Dein erstes Forum » re, he gets blasted. This years versio

The whole world was waiting to see those feet hit the crease. Those famous feet, the ones that changed world cricket, ruined a young mans career, and sent him to jail. Editorials, hot takes, blog posts, sarcastic tweets, hurried whatsapping, but those feet were on the balcony. And they werent the feet that stuck out.Orange shoes. Misbah-ul-Haq is wearing orange shoes. Misbah cricket, the tuk tuk, a man blamed for losing an entire World T20, derided for his lack of flair, lack of energy, and inspiration, is wearing glow in the dark shoes in his first ever Test at Lords. Like a dad who has bought himself a green tuxedo for his daughters wedding, this was a big day for Misbah, hes been waiting a life time for it, and he and his shoes were going to look their best.It feels like a middle-aged crisis, or like he put on Shahid Afridis shoes by mistake. They look so orange that he is courting the kind of controversy that his whole captaincy has been about eradicating; outlandish statements, weird happenings and ICC sanctions.There have always been two Pakistans, its the orange shoe wearers you notice, its the Misbah guys you dont. Its as if Pakistan wishes it could be Shahid Afridi, while trying like hell not to be like Misbah.They produce effortlessly cool cricketers like Afridi, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Qadir and Fazal Mahmood as often as England finds a line and length medium fast bowler. They produce these marvels of cricket, crazy, wild, beautiful, flawed genius poets of cricket, tossing back their flowing locks, twirling their evil moustaches, bowling pixie dust, playing cricket as if the world is a magical place just for them. One look at a Wasim inswinger or a Zaheer drive and you are hooked, and convinced, that Pakistan are a romantic action-comedy blockbuster of a side, but this isnt Pakistan, this is the Pakistan cricket dream sequence.Behind the cool is a ton of plodding medium pacers, professional stonewallers, and sturdy spinners. Guys who work hard, put huge prices on their wickets, toil, sweat, practice and bleed for their nation. Without beautiful hair and a cavalcade of female admirers, they push on through terrible admin, a chaotic home schedule and play in anonymity as the flashy guys take the spoils. For every Shoaib Ahktar there are 100 Sarfraz Nawazs shuffling to the crease, for every Inzi there is an Ijaz Ahmed, alongside Javed was Mudassar Nazar, and after Saqlain there was Abdur Rehman.If Imran is king of the sexpot centerfold Pakistani cricketers, Misbah is the office manager of their countrys accountancy firm.The running joke in cricket is that Pakistani players may not always be truthful with their age, and when asked why Misbah was only getting a go in the team so late in life, Younis Khan said he wasnt that old, it was just that his stated age was actually accurate. Such is Misbahs dedication to being dour and honest, you could imagine he added a couple of extra years to make up for others shaving some of theirs.Before the Test he said: If a cricketer has just started playing, its his wish that he can play at Lords. That means for 35 years Misbah has dreamed, if a man like Misbah allows himself to dream, of batting at Lords leading his country. And here he was, the mere 15 years into his career, the mere 42 years into his life, striding to the wicket with his team needing him.There was a lazy push that should have been caught, an awkward miscommunication that should have been a run out, but the rest was Misbah. After 19 balls he was on a near comatose 2, and most of his early boundaries were just him trying to connect with Steven Finn down the leg side. He did what he had to do.Like he did when his team needed a moral compass to base itself around.Recalling the series in the UAE, Alastair Cook said before the match, Misbah scored about 95% of his runs against spin, I dont think hell be facing as much spin as he did there. Mooen Ali came on for the 40th over with England well on top, Misbah dab swept and then bash sweept him; 28 overs later Moeen would bowl his third over. His fourth over went reverse sweep, sweep, reverse sweep, and sweep: 16 runs, done in such stunning efficiency and symmetry it was like he had had them scheduled in his calendar. Another batsman would have made it dangerous or exotic, Misbah scored 16 runs in an over like a dad mowing his lawn. He did what he had to do.Like he did when the PCB asked him to play on in this tour and against Australia, despite him edging towards retirement.Then there was only Finn left, with Misbah now 99. Bereft of line and or length, he decided to bounce Misbah from around the wicket. Misbah had been camped on the front foot all day, and now Finn made him think afresh. The crowd had started a slow clap for Misbah, even his team-mates had joined in. Finn had a cluster of catchers on the leg side, and he got one just to behave as he wanted it. The ball hit glove, hip, something, and popped up, but it was short and wide of one of the catchers. Misbah took a walk and composed himself, there were 15 guys on the balcony and about 28,000 in the crowd who looked more nervous than he did. He just took his time.Like he had to when he waited 1499 days between his third and fourth Tests.But Finn gets it wrong, instead of being in and at the body of Misbah, the taut athletic ageing body, he is wide outside off stump, and Misbah just guides the ball into a gap and slowly makes his way up the other end for his 100th Test run ever scored in England. It is not flashy, not extravagant, or memorable, just a guide and slow single. There is no hurry, there never has been, its like Misbah knew one day this would happen, just like this. He gets beyond the crease, gently takes off his gloves and helmet, salutes his balcony like a general after a great battle, and then down onto the ground in the position to kiss the turf.Instead he does push ups, his orange shoes are in the dirt. Ten push ups.Like all the times before, the world was waiting for some Pakistan magic, and instead they got Misbah.Misbah survived the second new ball that Asad Shafiq could not. And as he walked off the field, unbeaten, he looked over at Rahat Ali, the nightwatchman whose sole job was to make it to stumps, who instead decided it was time for a back-foot cover drive against Englands most successful bowler of the day, and he laughed. The crowd were clapping, and standing for Misbah, but all he could do was look at Rahat and laugh, like a father who actually couldnt believe what his kid had just done.Misbah is the father of modern Pakistan cricket, the general of this team, and yet still, to some, the tuk tuk. Just a tuk tuk that performs like a Bentley, saves Pakistan, defies his own age and now has a hundred at Lords and can still laugh at the absurdity of it all.They dont often come to see Misbah play, but he plays anyway. Air Force 1 Low Homme Pas Cher .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Air Force 1 Low Utility Pas Cher . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/air-force-1-low-soldes.html . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Nike Air Force 1 07 Femme Pas Cher . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Air Force 1 Shell Pas Cher .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Friday is always a popular DFS night and we have the perfect slate with a treasure trove of upper echelon pitchers in intriguing matchups. Theres also a surprising number of streaming options for our seasonal league readers looking for a late pitching boost. We have all you need to know about that and more in Fridays daily notes.PitchingEliteMax Scherzer leads off a loaded Friday slate with road affair in Turner Field against the Atlanta Braves. This will be a cakewalk, right? After all, the Braves sport the fifth worst weighted on base average versus righties in the league. But heres the thing: Since the All-Break, theyre the fifth-best team in this scenario, jumping to third at home. Sure, its Mad Max, a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young award, but theres more risk than might be perceived, ask those who used Jose Fernandez in Turner Field. Youll want some exposure, but if playing only one lineup, theres plenty cause to fade Scherzer.Remember when we all decided Chris Sale was pitching more to contact? Over his first nine starts, spanning 68 1/3 innings, the lanky lefty recorded an 8.2 K/9. In the next 64 2/3 innings, covering 10 starts, the strikeout rate rose to 9.3 K/9. Over his last nine efforts, Sales fanned 76 in 68 2/3 innings, an impressive 9.9 K/9. This is still well below the 10.8 and 11.8 marks he has boasted the past couple of seasons, but its clear his days of dominance are not over. The southpaw might drop a few spots in seasonal leagues next spring, but hell still rack up huge strikeout totals, especially considering the volume of innings he annually accrues. On Friday, hes in a sneaky good spot for another big punchout performance as the Chicago White Sox take on the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium. The perception is the home team rarely whiffs but since the break, theyve fanned at an above average 23 percent clip against lefties with a below average wOBA. Sale profiles better for cash games than Scherzer while having the strikeout upside to be a viable alternative in tournaments.Like Sale, Corey Kluber has also picked up the strikeout pace over the second half. Before the break, Cleveland Indians right-handers registered a very good 9.0 K/9 that has spiked to 10.2 since. However, unlike Sale, Kluber has a tough matchup, albeit at home with the Detroit Tigers visiting Progressive Field. The guests have hit righties hard over the second half with a strikeout rate below average. Like with Scherzer, multilineup gamers will want some exposure but considering the price, there are better options for one-bullet players.The final ace on the card is Chris Archer taking the hill in Camden Yards as the Tampa Bay Rays try to play spoilers on the road against the Baltimore Orioles. The numbers favor the home team offense as it has been very productive all season against righties though there is some swing-and-miss in their game giving Archer some tournament upside.SolidKenta Maeda exhibits both elite and solid traits. His peripherals are elite, but he averages only 5 2/3 innings a start, which significantly reduces his impact in both seasonal and DFS formats. His ranking is usually dictated by his matchup, and Friday he leads the Los Angeles Dodgers into the desert for Game 2 of an NL West set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Snakes hit righties well but also offer some strikeout upside. The question is whether Maeda will hang around long enough to take advantage. Hes not a bad cash play but there are better options.For example, Cole Hamels and the Texas Rangers host the Oakland Athletics. The allure here is the visitors tote the second lowest wOBA against southpaws since the break into Arlington. Hamels has been in a bit of a rut lately, mostly due to walking 10 in his last three starts, working only 12 innings. Despite this blip, hes still a strong cash game candidate and deployable in GPPs if his price reflects his recent skid.Zack Greinke is going to be one of the more challenging pitchers to rank for 2017. But well worry about that later. On such a loaded ledger, its best to leave the Arizona Diamondbacks righty on the sidelines in DFS against Maeda and the Dodgers. That said, Im not sitting Greinke in seasonal leagues.Sigh. Most of the time, John Lackey facing the strikeout-happy Milwaukee Brewers in Wrigley Field would be a great alternative on this monster slate. However, the Chicago Cubs prefer to keep with their tradition of Friday afternoon home games.One of the more intriguing contests features the Houston Astros visiting the Pacific Northwest to challenge the surging Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez will toe the rubber in Safeco Field, looking to build on his last scoreless, six-inning effort in Oakland that came on the heels of a string of subpar performances. What makes this interesting is two of the top Astros hitters, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve, left Wednesdays game early, and with an off-day on Thursday, its unclear if either will be back in there Friday night. In addition, Carlos Correa is in a rut after missing a couple of games last weekend because of a sore shoulder that might still be an issue. Normally, Hernandez would solely be a contrarian GPP option but against a weakened Astros lineup, hes also in play for cash games.Before we jump to the streamers, Ian Kennedy deserves a mention as a solid cash game option as he faces the Chicago White Sox for the second time this week. The earlier meeting was in the Windy City; his one is at home in Kauffman Stadium. The Kansas City Royals right-hander stifled the White Sox over six scoreless innings, giving up only one hit. Expecting a repeat is optimistic but theres no reason why Kennedy cant come close.StreamersWere going to take the aggressive approach, looking for anything to hang our hat on as we approach the end of an important head to head playoff week not to mentioon the home stretch for rotisserie leagues.dddddddddddd Those preferring to play it safer to protect ratios should be more cautious. If you need help making a start/sit decision, please take advantage of the comments section or send a tweet to @ToddZola. Just realize the decision is ultimately your call as everything is contextual, based on needs and desperation. Your team, your call, but I can offer my analysis for the pitcher in question with guess as to how hell perform.The Pittsburgh Pirates are a bit of an enigma. They crush lefties but have really struggled against righties since the midsummer hiatus. Theyre mostly right-handed so it makes some sense, but the split differential is extreme. As such, theres risk, but theres also a reason to use rookie Robert Stephenson with the Cincinnati Reds entertaining the Bucs in an NL Central tilt. The irony is Stephenson was hit hard by the Pirates a week ago after he excelled in his return to the bigs against the Mets.Apparently Ubaldo Jimenez did not enjoy being banished to the bullpen as hes pitching like a man who wants to stay in the rotation with four straight quality starts, including a complete game effort over Fridays foe, the Tampa Bay Rays. Jimenez draws Archer in hitter-friendly Camden Yards but especially if you want some whiffs, Jimenez is in play.Like Jimenez, Clay Buchholz has also yo-yoed between the rotation and bullpen. The right-hander was lit up by the Toronto Blue Jays last time out but with Steven Wrights ailing shoulder, Buchholz gets another shot, as the New York Yankees visit Fenway Park to continue a weekend series with all sorts of playoff implications. As inconsistent as Buchholz has been, the Yankees offense against righties is well below average.Michael Fulmer will be working on six days rest when he takes the mound in Progressive Field against Kluber and the Indians. The Detroit Tigers rookie-of-the-year candidate will be challenged by a lefty-heavy Indians squad registering the sixth best wOBA versus righties for the season. However, for the last month, theyve been below average under those conditions.Five of Adam Morgans past six starts have been at least six innings with two or fewer runs allowed. Next up is a depleted Miami Marlins club that may be getting back Giancarlo Stanton. Even so, the rest of the Marlins have been schooled by lefties lately so add Morgan to the list of risky, albeit viable spot starters.The last streamer is R.A. Dickey, floating his knuckleball in Angel Stadium. You know the deal, theres really no way to analyze a knuckleball matchup. In the right-handers favor is an extremely big venue with some fleet outfielders chasing down fly balls. In addition, Dickey is in a good spot for a win as even Angel Stadium cant contain the powerful Toronto Blue Jays with Jered Weaver on the mound.AvoidKeeping with the aggressive theme, there are only two starters worth noting over and above the trio falling in the automatic avoid range by virtue of their projected game score 45 or below.The first is Tyler Chatwood, who actually scored a fairly safe 50. The good news is he draws the San Diego Padres and their anemic attack. The bad news is the contest will be played a mile above sea level in Coors Field.Second is right-hander Luis Cessa, whos tasked with keeping the New York Yankees playoffs hopes alive. Kevin Gausman showed the vaunted Boston Red Sox attack can be kept under wraps. That said, Cessa is a raw rookie while Gausman is an emerging ace so its best to avoid Cessa for this encounter.HittingUsually its the left-handed contingent of the Colorado Rockies in the spotlight but this time that honor is bestowed to their right-handed brethren with San Diego Padres southpaw Christian Friedrich getting the ball. Nolan Arenado is the obvious choice supported by DJ LeMahieu, Ryan Raburn, Mark Reynolds and Nick Hundley.Jered Weavers woes with the long ball are well documented, surrendering 35 so far this season including at least one in his past seven outings. The Angels righty doesnt get a break with the Blue Jays visiting Anaheim. Toronto has hit 153 homers against righties, the fourth most in the game. Josh Donaldson?might be out but that still leaves Michael Saunders, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki, all more than capable of taking Weaver deep. As an added bonus, Weaver doesnt control the running game well, putting Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis in play too.Every year there seems to be someone who is frustrating to time. When you stack against him, he throws a gem. When you stack elsewhere, he gets blasted. This years version is Kendall Graveman, though admittedly, he has had a decent second half. Still, its hard not to like the Texas Rangers in their home digs against Graveman and his meek 5.1 K/9. Graveman is equally mediocre to hitters from either side of the dish so all the Rangers are in play. Carlos Gomez has been thriving in the leadoff spot but with the earlier struggles, hes still reasonably priced. Ian Desmonds second half has been a disappointment, but hes still dangerous. The meat of the order should do the most damage, beginning with Carlos Beltran, then Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor. Jonathan Lucroy, Mitch Moreland and Nomar Mazara round out the targets.Most likely to hit a homer: Joey Votto After a slow start, Votto is turning in a typical season. As usual, he has crushed righties, so look for him to continue against Ryan Vogelsong in the homer-friendly Great American Ballpark.Most likely to steal a base: Jose PerazaWere going to stay in the Queen City and tag Peraza to get on and go against Vogelsong and Francisco Cervelli, one of the weaker backstops in terms of nabbing would-be thieves. ' ' '