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29.03.2019 04:21
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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After a 62-52 loss to North Carolina Central Monday night, Missouri coach Kim Anderson required his players to practice the entire week without wearing team athletic gear.He didnt wear any either.However unorthodox the method, it would appear the message got through.Frankie Hughes had 18 points and four rebounds as Missouri narrowly escaped Western Kentucky in a 59-56 victory Saturday.Kevin Puryear had 12 points and five rebounds, including 8 points in the second half, and Russell Woods scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, tying a team high.The Tigers (4-3) held a 10-point lead near the 12-minute mark, but the Hilltoppers whittled it away, mounting a 14-5 run while Missouri missed its final eight field goal attempts.Pancake Thomas missed a 3-pointer with :04 seconds remaining and Missouri guard Cullen VanLeer secured off the rebound before being fouled. He sank two free-throws to extend the Tigers one-point lead before the Hilltoppers last-second half-court shot fell short. Thomas finished with nine points and five rebounds on 3-for-12 shooting.Hughes stressed the impact of this win on the teams morale.Its most definitely a confidence booster, Hughes said. Of course, coming off the disappointment from last game, we were coming in with a locked-in mindset, just trying to basically focus in on what (the opponents) do, and just trying to get stops and let our defense create our offense.Anderson discussed the details of motivating his players following Mondays loss.They worked hard all week, Anderson said. They worked hard in white cotton t-shirts and black cotton shorts that we bought from a local department store. They didnt wear Missouri gear all week.Western Kentucky (3-5) jumped out to an early 9-3 lead while Missouri shot 3-for-13 from the field to start the game. Hughes was the only Missouri player to score for a 5:09 window of the first half, scoring 12 points, including three consecutive 3-pointers.The Hilltoppers missed their final four shots of the first half, allowing Missouri to close on a 7-0 run. By halftime, the Tigers led 33-30 despite shooting 29-percent to the Hilltoppers 43.3.Justin Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 14 points and five rebounds, and Que Johnson added 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds.The Tigers outrebounded Western Kentucky 44-30, their largest rebounding margin since their season-opening 99-44 victory when they outrebounded Alabama A&M 43-29.?Probably a couple years ago, Missouri wouldnt have won a close game, so give them some credit, Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. Theres no question this is Kims best team hes had. Hes doing a really good job with them. When you win some close games like that, it gives your kids a lot of confidence, too.HIGHLIGHT REELWith 12:04 seconds remaining, VanLeer stole the ball in the low post from Que Johnson and threw a full-court lob pass over several Western Kentucky players, finding Hughes in stride for a two-handed breakaway dunk.HALFTIME HEAVEMissouri undergraduate student Aaron Brown won $5,000 during the halftime show after sinking a half-court shot. Brown made more free-throws than another eligible contestant in order to advance to the grand prize opportunity.BIG PICTUREWestern Kentucky: The Hilltoppers are in the midst of a seven-game road stretch. They last played at home on Nov. 22 in a 77-56 win over North Carolina A&T and will return to E.A. Diddle Arena to host Ohio Dec. 21.Missouri: Jackson is the Tigers leading scorer through seven games, averaging 14.1 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. Puryear is the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Puryear led Missouri in scoring as a freshman in 2015 with 11.5 points per game.UP NEXTWestern Kentucky visits Indiana State Dec. 11.Missouri hosts Miami (Ohio) Monday. Air Max 90 Cheap Wholesale . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Air Max 90 China Wholesale . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.airmax90wholesale.com/ .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Cheap Nike Air Max 90 Shoes China . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Nike Air Max 90 China . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Cellophane Mr Cellophane Should have been my name Mr Cellophane Cause you can look right through me Walk right by me And never know Im there The Pakistan travelling show is a billboard bursting with shiny headline acts: a chorus line of sexy quicks belting out their best swing numbers, a legspinner with more razzle dazzle than Catherine Zeta-Jones; Misbah-ul-Haq, the noble leading man with a stirring solo; Sarfraz Ahmed grabbing centre stage for a dashing cameo; and, of course, Younis Khan - mesmerising the audience with footwork that would have flabbergasted Bob Fosse himself.Among the noisy and entertaining flamboyance its easy to miss Asad Shafiq: Pakistans Mr Cellophane, quietly accumulating runs in the wings with a purer technique than any of his flashier team-mates. Shafiq plays an unselfish role; coming in at No. 6, he often provides stability when Pakistans batting crumbles and guides the tail with the authority of a batsman who, in many other teams, would be at three or four. If not for the longevity of Misbah and Younis, he almost certainly would fill one of those roles for Pakistan.Shafiq is currently the 13th ranked Test batsman in the world. He is almost certainly the least famous in the top 20, despite playing 43 Tests over a period of nearly six years. He lives with his wife and two young daughters, and looks after his widowed mother, in Karachi. While others at his level have been endlessly profiled, their backstories told and retold, their personal lives treated as public property, he has remained refreshingly enigmatic.Im not that person that I want to really go out and express myself as a celebrity, Shafiq tells ESPNcricinfo. I just want to do things very simply and very quietly.It was on the suburban back streets of Karachi that Shafiq simply and quietly began his cricketing journey. His mother was kept busy looking after ten children while his father worked at a cement factory. Shafiq, the youngest and smallest, would often be found with his friends and neighbours, pretending to be Sachin Tendulkar as he faced a taped-up tennis ball on the street outside his front door. He would bowl a few deliveries, too, the lightweight ball allowing him to bowl faster than his small frame would normally allow.But it was while batting that he made people sit up and take notice. Enough to stand out as a 12-year-old and be invited to play against much older boys at the local cricket ground. Enough to be singled out to join Karachis Jalaluddin academy.I started playing with the big boys in the ground, Shafiq says, and then I found the love of cricket inside me. The love took me to my first trial of hard-ball cricket at the Under-19 regional academy in Karachi. Thats how I found the love for the game and the start of my career.Once cricket became a serious career path, Shafiq looked closer to home for inspiration, settling on the elegant and prolific Mohammad Yousuf as a role model.I watched Mohammad Yousuf when he scored 1000 runs and broke the world record for number of centuries in a calendar year, Shafiq says. The way he was playing, especially in that year, it was amazing and I just cant forget his drives and his cuts. I really liked him after that.Yousuf is now one of Shafiqs batting mentors, a group that also includes Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif. While his technique may be widely praised, Shafiq is on a never-ending perfectionists quest to hone his already considerable skills.Im always thinking about my batting and my front foot and my back foot and I always like to talk about it with Grant Flower, our batting coach, Shafiq says. I discuss with him what I should do to get it better every time. What to do and what not to do. I want to sit with him and talk about my batting, about my stance, about my grip, about my head position. Shafiqs promotion to the national side in 2010 came with a demotion from his usual top-order batting position. He had never batted at No. 6 until his first Test but he has made more of his role there than most; his tally of eight Test centuries is the joint highest by a number six, a record he shares withh Garry Sobers.ddddddddddddThe best of those innings came during his first tour of South Africa, in 2013. On a hard and bouncy Newlands wicket, facing a fearsome pace attack boasting Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, Shafiq and Younis combined for a 219-run partnership. It wasnt enough to win the match but it did give Shafiq the confidence that he has the skills to survive and score in any conditions, although he has yet to categorically prove that against England in this series.There are certainly fewer opportunities to rack up big scores when primarily batting with the tail. But rather than being frustrated at the limitations it places on his batting, Shafiq relishes the responsibility of shepherding his team-mates in the lower order.That was the team requirement, so whatever the team wants me to do, whatever role they want me to play, I really take it as a responsibility, Shafiq says. I want to do more with my batting at No. 6. It was difficult in the beginning because Id never batted with the tail. Its very difficult, you have to give confidence to the tail, to the bowler who cannot bat like a batsman. You have to give them the belief that they can bat, that they can contribute because these contributions are the most hurtful to the opposition. They think theyve got all the batsmen out and after that, if the partnership builds between me and a tailender, thats the most frustrating thing for the opposition.With Misbah and Younis in the latter phase of their careers, when one - or both - of them eventually retires it will be a natural progression for Shafiq to move up the order. But while he has ambitions to bat higher, he is as patient for a promotion as he is at the crease.His attitude is born of a deep respect for Misbah, which is hardly surprising. Shafiq made his debut in late 2010, the end of an annus horribilis that left Pakistan crickets reputation in tatters. Shafiq was a key member of Generation Restoration.It was a difficult time but I would like to give credit to Misbah for that, he says. He really took on the responsibility and showed the correct way and put his belief in every player. Whatever had gone on had gone. We had to move forward, we had to forget all the things we left behind. We needed to look forward every time and show the world that we were good cricketers who could play in any conditions and beat any team in the world. So thats the belief we carried from there and each and every day it got better and better. After that we rebuilt our reputation. Every player was good after that.When you go on any tour with the star on your chest, then it is your responsibility to take all of the things that belong to your country and thats my belief: I shouldnt do anything that would hurt my people back home, that would reflect anything negative on my country. Thats a personal thing.Shafiqs approach to batting is generally a conservative one; to be patient in spending time at the crease, to leave confidently and defend neatly while summing up the conditions. He was impressive in Pakistans win at Lords, with diligent scores of 73 and 49, but his dismissals at Old Trafford were frustrating: tempted into a loose drive to the man at backward point in the first innings he was then the last recognised batsman to fall as Pakistan tried to dig in defensively second time around, missing a straight delivery from James Anderson to be given out lbw on review.Perhaps one answer for Shafiq and his team-mates can be found in push-ups; not the ones performed in celebration on the Lords outfield but in the 300-400 they ground out every day of their boot camp in Abbottabad. Such resilience and stamina were missing from their batting in Manchester.With the series levelled after a bruising defeat, Pakistan must now regroup and rebuild before Edgbaston. For a team whose top order is proving brittle, a record-breaking century from their No. 6 - a command performance from Mr Cellophane - would be most timely. ' ' ' |
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