Probleme » contain Fisher-Davis and LaChance, and their p

Geoffrey Boycott, 1979 In the 1970s English cricket was bemusedly looking down upon its own creation, this new knockabout stuff, treating it rather like an exotic pet.The national selectors assumed their best Test XI must also be their best knockabout XI, and so Boycott played 36 one-day internationals for England. He, of course, made sure of a healthy average (36.06), but his one-day legacy was sealed in that staggering stand with Mike Brearley in the 1979 World Cup final at Lords.They produced 253 runs in 103 overs in that tournament, saving their best for last, a stand of 129 that sucked up 38 of the 60 overs England had in which to chase 287 against West Indies. Some even say Clive Lloyd deliberately spilled a simple catch off Boycott; which makes you realise that when Boycott went berserk in the 1965 Gillette Cup final, with a boundary-rich 146, it really was one of the great wonders of our time.Ian Botham, 1992 When I was a boy and the world of cricket was opening up, there was a fat man with a moustache and a great big mullet playing for England. Theres nothing wrong with being a fat man with a moustache and a great big mullet who plays for England - unless you are playing hopelessly. He lumbered in off a short run and let go some wobblers, although wobble was far more conspicuous during the run-up. His batting was groggy. Yet time and again the selectors kept coming back to this Beefy.The pinch-hitter was born in the 1992 World Cup, and Botham was chosen to give it a thrash at the top. At the SCG he destroyed the Australians but overall averaged 21.33 from ten innings. The nadir was at the MCG against South Africa. Brian McMillans ball was straight, Bothams shot was a hopeless heave, and middle stump was violently splintered. I felt embarrassed. Then granny dusted down a video of the 1981 Ashes. Apparently, he could play a bit.Neil Smith, 1996 Lets be honest, there is only one true English pinch-hitter. Smith played seven one-day internationals, and only three as an opener, but it was enough to acquire a legendary reputation.Smith was, in fact, a fine all-round cricketer, part of the great Warwickshire side of the mid-90s. Yet he shall forever be the misfiring pinch-hitter whose most memorable contribution to the 1996 World Cup was the previous nights pizza reassembled on an outfield in Peshawar.One-day cricket was evolving rapidly, and the England selectors, way ahead of the game, shoved some No. 8s to the top of the order: Chris Lewis, Phil DeFreitas, Craig White and, at the World Cup, NMK. Other countries had noticed you were better off opening with your established strokemaker, not a tailender. Thus India opened with Sachin Tendulkar, Sri Lanka with Sanath Jayasuriya, New Zealand with Nathan Astle, Australia with Mark Waugh. England rolled out NMK.He didnt do so badly: 27 retired ill against the UAE, 31 against Netherlands and 11 against South Africa. But so feeble were England that poor, vomiting Smith was held up as a symbol of failure.Mal Loye, 2007 Loye should have been Englands dynamic opener for a new multi-dimensional era. The pinch-hitter was passé. A genuine opening batsman was wanted, but he had to be unorthodox.England summoned 34-year-old Malachy Loye from Northampton. For one thing, he had an unorthodox name. And he also had a shot, a slog-sweep all his own that he used exclusively against fast bowlers. Loye was tossed a debut at the Gabbattoir against the Australians, rampant after what was, until recently, the worst of all Ashes drubbings. Fifth over of the innings, Lee to Loye, down that right knee plonks outside off stump and swish... six! Ninth over of the innings, McGrath to Loye, whoosh, there it goes again. These shots, against these bowlers, rescued me from the inferno. The Test team, and 2005, had been vaporised. Now I could feel the blood surging back through my veins. Take that, Pidge! And that! God, what release. Loye never reached 50 that series but there were two more delightful cameos at the SCG. I was still basking in the glory of it all when the selectors, damn them, dropped him for the 2007 World Cup. Phil Mustard, 2008 Between times the England think tank made an executive decision, that your wicketkeeper must open the batting. This was not whimsy. The selectors had hard evidence to call upon: Adam Gilchrist. If he could do it, why the bloody hell couldnt anyone else?Between 2004 and 2011, England, on the front foot as ever, tried a string of Gilchrists: Matt Prior, Geraint Jones, Mustard, Craig Kieswetter, Simon Davies. There was only one hitch: none of them were Adam Gilchrist. Mustard didnt help himself by telling one journalist: I could be the new Gilchrist.Here was an earnest man of the shires, a Durham lad with round, rosy cheeks and a mischievous unfettered character. I interviewed him once, in the back of a press hut in Dubai, but so happy-go-lucky was Mustard that it felt more like a chat round the fireside while clutching hot mugs.Yes, we could have had a lot of fun with the Colonel, a nimble, grinning wicketkeeper and bold left-hand bat who would hammer it square. But in ten attempts he played only one innings of true note and, well, thats hardly Gilchristian, is it? Back to the shires he went Jaromir Jagr Flyers Jersey . 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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Riley LaChance gave Vanderbilt a second-half spark, which was just what Vanderbilt needed.The junior guard scored nine of the Commodores first 11 points in the seconds half as Vanderbilt pulled away for a 75-52 win over Norfolk State in the on-campus portion of Las Vegas Invitational on Friday night.His surge turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage and the Spartans (2-2) never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.Riley played his best five minutes of the season to start that second half, Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said. He gave us a lot of energy on both ends, which kind of started on the defensive end, I thought. He really got out in transition and hit some 3s that were key for us.Matthew Fisher-Davis led Vanderbilt (2-1) with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and LaChance added 12, highlighted by three 3-pointers.I was definitely in a good rhythm and my teammates did a good job of pumping me up, and we do a good job of pumping each other up, LaChance said. I think when we made that run in the second half we had really good energy and really good togetherness.Jeff Roberson grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 11 points for the Commodores, who hit 10 of 28 from 3-point range.Norfolk State lost to a Southeastern Conference team for the second time in a week, including a 78-74 defeat at Mississippi State on Nov. 11.A lot of it was our defensive mistakes, to be honest with you, Spartans coach Robert Jones said. We left Fisher-Davis three times on rotations and he had wide-open 3s, so a lot of it was us, not them really. The overall energy wasnt how we play for whatever reason.Jonathan Wade remained hot for the Spartans with 20 points and seven rebounds. Wade scored a career-high 34 points in Tuesdays 91-55 rout of Elizabeth City State.We kind of bbeat ourselves tonight, Wade said.dddddddddddd If our energy level is not there, were not the team were capable of being. We kind of have mental lapses sometimes as a team.The Spartans made only 30 percent of their shots from the floor, hitting 18 of 60.Norfolk State led by three points before Vanderbilt went on a 10-0 run to take a 32-25 lead on LaChances 3-pointer with 3:26 left in the first half.The Commodores missed their first six shots from the floor, but hit 14 of 16 foul shots in the first 20 minutes to help them go on top 37-28 at halftime.BIG PICTURENorfolk State: The Spartans werent able to contain Fisher-Davis and LaChance, and their perimeter defense couldnt stop the Commodores 3-point shooters. Vandy hit 10 treys, Norfolk State was 2 of 11.Vanderbilt: The Commodores have found a rhythm in the past two home wins under first-year coach Bryce Drew, who spent the previous five seasons at his alma mater, Valparaiso. Vanderbilt passed the ball crisply with 16 assists, compared to two for Norfolk State.GOOD WEEKFisher-Davis has looked good in both of Vanderbilts wins this week. Hes played a complete game, Drew said. We all know how well he shoots the ball, but hes been putting the ball down on the floor a little bit and hes been passing it and on the defensive end I think hes done a much better job taking pride in defending his man.UNBALANCED SCORINGWade was the only Spartan in double figures. Alex Long, Zaynah Robinson, Micah Goss and Carrington Ward went a combined 6 for 33 from the floor.UP NEXTNorfolk State visits Butler on Monday for the second game in a 10-day road trip.Vanderbilt hosts Bucknell on Monday in the final of a three-game homestand. ' ' '