second year in the league, Dalton was sacked only 20 times i

At first glance, Saqlain Mushtaq seems an unlikely cheerleader. At second glance too.Certainly in the modern sense. Hes never been seen with a pair of pom-poms and his dancing days are probably behind him.But that was the description of his role on Englands tour of India offered by Zafar Ansari. It was not meant as faint praise, either. It was meant to underline the unstinting support he has given to Englands spinners in his role as coaching consultant and, in a subtle way, it recognises the sensibly soft touch he has taken.These brief coaching stints are tricky. On one hand, the coach is keen to make as much of an impact as possible in the short period they are with the team. In the case of Saqlain, that was originally only going to be for two weeks on this tour, though it has now been extended to something approaching a month.On the other hand, such short-term coaches can be reluctant to force themselves on players. One highly respected batting coach who was invited to spend a session or two with the team during the summer departed having hardly spoken to the players for fear of tinkering without sufficient time to make substantial progress.Saqlain understands this. He understands that, as a consultant, his role is not to completely overhaul anyones technique and that, going into a game, the worst thing he could do is inject any negativity or doubt into a players mind.He has made it explicit that he didnt want to come in and change anything, Ansari said after Englands training session at the not especially catchily named Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. He hasnt had time to change our actions and, in the lead-up to Test, the last thing you want to be doing is changing what youre doing.He acts as our cheerleader to some extent. He boosts us and makes us feel good about ourselves. And as someone who has been so successful to come in and say I think youre a good bowler and I think you can take wickets at this level, that gives you a lot of confidence and that is important for Test cricket.Saqlain may have learned a thing or two in this regard. During his first stint with the England team, just ahead of the Manchester Test against Pakistan, he mentioned to Moeen Ali that he may like to alter his grip a little in a bid to gain more bounce. But when the result was a couple of head-high full tosses, they both concluded that the time for technical changes is not a couple of days before a Test.His input is not limited to bowling, either. Moeen credits his improvement against spin bowling in part to Saqlains comments. So when Saqlain mentioned that Javed Miandad had recently told him how much he admired Moeens batting, Moeen was thrilled and more receptive to the advice - advice offered many times previously by Mark Ramprakash - that he might like to come down the pitch more often against spin bowlers. Sometimes the source of the advice is just as important as the subject.Thats not to say that Saqlain is nothing but a cheerleader. He also has the experience to offer practical advice. So, while Adil Rashids Test career has previously been characterised by coaches suggesting that he would need to bowl quicker to succeed in international cricket, Saqlain has recognised that Rashid has several gifts but that speed will never be one of them.Instead, he has encouraged him to embrace his natural strengths: to give the ball some air, to give the ball a rip and to back his own skills to defeat the batsmen. On the evidence of the Rajkot Test, where Rashid produced probably the best bowling performance of his Test career, it seems to be working well.Its more about your approach to bowling and bowling in Test cricket, Ansari said. How you can maintain your composure when batsmen are coming at you, when the crowd is loud and when youre playing on TV. All these external factors, he brings a certain perspective to that.Saqlains background may be relevant, too. Four of this England squad identify as British Muslims and three - including all three of the spin bowlers from the Rajkot Test - have family roots in Pakistan. Saqlain is a man they can identify with, and not just as a cricketer.Ansari, while reluctant to think of himself as a role model as an individual at this stage of his career, nevertheless celebrates the success of the collective and feels their visible success is a good thing for society.As a group of four British Muslims there is something in that, he says. Theres no doubt. Thats really exciting and something were proud of. A lot of people outside the group clearly care about that and value that a lot. And that is a good thing in our society.From a personal point of view, I wouldnt hold myself up as a role model. At least in that way. Im from a very privileged background. I dont necessarily challenge norms in a particularly obvious way or even in a superficial way. So I wouldnt necessarily characterise myself as breaking down boundaries. But Moeen, Adil and Haseeb Hameed - all of them are doing a wonderful job representing their communities. And thats not an easy role to play.On a day of optional nets - the seamers from the first Test plus Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the opportunity to rest - James Anderson ran in hard and looked as if he was raring to go. But it was Steven Finn who troubled the batsmen most, generating unpleasant bounce from just back of a length. Both are set to be frustrated, though, with England likely to play the same XI that featured in Rajkot.And that would mean another chance for Ansari. Though he is modest about his own talents - he describes himself as not a natural ball-player and seems somewhat in awe of Moeen having spent a month or so watching him at close quarters - he concedes that he is growing more comfortable with the glare of life in international cricket.The second game felt easier from a psychological perspective, he says. Just the attention being removed from you to some extent - as an England player, people are always observing - but that singular attention shifting away is a big thing for the second Test and going forward. It allows you to play the game as a game rather than as an event that you are the centre of.Im not a natural ball-player. I guess its all relative. Im probably comparing myself with Moeen or people like that. They work incredibly hard but, from the outside, they have a certain touch that maybe I dont feel like I quite have. But this is just my perspective. Other people might say youre talking rubbish; youre being self-deprecating. But thats genuine.Ansaris skills are likely to be tested to the full in the second Test. While the pitch at Visakhapatnam currently has some grass on it, the groundsman expects it to turn from day two. It is likely that spin will play a greater part than it did in Rajkot and likely that the toss will, once again, prove important. Cheap Curry Shoes Sale . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Curry Shoes China . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. http://www.cheapcurryshoes.us/ . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Cheap Curry Shoes Fast Shipping . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Clearance Curry Shoes . -- 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. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- This summer during training camp, New England Patriots fans never missed an opportunity to let Tom Brady know they were thinking about him.He was weeks away from the start of his four-game Deflategate suspension, and every time he stepped on the field he was showered with cheers and serenaded with Brady! Brady! Brady! chants.After a successful regular-season debut at Cleveland last week, Sunday is Tom Terrifics homecoming.I think well see how it plays out, Brady said. But yeah, I know theyre expecting a good crowd. Well be fired up, too. I mean were playing a great team. Were 4-1, its not great, but were in a decent position.It will also be the latest challenge for a Bengals team that has had very limited success against Mr. Brady.Cincinnati (2-3) is coming off a 28-14 loss at Dallas last week and is trying to avoid its first 2-4 start since 2010, when it finished 4-12 -- its worst season under Marvin Lewis. The Bengals also would match their regular-season loss total from 2015, when they tied the club record with a 12-4 mark.Brady enters Sunday 5-1 overall and 3-0 at home against Cincinnati, which has never beaten the Patriots since they moved into Gillette Stadium in 2002.Bengals receiver Brandon LaFell, released by the Patriots in March after two seasons in New England, said he knows they will get Brady at his best.He doesnt lose in that stadium hardly ever, so its going to be hard, he said.The Bengals havent won at New England at all since 1986, dropping their last six, including 43-17 loss in 2014.That meeting came a year after Cincinnatis 13-6 win at home, in which Brady had a streak of 52 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended. Otherwise, Brady has had his way with the Bengals, throwing for 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his five wins against them.It ultimately comes down to how well youre playing as a team, he said. Its never where you play, its really how you play.Here are some things to watch for in Sundays game:FLATTENED BENGALS: Cincinnatis defense has been roughed-up, allowing three touchdown passes of more than 40 yards and a 60-yard touchdown run in the last three games. Dallas ran for 180 yards its win last Sunday against a defense that allowed the second-ffewest points in the NFL last year.dddddddddddd Even with linebacker Vontaze Burfict back from a three-game NFL suspension, the defense has suffered from regular breakdowns.Obviously having Brady back helps out their offense a lot, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. It will be the hardest challenge probably that we have all year from our side of the ball.LAFELLS RETURN: LaFell played two seasons in New England before signing with the Bengals as a free agent to replace Marvin Jones. LaFell caught his first two touchdown passes of the season in Dallas, an indication hes starting to settle into the offense. With teams trying to clamp down on A.J. Green, the Bengals need another consistent threat at receiver.Hopefully we can continue to build on that and continue to connect more, and more so in crucial moments of the game, not when the game is out of hand, LaFell said.DALTON GOES DOWN: Andy Dalton has been sacked 17 times, tied for second most in the NFL. Hes on pace to eclipse his single-season record of 46 sacks in 2012, his second year in the league, Dalton was sacked only 20 times in 13 games last season. The sacks have put the offense in tough spots and contributed to a significant decline in scoring. In 2015, the Bengals scored at least 24 points in each game while starting 5-0. This season, they have yet to score 24 in any game.GRONKS HEALTH: After missing the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski played in a season-high 81 percent of the offensive snaps and had five catches for 105 yards in last weeks win at Cleveland. I felt like myself last week, just getting into the groove now. Every single week, week in and week out now, just got to stay in a routine, stay in a groove. ...Im out there now, Im rolling now, so theres no excuses.OCTOBER FEST: The Patriots are an NFL-best 50-17 in the month of October since the 2000 season. They are 29-5 at home during that span in October, and 21-12 on the road.---AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower ' ' '