Dein erstes Forum » NLs second wild card.Theyre struggling la

England Lions 279 for 9 (Westley 84, Foakes 70, Alsop 40, Rashid Khan 4-48) v AfghanistanScorecard Tom Westley and Ben Foakes relished an absorbing contest with Afghanistans spinners on a hard-fought first day of England Lions first-class match in Abu Dhabi.Westley made the most of his first Lions appearance of the winter with a patient 84, sharing a fifth-wicket partnership of 125 with Foakes before the Surrey wicketkeeper was dismissed for 70.But the Afghans hit back after tea to reduce the Lions to 279 for 9 at the close with Rashid Khan, an impressive young legspinner who has been playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, earning figures of 4 for 48.I knew that after three weeks out here I might only have this one innings, or maybe two, so it was an important innings for me, said Westley, who was the only member of the Lions squad not to appear in the three-match one-day series against UAE.There was a bit of pressure on and plenty of noise when Foakesy came in, so it was enjoyable to put on a decent partnership. I thought the openers had played well early on as well to give us a start. Its just a shame one of us top three couldnt have gone on to something a bit bigger so we could be 320 for 5 rather than 280 for 9.Credit to Afghanistan though. I remember playing against them for Essex second XI a few years ago, but now they are respected as a good side, with players who play in competitions like the BPL. They showed that with the way they played today, especially the legspinner.The start of play was delayed by 15 minutes because of thick morning fog in Abu Dhabi. But Toby Roland-Jones, who followed Keaton Jennings and Nick Gubbins as the Lions third captain in four matches on this trip, chose to bat despite the unusual desert moisture, and openers Gubbins and Tom Alsop justified that decision with a stand of 67 in 15 overs.Alsop, the 21-year-old Hampshire left-hander who was selected ahead of Kents Daniel Bell-Drummond, made a flying start by taking 12 including two boundaries off the first over of the match, and continued in that positive manner to reach 40 from 46 balls.However he went back to the first ball after the first drinks break of the day and was pinned lbw by Rashid. The legspinner then switched ends to strike twice in the space of three balls, bowling Gubbins for 26 and then Joe Clarke for a duck to leave the Lions on 85 for three. It was 97 for four when Liam Livingstone, having recovered from the illness which confined him to bed on Tuesday, fell caught behind to seamer Yamin Ahmadzai.But after a few nervy early moments Westley and Foakes gradually got on top of the Afghan bowlers and quietened the excited chatter in the field.Foakes was lbw trying to sweep the veteran offspinner Mohammad Nabi after facing 137 balls and hitting nine fours, and Westley grafted on for 13 more overs before he also fell to Nabi, caught at short leg.Rashid then trapped Sam Curran lbw for 17 and Afghanistans seamers chipped in with the second new ball, taking the wickets of Roland-Jones and Ollie Rayner - who had passed a morning fitness test on a knee injury. Rod Carew Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Jose Berrios Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. http://www.cheaptwinsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-max-kepler-jersey . JOHNS, N. Bert Blyleven Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Kirby Puckett Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. NEW YORK -- A sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series last fall sent the New York Mets to the World Series for the first time in 15 seasons. But the Cubs are the team that looks ready to return to the NLCS -- and perhaps end a far longer drought -- as the two teams prepare for a four-game series that begins Thursday night at Citi Field.The Cubs arrived in New York fresh off a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds that capped a three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park. The sweep snapped the longest skid of the season for Chicago, which lost six of seven prior to facing the Reds.This was a good series for us, said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who hit a three-run inside-the-park homer Wednesday.The Cubs have had a lot of good series this year. Chicago, which is looking to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945 and win it all for the first time since 1908, is now a baseball-best 51-26, with a mammoth run differential -- plus-170 -- that suggests ot should have five or six more wins.The Mets, meanwhile, continued to spiral downward Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. The loss capped a three-game sweep at the hands of the Nationals, who extended their lead over the Mets from three to six games.The loss ended a 2-5 road trip for the Mets, who were outscored 35-20 by the Nationals and Atlanta Braves. New York, which blew an early 4-0 lead in Mondays opener against the Nationals, went 23 straight innings without scoring until James Loney hit a twwo-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday.ddddddddddddWere just not giving ourselves chances, Mets manager Terry Collins said. We just cant give our pitchers any room to work.At 40-37, New York is the closest it has been to .500 since April 24, though it is still only a half-game behind the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NLs second wild card.Theyre struggling lately and theyre banged up, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. It is different (than last year) for both teams.The series opener Thursday begins an 11-game homestand for the Mets that could dictate the direction the rest of their season takes. After the Cubs exit Sunday, the Mets host the Marlins for three games and the Nationals for four games.Weve still got 11 before the All-Star Break, Collins said. Weve just got to go play them.Mets left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to start Thursday against Cubs right-hander John Lackey. Matz is pitching through a bone chip in his right elbow and got an extra day of rest after struggling last Friday, when he was staked to an eight-run lead but allowed six runs over 4 1/3 innings and was lifted before he could qualify for the win in the Mets 8-6 victory over the Braves.Lackey will be looking to bounce back from his worst start of the season. He took the loss last Saturday, when he gave up seven runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Cubs fell to the Marlins, 9-6. ' ' '