Die Allianz T-D-P » Pakistan face testing trips to New Z

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Nothing has changed for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, no matter how highly ranked the No. 2 Tigers start the season or how many people have them headed back to the national championship game.Swinney said when he got the fulltime job in 2009 after Clemson went 7-6 his mandate was to win whenever the Tigers kicked it off -- and nothing has changed following a 14-1 campaign and a trip to the College Football Playoffs where Clemson lost to Alabama.My expectation is weve still got a long ways to go, Swinney said Tuesday. Were making progress, but until we win two or three national championships, were still little ol Clemson.The Tigers start the trek they hope leads them back to the title game on Saturday at Auburn, where Clemson has lost seven straight since its last win there in 1950.Swinney likes the foundation of players back for another title shot, especially on offense where Clemson is led by one of the best in college football in quarterback Deshaun Watson. The junior comes off a season where he became the first in the Football Bowl Subdivision to throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000. Hes one of the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy and has not let the attention deflect his preparations.I just do what Ive got to do, have fun playing football and just enjoy it with my teammates, Watson said. There is really no pressure on me or this team. We just do what we do.Watsons also surrounded by ultra-talented skill players like 1,000-yard receiver Mike Williams and single-season rushing record-setter Wayne Gallman, who ran for 1,527 yards last season for the Atlantic Coast Conference champions.Were still very proud of what we did last year, Tigers center Jay Guillermo said. But it was last year.Hunter Renfrow, the receiver who caught two TDs in the title game, said people have told him all offseason how theyve booked hotel rooms in Tampa, Florida, site of this years championship.Hold on a little bit, lets play the games, Renfrow said. We hope to be there and expecting to be there, but weve got to put in the work. It doesnt just happen.Clemson will break in some new faces on the defensive side when it faces Auburn. Defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, who were 1-2 nationally in tackles for losses, both gave up their senior seasons for the NFL and their replacements, sophomores Richard Yeargin or Christian Wilkins on one side, freshman Clelin Ferrell on the other, while talented are very untested.The Tigers secondary features three new starters after standouts in cornerback Mackensie Alexander and safeties Jayron Kearse and T.J. Green all left early for the pros. Ryan Carter or Mark Fields will take over for Alexander while Van Smith and Jadar Johnson are the starting safeties against Auburn.The group will have to go up against an Auburn offense led by quarterback Sean White, who won a three-man battle for the position last week. Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said White is capable of success and expects to see him fired up to face Clemson.Hes kind of always played with that chip on his shoulder. Hes tough, Lashlee said.Swinney believes the experience from a year ago -- and the disappointing end -- have infused his players work habits this offseason. He did not see much loafing or inattention during spring or summer workouts, only a group that better understood what it takes to get another chance at the games biggest prize.We had some really good teams coming back. Weve had a lot of consistency over the last seven years, Swinney said. But I think this team has some experience to really draw upon that none of the other teams have had. They have a true understanding of what it takes, man, how youve got to get ready every week.Jimmy Wynn Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Justin Verlander Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/jake-marisnick-astros-jersey/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Craig Biggio Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Andy Pettitte Astros Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious.Might Pakistan have seen their best chance of achieving the No. 1 Test ranking slip through their grasp?They have never been rated the best Test team. Not officially, anyway. There was a couple of months in 1988 when they would have been had the ratings been in existence, but since they were introduced in 2003, Pakistan have never reached the pinnacle.They have been within sight of it here. For a while, as Australia capitulated in Galle, and Pakistan inched towards a first innings lead, the top of the mountain was clear above them. But, by the close of play the clouds had obscured the view once more. There is no guarantee they will part.Pakistan had been, remember, 257 for 2 with moments to go before stumps on the second day. They were just 40 runs behind England and they had eight wickets in hand. With James Anderson having twice been warned for running on the pitch, Steven Finn battling for rhythm, Stuart Broad unable to coax much pace or movement from this surface and Moeen Ali conceding more than four-and-a-half an over, Pakistans batsmen had an outstanding opportunity to bat England out of the game. There are no horrors for them in this low, slow wicket. England have taken no home advantage.But it was not to be. Azhar Ali, understandably weary after more than six hours of batting, was drawn into poking at one away from his body and edged to slip at the end of day two and Pakistans middle-order was unable to fully capitalise on the foundations that he had built.A first innings lead of 103 wasnt bad. Not by any means. But it wasnt the vice-like grip Pakistan could have taken on this match. It was an advantage, certainly, but it wasnt definitive. It was, in truth, something of a missed opportunity.It would be unfair to state that Pakistan squandered their chance with the bat. Unfair on Pakistan and England, who battled hard, bowled with impressive control and then batted particularly well when they started their second innings on Friday.Asad Shafiq, perhaps undone by Broad going wide on the crease, missed a straight one, Younis Khan was caught down the leg side as he fell over towards the off and once Misbah played on, there was nobody to stay with Sarfraz Ahmed and extend the lead.There were some familiar faults. The Pakistan tail, with Yasir Shah (a man with a Test batting average of 11.75) at No. 8, has more than a hint of the Diplodocus about it and here mustered just 18 between four men from No. 8 to No. 11. Since January 2014, they are worst performing lower-order in the world.As Mickey Arthur, the coach, put it afterwards: we lack an allrounder; we lack a Chris Woakes. Weve got to pick our best six batsmen and our best bowing attack. To win Tests, you have to take 20 wickets.And then Pakistans four-man attack was shown-up once more. Its not that there is anything wrong with any of the bowlers - far from it - but that it leaves no margin for error. Sohail Khan, so impressive in the first innings, looked stiff and tired - not injured as much as not fit enough to bowl the amount of spells required at this level in a four-man unit - while Rahat Ali delivered too many loose ddeliveries.ddddddddddddThat left too great a burden on Mohammad Amir, who is bowling considerably better than his figures suggest in this series, and Yasir, who is clearly a fine bowler operating on a surface offering him little. Pakistan were unable to build pressure and Englands openers were able to record their first century partnership with one another. A day that started with Pakistan well in front ended with England ahead by a nose.Arthur described the second innings bowling as poor. I was just really disappointed, the Pakistan coach said. Everything weve spoken about, everything weve done... We talk about lengths all the time, we talk about bowling one side of the wicket, we talk about bowling plans and controlling the rate. We didnt do one of those in the last session, so that was particularly disappointing.Sohail is a real concern. Hes got to back up. I thought he bowled exceptionally well in the first innings but youve got to do it both innings, youve got to do it spell after spell. Thats something well continue to work with Sohail Khan on.I love Rahat. I think he has something special. If we can get Rahats action repeatable, hes going to be very, very good.But theyll bowl five fantastic balls with the new ball and then theres the one dragged down or theres the one on leg stump which is the four-ball and thats been giving the England openers a bit of a start. Weve got a lot of work to do technically with our bowlers.None of this means that Pakistan have lost their opportunity to reach No. 1. It might still happen. This game remains in the balance - wonderfully so in the grand scheme of things - and Pakistan will be the favourites when West Indies arrive in the UAE for a Test tour in a few months.But this game, the next seven days of the series, do present a great opportunity. Some of the key players in the Pakistan side are surely coming to the end - Younis, with a highest score of 33 in the series, seems to be in decline and even Misbah, now aged 42, might eventually have to accept he cant win his fight with Time - and, within a few weeks, other teams (notably India) will have opportunities to pick-up ranking points. Not long after the West Indies series, Pakistan face testing trips to New Zealand and Australia. It may be a long time before Pakistan go this close to the summit.Were Pakistan to reach the No. 1 ranking, it would surely have to be recognised as one of the great achievements in the sport. From the position this side were in when Misbah took over - with four squad members eventually banned for corruption and, before long, his leading spinner squeezed out of the game due to concerns over his bowling action - and to have come this close despite not playing a single Test at home is beyond admirable. It is almost miraculous.Whatever happens next, this Pakistan teams achievements demand respect. But they may never have a better chance to go all the way and they may come to reflect on day three at Edgbaston as the day it slipped away. ' ' '