. I am not sure that this situation has ever happened in the CFL. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats can finish first place, second place, or be eliminated from the playoffs! You don’t often have to prepare your team for all those possibilities within a week. But I think there is a very interesting coaching situation for the Cats, let’s talk about it. Hamilton’s playoff scenario is this: if they beat Montreal by eight points or more they clinch first place; if they win by less than eight points or Toronto loses they earn second place; and if they lose and Toronto wins, they are eliminated from the playoffs. Teams that finish in first place statistically have a greater chance of going to the Grey Cup, so does Hamilton change the game plan to put themselves in first place? I think I would. Let’s say Toronto wins the game Friday and Hamilton is eliminated with a loss, this is the harder scenario. Hamilton starts the game basically down 7-0 to the Als for first place. Do they become more aggressive to make up the point differential and go for first place? Aggressive might be a fake punt or special play on Teams to be able get a few extra offensive scoring possessions. Could it be a more aggressive defensive scheme or pressure package trying to limit Montreal scoring? Third and goal from the two-yard line early in the game, usually you kick the field goal but do you go for it to make up the points to try to get first place? All these things mentioned have a risk that when not executed can hurt your chances of winning the game, which is the ultimate goal for Hamilton because they would be eliminated if Toronto wins. Late in the game this will be employed but early in the game is when it could easily affect the outcome. Certainly late in the game, if Hamilton is up by three, you will see the best of both teams, because Hamilton will actually be trying to drive the length of the field and score a touchdown with the lead. That situation does not happenn often.dddddddddddd These are the decisions that a head coach must have a good understanding of not only at the end of the year, but at the beginning of the year. In 2009, when I was the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders we were in the first of a four-game series with an opponent. It was late in the game and we were winning but I called a few more passes and scored a late touchdown. A coach from the other team after the game sought me out on the field and took offence to my offence (funny?) of scoring a touchdown when we could have taken a knee at the end of the game. I looked at him somewhat surprised and said we are playing you four times and there is the very real possibility that we will end up tied at the end of the year and the next playoff tie breaker is points scored. That is why we were scoring points late in the last drive, we don’t know how we will end up, so you assume you will be tied. Points-scored has to be thought of when you play an opponent twice or four times because you could be tied at the end. Playing someone three times, points is not an issue (unless there was a tie) because someone usually finishes 2-1. Back to Hamilton, let’s assume Toronto loses and a loss by Hamilton will not affect their playoff chances, they would have second place locked up no matter what happens in their game. Now you can see the Ticats being aggressive and be ready for anything that can help them score points. No huddle to get more plays, going for it on third down, onside kicks. Mistakes or poor execution of those plays can also hurt your field position which can help Montreal’s opportunity to score, so executing these calls is key. If you have a chance, look up Head Coach Kevin Kelley and the Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, a coach who calls for onside kicks every kickoff and will not punt throughout the season. The guy must be crazy and must lose every game right? A state Championship, a loss in the finals, and a semi-final appearance in three years tells another story. Although some of his data may not correlate with the CFL, he believes on kickoffs the difference in the field position is only about 15 yards if an onside kick is recovered by the receiving team and coach Kelley’s teams recover one out of every three onside kicks which is a turnover, and we know turnovers are one of the most telling stats in winning football games. In the CFL, a failed onside kick would probably be a 30-yard difference in field position which is certainly a reason not to do it every time. Kelley never punts because his philosophy is you have to score more points to win the football game and you cannot score without retaining possession of the football. That is why he will always go for it on fourth down, to keep possession of the ball. So if your team is in a fourth and 3 situation four times in a game and they average 5.5 yards per rush, why not go for it? Kelley believes he will make three out of four conversions and will keep the football. Interesting thoughts and I thought of this philosophy this week to see if the Ticats would employ some of these tactics to get to first place. Either way it will be a great weekend for football, punt or no punt. ' ' '