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You can guarantee the move of the Gabba away from its traditional slot at the start of the home summer will cause a ripple of discussion around the Australian dressing room. Losing the chance to meet touring sides in Brisbane for the first Test of the season would equate to handing over a major competitive advantage.Australian Test teams and the Gabba have always seemed to go hand in hand, like England and seam or India and spin. There is the bounce on offer, and the lateral movement when overhead conditions permit. But other, more subtle, elements of playing cricket in Brisbane also come into the equation.I seldom found a greater contrast between the certainty in our group and the uncertainty in the oppositions than in the days and hours before the first ball in Brisbane. Visiting sides would be unsure whether to bat first or not, whether to play four quicks or not, or whether to attack or defend and try to take the game deep.All that uncertainty would help us as we forged on with a simple plan - not dissimilar to that employed by the Queensland Sheffield Shield side. It is generally better to bat first in Brisbane even if the pitch has a bit in it, because its invariably harder to bat on day two, when the surface has quickened up a bit and the nicks carry even further.Similarly the bowlers would know just the right lengths to bowl, a little bit fuller than in the southern states, in search of nicks, and around a fourth- or fifth-stump line so the batsmen were unsure of whether to defend the stumps or leave the moving ball to fly through into my gloves. It shouldnt be forgotten either that spinners could find the ground a very fruitful place to bowl, utilising the bounce and pace - just check the handsome Gabba records of Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon for proof.Often the fast bowlers of visiting sides would tend to pitch too short, affording us plenty of opportunities to leave the ball when it was new, and then to pull and cut as the Kookaburra lost a little bit of its shine and hardness. Matthew Hayden, not only an Australia opener but a Queensland native, was a brilliant exponent of this.It was Haydos who helped fill me with a sense of confidence walking out onto the ground, for he would just get so excited about starting the summer in Brisbane. Years after he retired, the Australian side of 2013-14 strutted onto the ground for the first Test of that Ashes summer knowing we had strong allies in the ground and pitch we were starting on. Thanks largely to Mitchell Johnson, and perhaps a few day-one runs by yours truly, we set the tone for the whole summer at the first time of asking.A lot of that advantage, however, is lost by moving the Gabba away from the start of a summer. Touring teams are less likely to be caught off balance if they have more time in the country behind them, and for the home side, it can be harder to turn momentum back towards them if it has swung away. Two examples from recent years: in awful circumstances the 2014-15 season was turned on its head, and the Gabba was swapped with Adelaide for the first Test, against India. Adelaide was an extraordinary week for all kinds of reasons, but theres no doubt the pitch helped Virat Kohlis men get much closer to a win than might have been possible in Brisbane. This summer, of course, South Africa got the opportunity to start the series in Perth, a place where theyve never lost, and they carried the early break all the way to a deserved series win.I understand that crowds for Brisbane have been disappointing outside of Ashes Tests for some time, and I also think the day-night concept is worth trying at the Gabba. But I do hope that Cricket Australias administrators take into full consideration how much the Australian team values getting a head start on the summer in Queensland when they are thinking about future summer schedules.Pakistan are starting their series in Brisbane, but theyve already been in New Zealand for several weeks before their warm-up match in north Queensland. It will be interesting to see how they adapt, particularly their older batsmen like Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. Im also eager to see how Yasir Shahs legbreaks fare on the Gabba surface.The most defining thing about this series, though, is likely to be Pakistans catching. We are all aware how dangerous their pace bowlers can be, not least the recalled Mohammad Amir. But the New Zealand series was further evidence that Pakistans bowlers often have an inbuilt disadvantage - the need to take more than 20 wickets a Test due to a steady flow of dropped catches.Alongside the coach, Mickey Arthur, my former state coach and mentor Steve Stumper Rixon has been working as Pakistans fielding coach. Knowing Stumper, he will be giving them plenty of opportunities to work hard on their catching, with an eye on being a more efficient side in the field this series. A Pakistan side that can manage to hold their catches would be a threat to anyone - even Australia on their beloved Gabba. Wholesale Diamondbacks Jerseys .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. 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From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. OTTAWA -- Daniel Alfredsson is confident he still has what it takes to compete in the NHL, but the Ottawa Senators captain doesnt want to rush into a decision about his future. Alfredsson says he wont even begin contemplating whether hell play next season for at least a week as he recovers from an exhausting season that ended Friday with a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. "I feel my game is good enough and I can keep up and I dont feel like I dont have it anymore," he told reporters Monday at the Senators season-ending media availability. "If I felt that it would make my decision pretty easy I think. I still feel I can play all situations and I enjoy playing all situations." The 40-year-old Swede, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this year, led the Senators in scoring through the playoffs with four goals and 10 points and was third during the regular season with 10 goals and 16 assists. "Ill probably take at least a week before I allow myself to even think about it and go from there," said Alfredsson. "Its been a mentally draining season with the schedule and everything and I just feel like I need to give it a bit of time and freshen up and take it from there." When asked if he has anything else to prove Alfredsson had just one answer. "Win a Stanley Cup." As the father of four young children, Alfredsson says the decision will ultimately come down to whether or not he has it in him to go through a full summer of training and the energy to prepared for a long season. In addition, he says it has to be a family decision. While his four boys love coming to the rink and watching the games it does place a burden on his wife. Many speculated that next years Sochi Olympics could have an impact on Alfredssons decision, but when asked if that were the case, he replied, "Not really." Theres no question his teammates want him back. "Were definitely going to pressure (Alfredsson) to help his decision along," said star forward Jason Spezza. "Hes going to need a bit of time, but were hoping hes going to come back for sure." "The way he plays hes one of our best players," winger Chris Neil said of Alfredsson. "Hes still got it in him. As far as Im concerned he still has a couple of years left not just one." Meanwhile, Spezza admitted that he suffered a setback during his rehabilitation from back surgery this season. About three weeks after surgery and returning to the ice, he experienced a bit of a flare up which set him back slightly. But more signnificant was the fact he tore the meniscus in his knee late in his rehab process.dddddddddddd "Its nothing serious and something I will get fixed, but it set me back and was more of a pain than anything," said Spezza, who missed most of the regular season following the back surgery. Spezza, who expects to have his knee scoped in the next week and hopes to have it fully healed in two to three weeks, was only able to play in the Senators last three games against the Penguins. Like Spezza, star defenceman Erik Karlsson was also recovering from injury when he rejoined the team and was far from 100 per cent. Karlsson missed 29 games with a partially torn Achilles tendon. "It doesnt feel very good and Im just going to go home and rehab it and give it some more time and hopefully by the start of next year it will be back to where we were," said Karlsson. "I just need time to heal. Its not comfortable and I cant really do anything that I normally can so Im just going to give it some more time." While most of the Senators remain under contract, management will need to make some personnel decisions. Sergei Gonchar becomes an unrestricted free agent and said his preference is to stay in Ottawa. The 39-year-old defenceman had three goals and 27 points through the regular season and picked up six assists in the teams 10 playoff games. Gonchar says money isnt the biggest factor, but he would be seeking the right fit and a two-year deal. "I would like to stay here," said Gonchar. "I like this group of guys. I like the direction the club is going so definitely it would be a pleasure for me to stay hereabut as we know its a business and well see whats going to happen the next couple of weeks." In addition to Gonchar, forwards Guillaume Latendresse and Peter Regin and defencemen Mike Lundin and Andre Benoit are all set to become unrestricted free agents. Other than potentially Benoit, its unlikely the Senators will attempt to re-sign any of them. Benoit was on a two-way contract, but spent the season with the Senators and played in 33 games, recording three goals and seven assists. "I think Ive proven to myself that I can play in this league and now its left to be seen if Ive proved it to other people," said Benoit. Forwards Mike Hoffman and Erik Condra are the only two restricted free agents and its likely they will be re-signed. Notes: Milan Michalek will be seeing a specialist in Germany to consider what options he might have for his chronic knee problem. ' ' '